Gwendolyn exited headquarters as quickly as she humanly could. She did not wish to admit it, but she did not mind seeing Noble, nor did she mind meeting Night Owl and the woman he called his querido (oh, the things Gwendolyn wished to explain to that woman), nor did she mind meeting the big creature and his quiet companion. No, Gwendolyn was merely growing homesick. She waved a goodbye to Cyrus on the way out, who appeared to be busy with paperwork. She knew he would explain it all away in the morning, that this was somehow a college internship and he decided to blossom in his field. That this was a family business or that Hawthorne just adopted him from the streets one day. She supposed it didn't matter, but confusion still flurried within her chest. How could someone she had known for nearly three years keep something like this from her? How did he know all about her? The mask...
It came to her that one person, and one person only knew about Gwendolyn and her secret. And that woman would never, ever repeat a word to anyone else about it. She swiped that person away from her thoughts and decided that it was simple. He had been tracking back Gwendolyn's activities. In other words...
Cyrus Booker was smarter than Gwendolyn gave him credit for. She supposed she only had herself to blame for this simple fact. She trudged out of the building, which, as she was surprised to learn, was easily navigable. She noted several doors that were locked, hallways that appeared to be entrances to employees offices and rooms, and the training room. She didn't spend much time peeking in there, but she noted that it was spacious and well packed. She assumed this was for very, very good reason.
Without much thought about the building's luxuries and possible secrets, Gwendolyn made her way out to the street, ripping her mask from her face once she was a good blocks distance from the building. Fresh air hit her face like a pillow, and her exhales were sharp and relieved. She hated having that thing on too long. It felt like someone was attempted to suffocate her. She shoved the mask down into her bag, scurrying down the alleyway as her head shifted back and forth for a possible enemy. She doubted she would find any, but it was better to know one's surroundings than get grabbed. She had handled that once before.
Twice if you counted the beating by a member of the golden couple. As much as she was relieved she would never get another beating from them...the fact that they were dead felt like a bullet lodged in her chest. In hell with the devil or in heaven tormenting mama. She grimaced at the image.
Limbo was best to think about. She clicked her tongue against her teeth as she found she had finally made her way home, and as to no surprise, the lights were still on. With a smile, she entered the home and locked the door behind her. "Izzy? Izzzzzy? Belle? My sweet? Ginger goddess of the seventh realm?"
"You called?" She heard a joyous voice from deeper within the house. Isabelle had already gotten into pajamas, but seemed to consider having stayed up to make sure Gwen got home okay. She raced over to her friend and embraced her tightly, causing a exhale of surprise to leave Gwen. "Oh, dear you are awfully late from your shift ~ what time did you tell me?" She scolded her friend lightly, resting Gwen's head against her chest.
"An hour ago." Gwen mumbled as she remained content in Isabelle's embrace. "I am sorry. I got caught up in something."
"But you aren't injured. Noble try to hook up or..." Isabelle chuckled as Gwen scoffed, shaking her head wildly.
"no. But I am going to be partners with him. I don't think I am allowed to say too much, so I won't." Gwen swallowed as Isabelle nodded her head slowly, knowing better than to question her friend. especially in a line of work so dangerous.
"Okay sweetness. Time for bed." Isabelle muttered in her content, suddenly lifting Gwen off the ground. She blinked, surprise overwhelming her features.
"have you been working out?"
"For you." Isabelle teased, grinning as she took her out back to her room, lying Gwen down before plopping next to her and snuggling into her form. "I am glad you are okay. No bruises no..."
"Can you still sing me to sleep?" Gwen asked with a smirk, resting her head against Isabelle's forehead. Isabelle rumbled with chuckles.
"Sure." Isabelle cleared her throat, beginning smoothly and steadily, her voice as sweet and delicate as honey ""Be still my darling I promise I'm here. I won't leave your side, I promise my dear. When it's all said and done, the earth still turns. And my heart yearns, For you to be still in my arms. To love and protect you. To be there with you through and through. I have you here and I will not let go. My dearest I love you so. My dearest I love you so. Please don't cry anymore, I wish to heal you; I wish to bring you back to good, through and through. You are mine and I am yours. My dearest I love you so. My dearest I love you so." She hummed gently once she finished, stroking Gwendolyn's hair as her body eased into hers.
Gwendolyn was asleep by the time she sang the last verse.
"That girl is going to hurt herself. Arthur. Please. Do not let her. She is suffering and I cannot bare to see her in such a way. She...I have seen this before. She is going to over work herself into illness. Do. Not. Let her." Eliza's voice was sweet and delicate, but firm in the way Arthur knew she would be. She cared about those around her. Particularly those in pain. If Arthur ever felt pain, Eliza was there, even if it was in small gestures. Telling him to go get a cup of coffee, or to take fifteen extra minutes of rest. Arthur comforted Eliza quietly, a low chuckle rumbling in his chest.
"I have this. I have this. See, the math isn't too excessively hard. I mean...sure it's complex and its physics and goddamn it if I am not more of a biology person..."
"...Arthur I would help you but my time was in the twenties. I will have you know...I was good at math. Physics is absolutely ridiculous." Arthur had to contain his laughter, for in a moment that appeared to crash into him, he felt the woman embrace him, short and sweet, before pulling away. His tongue felt like cotton. Did...did she just...
"What?" He whispered under his breath, confused as to how the woman who had been angry with him before now could give him such affection. He did note that she pulled away before he could possibly hug her back, so he gently placed his hand upon her shoulder, wishing to give her a smile. He knew better than to reveal such a thing to her, even if he did not recognize this woman and this woman would not recognize him. At least, that's what he figured. He briefly imagined him peeling the mask off, giving her an award winning smile, and receiving a hit to the jaw for breaking another loved one's heart.
But...then again...
Arthur didn't really have experience with such a thing. He exhaled patiently and squeezed her shoulder, nodding his conformation. "Thank you. I just wish to help. Go on." He gestured his head towards the blonde woman, watching as she went to comfort her. His brow knitted at her sudden vibration, and he noticed Quincy rushing about the room for something that could comfort the poor woman. Quincy patiently mused as he searched, leaving Arthur to his math equations. Surprisingly, as startled as he was by the hug, after a few minutes of contemplation, the problems began to make sense.
He took the pen within his hand and began to scribble out notes and answers for the equations. He felt his body tense as the energy emitting from the blonde woman appeared to be ever agitated, sending his own form into shivers of sympathy. He wished he knew how to comfort her energy. He decided to focus on the math portion, running his hand through his hair. They needed to split these energies apart as quickly as possible. This was not going to be good for her physical state for very long. Arthur was surprised she hadn't overwhelmed herself beyond the point that she already had.
he expected her to have split herself into two with how desperate both energies appeared to be. He swallowed and scribbled on the paper, praying his estimates were correct. It truly had been a while.
Italics = Flashback Content "Italics" = "Dialogue in Flashback" Italics & Bold = Thoughts in Flashback
Dale tapped his foot impatiently, darting about his garage with hurried steps. He stopped ever now and then to peer out into the streets and squint; it was past midnight, likely 2 or 3 in the morning, but the authorities never rested. Damn sleepless bastards. He paced back into his shop, arms folded and face red with paranoia. "Oi," he smacked the trunk of a jet black Mitsubishi, 2017 model if his jumbled mind remembered right, "You almost done under there?"
The jostling seemed to be a dumb move on Dale's part. A loud yelp emitted from under the hood of the car, followed by a hailstorm of tools clanking to the ground. The man rolled his eyes at the noise. "I'm regretting my decisions in life," he grumbled.
A young girl's head popped into view. She was clearly flustered, her face a red mess and wide eyes distorted behind the wide-circle glasses sitting haphazardly on the bridge of her nose. Her brunette waves were pulled back into a short ponytail, a fruitless attempt to keep them grease-free. She adjusted her glasses with some difficulty, her hands refusing to cease trembling.
"W-w-what was that for?" she stuttered.
"Y-y-you're too slow!" Dale mocked angrily. He tapped at his wristwatch, blue eyes alight with impatience. "You've been at that engine for two damn hours! I thought Marco said you could handle this in one tops!" The young girl's brow furrowed in offensive, though it smoothed over quickly after Dale shot her a dirty look. She crouched down to collect her tools, while also an excuse to avoid eye contact.
"I-I was j-j...just about to say that I w-was done." She closed her tool box with a decisive snap. It was slathered in stickers, most of them tarnished and collecting gunk over the years, but she loved it with her heart and soul. It was hers. A precious gift.
Dale deflated. "Oh..." Sheepish heat replaced his previous fury, and he rubbed his sweaty bald head while heaving a sigh. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to snap at you, kid. This shit's got me on edge."
She walked up to him and tentatively tapped his watch. "It's a-alright. Um, what t-time is it?"
Dale arched an eyebrow, but he didn't question her actions. Pulling back his sleeve, his eyes squinted as he said, "Uh..3:17."
The girl held her tongue--figures, she thought. She never took longer than an hour and fifty minutes, especially since she always timed herself. Although Dale claimed vehemently that she had been working for two hours, he obviously failed to calculate. She had repaired the engine in one hour and twenty-six minutes.
Of course, she wasn't going to tell Dale that. Instead, she shyly held out a hand, peering up at him through her lashes. Keep it shy. Keep it sly. Get the money and fly, Baby Sunrise. She could hear Marco's voice echoing through her head even now. She had never once failed to follow his tips and she wouldn't start now. Not with a novice like Dale. He caught onto the motion and handed her a generous wad of cash.
Without actually checking to see if the engine works--a complete amateur.
The girl flashed a shy smile. "P-p-pleasure doing business w-with you. Marco a-appreciates it."
Dale went back to roaming his bare scalp, staring down his bulbous nose at the child. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Just don't come back around here kid; this is the only time I'm working with you guys." His anxiety was reasonable. Letting someone without a license, let alone a 12 year old girl, repair a customer's engine after failing to do so himself was insanely illegal. She stowed away the money with a nod.
"U-understood." She clumsily pushed up her glasses. "I'll l-let Marco know." After finalizing all transactions and thoroughly severing all evidence of a child's hands lurking about Dale's job, the girl left on foot. The air was eerily quiet, the sidewalk lit by the occasional lamp post. All alone. A hefty sum of cash in her Fairly Odd Parents backpack and a toolbox swinging in her grasp.
However, she wasn't scared--she was terrified. Her steps were fast and unstable, desperate to return back home to Marco swiftly. She needed him, his comforting presence, his daily dose of "Nice job, Baby Sunrise", his two missing teeth, his musky scent of scotch and watermelon, his affectionate hair ruffles...
Nat walked faster.
And by the time she got home, lights off and the rooms achingly empty, she dragged her feet into the kitchen. A flick of the switch revealed a sticky note left on the fridge, where Marco had left her a hastily scribbled note. "Will be back by morning, Baby Sunrise. Put money in stash box. - Love Marco. PS, you thought I forgot to say you're my favorite little miracle worker today, didn't ya? Ha! No way!"
Nat crumbled it up and tossed it into the garbage. Simple instructions, but it didn't make waiting any easier. She always worried herself sick over Marco. Regardless, she obeyed and disposed the money where it needed to be and placed her toolbox on the counter. She was drained.
"L-little...miracle worker," she whispered herself while kicking off her shoes, not caring in the slightest where they landed. She strolled aimlessly until a couch came into view--their couch. It was big enough to hold two people if they were squished against one another and the fuzzy cotton blanket helped to compensate for the lack of space. She flopped face first into it, her breathing growing rapid and shallow. In and out...In and out...
"One...one...two...th-three...five...eight," she wheezed, rolling onto her back and gripping a sloppy fistful of her hair.
Don't seize. Don't seize. You did good. Nobody's coming through the door. You're okay. D-don't seize.
She hoped Marco came home soon. Miracle worker or not, Nat couldn't afford to do this on her own.
---
Nat glanced back at Noble, her hold on Quinn as strong as ever. He seemed to be handling the formulas well enough, which had doused her insides in temporary relief. After all these years, she hadn't really changed. She was no miracle worker and she could never survive on her own. She fell apart by the seams when Quinn disappeared and it nearly happened again until Noble offered assistance. It somewhat angered her, but now wasn't the time to worry about petty insecurities.
She pressed another kiss to Quinn's head before calling out to Quincy, "Do you have any sedatives to help calm her down? She...I'd rather not resort to that, but she might need it until we're ready." Although she had decent faith in the hero, she couldn't help but check up on his progress. "How're the formulas coming? I'm not trying to rush you, just..."
She clenched her jaw, burrowing her face back into Quinn's hair. "Forget it. Um, I trust you guys." They would never know, but verbally admitting that she found them some fraction of trustworthy felt akin to a pair of rusty pliers twisting her lungs until they ripped in two.
Don't go around trusting anybody, Baby Sunrise.
But she trusted him. Always would. Nothing Marco said in the past would ever change that.
Leonardo "Leo" Delgado Miranda | Location: WPHO Halls | Interactions: Jen
Leo nodded rapidly while smiling brighter than the summer sun, feeding off of his Querido's happiness and in turn amplifying his own. This was such a wondrous and enjoyable occasion! He somewhat wished to slap himself for not asking to live with her earlier, though he knew very well why he had hesitated for so long. Either way, it didn't matter. This new development was one of the best moments of his life.
"Yes, yes! I am very happy as well! Oh, this will be such a wonderful time, yes? To think, now I no longer have to go a distance every time I wish to hear your voice or see your face. It was a tad troublesome because I always have this urge..." His brow furrowed briefly, only for the joy to bounce back. "But now you shall be much closer! And this is very intriguing. So I can have a bear chain of the keys, yes? If it is matching with yours, then I agree very much to this. And I actually enjoy the late shows of speaking as well. And ice cream. My favorite is the kind with the, as you say, Reeses parts in it."
Leo couldn't help but arch his eyebrows in surprise when his Querido accepted his lack of clothing quirk with ease. But, then again, he was foolish for even daring to doubt her open-mindedness. His Querido would always understand and appreciate him. "Oh, you sleep without the shirt as well? That is the good news, yes? If we both take off our clothes, then it shall be less awake...no. No, no, awkward is the word. Yes. Awkward. It shall be less awkward."
His lips pursed pensively. "Well...it is not to say that wearing clothes while cuddling with you makes me uncomfortable. It is you, mue Querido. I am always comforted while I am near you. But," he shrugged sheepishly, "Some of my...as you say, instincts do not agree with wearing clothing. I can ignore them mostly, but some days are harder than others. However, I promise to only discard my shirt until you are more comfortable, yes? Now then," Happy with his piece, he stuck his arm out for her. "We have the night of cookies, cuddles, Chinese, and Disney to attend to, yes?"
If there was one thing Arthur could remember from taking physics, it was that everything was truly, truly and messily unpredictable. Certainly, you could assume that if you run your hand through water, your hand would become wet. Surely, if you ran, you would grow tired after a good hour. Surely, if you conducted enough energy you could kill a person. But...in reality, there was always a small possibility that something as simple as this...it wouldn't happen. There was a possibility that a bullet wouldn't kill a person when shot in the skull, perhaps the bone was thicker because of genetics, or perhaps the angle was off. Perhaps the energy in Noble's hands wouldn't be blue when he was calm, because he was truly in muted agony. What would have been screwed if he did these equations correctly? Would he not be able to physically sustain the amount of energy they were looking for? Would Quinn go into a state of shock or flash back to the initial accident? There were so many things that could go wrong.
And if there was one thing Arthur was certain of, physics was never set in stone. He was simply watching a game of chess between time and nature, whose laughter at the ignorance of mankind sent shivers down Arthur's back. He did not know the rules of the match in full, but he could try to approximate. As much as it hurt him mentally.
"Gunner, what is it like in the mask? Is it dark?"
"Why do you ask kiddo? You aren't going to kill anyone. Your stomach is too light for that bullshit."
"I think this may end up not working. But I can't bare to tell this woman that. I don't want to kill..."
"Arthur. You aren't stabbing or shooting. You aren't purposely killing this woman. She is going to survive because of your actions and help. That's what the mask is for. I may not always say it, because it's cliche and repeated, but I trust you. If there's anyone who can do this crazy shit. I think it's you."
"You pulling my leg?"
"I can't. Hidden away in the mask. Can't reach your leg. Asshat. Thanks for the reminder."
"That sounds more like you." Arthur smiled as he felt more at ease, returning to his equations. He found that with a little more focus, they became familiar and he was able to fill them out after some thought. "Not bad. Screw you senior physics teacher." He raised his fist lightly to the air, lazily shaking it. Light blue sparks played at gently at his knuckles.
"Hmm, I have some sedatives just in case. They should be around here..." Quincy scrambled past Arthur, reaching up to one of the cabinets. "I have one for breathing which may be easier than shots, would that work miss?" Quincy asked as he grabbed a small looking device, something that resembled a metallic bandage. "Actually, this might be easier. It'll seep into her skin pretty easily if we need it. Just a gentle sedative. She'll be tired, but it won't have any side affects." Quincy made his way back to the two women, towering over them with a concerned demeanor. "Just tell me if you need it."
"She will need it before we do this. It's not going to be pretty." Arthur commented lightly as he stood from his seat, paper in hand. "It looks pretty good from what I have. I think we should be able to start this process soon." His eyes flickered down to his scribbled writing, curious as to how well this would truly work. If Howard, Howard Thomas fucking Gunner could believe in Arthur, Arthur knew he could do this. "Are you sure you want to do this tonight, perhaps you should get rest. Perhaps blondie should..."
"Noble, I am afraid to say it may be better to do this as quickly as possible. Her body does not appear to be stable with more than one conscience present." Quincy pipped up, and Arthur became painfully aware of the two energies in the body. Quincy was right. He did not know how this woman survived all these months. This was...not good.
"You are right." Beneath his breath, quiet and muffled, a single word rose from the ashes of his breathlessness "Fuck."
"You would be surprised to realize how much I have a quite similar urge." She informed him, hiding a gentle smirk behind the back of her hand as she lifted down her mask once more, just in case an agent decided to stroll down the hall to observe them. No such thing happened, but she preferred to do so before they left. Just in case. "If you'd like, I can try and see if that buddy of mine could get you an owl key chain. Perhaps even a little, fuzzy owlet. He enjoys making silly things like that. Although, he isn't exactly bright enough to realize my love of bears connects to other things." Her eyes lit up as he admitted his favorite type of ice cream, which honestly did not surprise her. He seemed like a peanut butter chocolate sort of man, which she agreed with, but only wished not to steal every bite of ice cream from the carton. "Oh, mine is black raspberry. Been my favorite since I was a kid. Papa once tried to convince me to garlic ice cream...oh, oh so gross." She grimaced at the taste that ever left an imprint in her mouth. Much to her surprise, garlic ice cream slowly turned into Abigail's craving food. She felt horrible for her brother in law.
"Um..." Jennifer hesitated as he mentioned them sleeping with no clothes, but then she realized that this was Leo she was considering sharing a home with, and that he would never make her uncomfortable. He was most likely asking because in his culture, perhaps, sleeping with no clothes on was a more welcome thing when it came to social relationships. "Anjo I am going to be entirely honest. Sometimes I prefer sleeping with nothing on, but...in the case we are discussing, sleeping in such a way is considered more...how shall I say, physically romantic. I...I understand your discomfort, but I would prefer that you at least keep some article of clothing on when we sleep beside each other. If...if that's okay." She smiled at him patiently, hoping not to make things awkward between the two. As much as she loved her anjo, she felt that she was easily flustered around him. Imagining him without his shirt...
Red built at her cheeks. No no. No reason for that. He was her querido, she had nothing to feel sheepish about. That was foolish and she would not feel such things for someone she cared for and trusted so deeply.
"I think I can live with that, meu querido." She squeezed his hand once more, than happily took his arm as he offered it to her. In spite of herself, her weary head flopped onto his shoulder an her eyes fluttered slightly in content. "That sounds like heaven meu anjo. Just don't lose the shirt until we finish eating. Or...er, rather after the movies." She smiled teasingly at him and together they started back to their home.
Those two words fluttered in Jennifer's heart like fireflies on a summer night.
Nat didn't have a chance to reply to Quincy when she felt Quinn tense in her arms. A disturbance in the air, a brief dance of electricity, and then Quinn was frantically slapping the bandage to her arm, her breathing slightly more labored than before. "Give me as much...as you got," she said behind clenched teeth. Concerned, Nat cradled her face in her hands while smoothing back blonde bangs.
"Sweetheart, I know this hurts, but you've got to stay strong. Okay?" Quinn's jaw clenched even harder, as if she was forcefully shutting down whatever rebuttal was burning on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes water as they strayed aside, her legs bouncing rapidly.
"But...f-fuck, I hate this," she whimpered. Her head fell to Nat's shoulder again, who stroked her hair comfortingly. The brunette rubbed soothing circles into her back.
"I know," she choked out, "I hate this too...Honey? Hey, look at me." Quinn was slow to do so, but she managed to lock eyes with her girlfriend once more. "Two hours. You hear me? Two is all I need and then you'll feel better soon...Can you do that for me? For yourself?" Quinn's face and eyes burned with overwhelming stress; there was so much pounding and aches and echoing voices and yelling and discord rocking her from all angles. The blonde feared she wouldn't last thirty minutes let alone two hours...Regardless, she nodded and fell back into her seat.
"That's my bluebell," Nat said while giving Quinn's cheek an affectionate swipe of the thumb. She got up and patted Noble on the shoulder in gratitude. "Thanks, Noble. Give me time to work and this bad boy will be up and running soon." Several pops emitted from her neck, shoulders, and knuckles, ramping herself up for an engineering daze.
Here's to hoping no one got caught in the crossfire.
---
Nat collapsed into her seat with a massive sigh of relief. She kicked up her visor while setting aside her tools. Her coat was slathered in splotches of smock and smears, and the lab had endured some backlash from her whirlwind of working. Nothing terrible--but she would need to reorganize and polish up the place later. It was the least she could do. She checked her watch.
One hour and fifty-six minutes. Cutting it close, but she made it.
"Alright," Nat hefted up her creation with a bit of effort. Since it was a fast job, she couldn't design it with the lithest body; it carried some weight to it and the dimensions were large enough to sit clumsily in her arms. It resembled the structure of a gun with the barrels of a cannon, their rims and the trims made of a conductive alloy; hopefully, it would help with siphoning the energy from the building all while holding up against the pressure.
What seemed to be a scope resting atop the body emitted a neon green glow through its lens, when it reality it was a precaution measure. A safety switch automatically set to start dialing down the energy intake in case the device starts to overheat beyond safe levels. It wouldn't shutdown and place Quinn's health in danger with disturbance, but it'd likely slow down the process ever so slightly...Nat couldn't say for sure if disturbing the pace would pain Quinn or not, so she'd rather place faith in her and Noble's calculations. The splicer would hold. It had to. Besides, she also had the capability to override the safety switch. Finally, a converter rested on the tail of the splicer with a thick extension cord draped across the lab like a boa constrictor. A gaudy look but, again, Nat was working under a set time.
She looked at Noble and Quincy, her entire body shaking with nerves. "You guys ready?" Then her gaze locked with Quinn, who peered up at her sleepily. The sedatives seemed to be helping. Groggily, the blonde nodded.
"P-please...Just get her out of my head," she pleaded weakly.
Arthur's breath was held for the entirety of her sedation, the metallic bandage latching onto the blonde woman's skin with ease. Quincy observed the woman with a gentle care as if inspecting for a possible allergic reaction. Pleased, Quincy stepped back to whisper lightly to Arthur
"That's going to keep her quiet for some time. But just be careful okay? No sudden explosions or..."
"Quincy dear I am not going to blow up the lab." Arthur muttered reassuringly, his features twisting into a disappointed pout. He was glad that the mask hid his internal monolog, because he was beginning to understand how ridiculous he must have looked when he had time to think. Cheeks puffed, eyes widened and flickering, his tongue slamming against his bared teeth. Yes, ridiculous was the word for that. As well as institutionalized. A thin smile threatened to overwhelm the sharp corners of his mouth, but his teeth held it back. Thinking about his own ridiculousness was only making him fall further down the never ending pit.
"Just checking. Cyrus tells me what you like to do the apartment." Quincy mused in a whisper, a gentle nudge greeting Arthur's ribs. Arthur's eyes squeezed shut at this in his wonder, recalling in an instant how he enjoyed to practice, rearranging the entire landscape of the apartment only to place it back together again. Cyrus didn't usually mind, considering he was in awe of the little blue sparks that emitted from Arthur's fingertips.
His head snapped suddenly at the contact from the brunette, a gentle, reassuring and gracious shoulder clasp. Arthur bobbed his head slowly, not certain how this woman could complete such a feat in only two hours. Two hours? Arthur could barely write fifteen pages in two hours, he could barely get a restaurant table booked in two hours, he could barely convince himself to wake up in two hours. How was this woman going to create such a machine in one hundred and twenty minutes? "Two hours. You got this sweetheart." Noble winked halfheartedly, while Arthur began to prepare himself for some internal meditation.
With a gentle kick of his feet, Arthur propelled himself into the air and managed to conduct enough energy to keep him afloat before he could crash back down in a scene of embarrassment and foolishness. He wobbled slightly before he sat with crossed legs upon the blanket of energy holding him up, his elbows resting upon his knees as he leaned forward, exhaling before closing his eyes and allowing for his inner mind to overtake him
"Eliza, Gunner, Hill, you all here with me?"Arthur mused inwardly, surprised to see that all three of them gathered about him, Eliza's eyes shimmering with her usual worry. Gunner had his arms crossed, yet his brow was firmly furrowed in thought. Hill stared ahead into the darkness, his mind wrapped around something other than his current body.
"Here sweetheart."
"Here."
"...Here."
"So do we want a daily meeting as to what happened or..." Arthur questioned, his three associates at odds with each other for the current moment. He didn't think that Eliza was very pleased with the idea of him joining this team, nor with the idea of almost killing this girl if the experiment did not go as planned. Arthur was used to their little meetings, but he could not imagine being fully bound by the mask. That...horrified him. The idea of killing someone scared him more, but this wasn't just a matter of taking someone's like anymore. Arthur vowed never to harm, far before the mask clung to his visage. Yet, there was added pressure. Even the smallest accident, even the smallest outburst could trap his...soul. That is what he had to offer. His soul, which he was convicted didn't exist for the first twenty three years of his life.
Gunner on the other hand seemed at peace. He was the first to speak.
"I am glad you finally have someone more than Reaper to overlook you in combat. Arthur, as much as we trust you with this...we also know how hard it can be to do it alone. Generally, we all had partners of our own. Even Gabriel. Even cranky El had a partner."
"One that I killed over Howard," Eliza suddenly mumbled, her voice soft and broken. Her flapper dress began to crinkle and she smoothed it with the palms of her hands, her big brown eyes flooding with regret."There is added risk with a partner. With multiple partners. It is messier. You have one more life to consider, beyond that of the innocents you are protecting."
"But aren't they innocents as well Eliza? Reaper there...shes bloody but that does not mean she has ever hurt someone beyond incapacitating them. Isn't she innocent? What of that large creature, with it's gentle eyes and its careful owner? Or these women, who seemed to have done nothing besides suffer for the last..."
"It is a higher body count to care for Arthur. I refuse to let you get caught in the fray..."
"Are you telling him not to get attached Eliza dear? That's a little unlike you...unless you fear that King Arthur here will...kill for them. The only person I think Arthur would kill for doesn't even realize he's truly there." Hill finally spoke, his voice soft, endearing, yet filled to the brim with mockery and a hidden intelligence. Arthur always tensed at the sound, a little thick, a little husky, a little bit...
Threatening.
"She knows he's there, dick. She just doesn't realize what he thinks. Which is normal."Gunner replied, his fingers flickering as if spreading the ashes of a cigar. His eyes hardened briefly. "Arthur, it is better for you to surround yourself with people who can assist. Who can protect you. And you are right. You are protecting the innocent. While they may not...all be innocent. A lot of them are righteous. They are good people, who need a little boost. You need a little boost. It was truly miraculous that you came to the scene after the Titans vanished...God bless Gabriel Owens...but, to what I was saying, if you were around while FreakShow, Sirena, Azrael...You would have been crushed. Even with the mask that they should have recognized from Owens. That doesn't matter to them. Without true assistance, as strong and as courageous you can be Arthur...you would be crushed. Could you imagine taking the syndicate Joey..."
"Did you just refer..."
"Hawthorne. The syndicate Hawthorne mentioned alone? Arthur that mask would need to be passed off to the next sucker. Don't become like us, kiddo. I had my mask ten years before I passed. Eliza's was twelve, Gabriel...heh. That old man had it for...let's see...He got that mask in 51, he was eleven at the time..."
"You gave the mask to an eleven year old kid?"Arthur questioned, horrified. Gunner paused, a sigh escaping him.
"Yes. I had to. There was no one else that matched his innocence. His understanding of human value. He may have been eleven years old, but he still understood what the value of human life was. Never to take it..."
"How...how long did you have the mask Hill?"
"..."
"O..."
"We do not need to discuss that my dear."Eliza claimed before explaining. "Gabriel did not use that mask until he was seventeen. Which was fair, considering I did it about that time too. Hmm...Arthur. We just want you to be safe..."
"And alive."
"Howard be quiet for just second. We just want to make sure your soul passes this stage. We want to make sure you rest peacefully..."
"And remain alive..."
"Howard I swear to God..."
"Has no one told you how beautiful you are when you are angry?"
"Is that what your wife said before you bu-...."
"Hill you shut your mouth!"
"Howard...Howard sweetie just..." Chaos begin to flood through Arthur's mind, and in his physical form he clasped his hands over his ears as he attempted to control his breathing, which he realized was slowly dipping into sharp, hazardous inhales.
"Quiet! Arthur is suffering now...we need to be a little more quiet for him...Arthur honey are you okay?"
"Fine. I am fine. Has it been two hours yet?"
"Arthur. Honey. I have been trapped in this mask since 51. Do you think I know time any more?" Gunner questioned, yet his voice was light and careful. He glanced over to Eliza with a sigh as he began to adjust his collar. He swallowed hesitantly."In all seriousness. I sense that the brunette's energy is starting to dim. She's hit her high peak. She is probablyalmost done."
"How is..."
"Calmer now. But I fear that the second energy is going to get antsy. Be very careful..." "Arthur please..."
"Eliza just let the boy do what he needs to do. Okay? I trust him. Do you not?"
"..."
"I figured. Now Arthur. You are in good control of that energy. If you need me to help keep you stabilized, I am here."
"As am I."
"...As am I."
"You guys ready?" A voice broke through to Arthur and he felt once last embrace from Eliza, pleading in words he could not make out in his limbo state. Something, he assumed, about being careful with his own soul. His eyes slowly flickered open and he grimaced as he was greeted with dim, artificial light.
"Sorry...I napped a while." Arthur mused under his breath as he lowered himself back to the ground, his eyes squinted. His feet gently met the floor, hands on his hips as he steadied himself. He forgot how stiff he could become if he spoke to his companions for too long. He stretched his back, crackling his knuckles before craning his neck. "Ready as I will ever be. That...is impressive." Arthur blinked as he fully noticed the machine that the woman had constructed. How did she do that in two hours, when all he managed to accomplish was fighting the voices within his head?
Time management.
That had to be it.
"Let me know when you need me." He claimed, gentle, blue sparks forming at his fingertips.
She refused to waste anymore time than they already had on last minute check-ups and doubts. This was it. It was time to step foot-first into the maws of the dragon. She angled the splicer to draw attention to the adapter. She tapped it before explaining, "This compartment will help siphon the energy from the building in the safest matter possible. Should keep everything isolated. I'm telling this in case you're worried the feedback will lash out at you or anything. Just focus on contributing your fare of electricity, which I will give you the signal for, and your...astral responsibilities. Quincy, did you get the stabilizing devices you mentioned?"
She glanced over to another chamber the lab extended into. It appeared to be a closed off trial room, likely well built and sturdy enough to handle large-scale test runs. Nat approached Quinn, who was slumped back into her seat, head fighting to stay up from drowsiness. Her sky blue eyes were lidded with a tranquil fog; not the ideal state, but the brunette would gladly have her going through this rather than pain. Nat gently guided Quinn by the chin to lock eyes with her. "It's time, sweetheart...You ready?"
Even while submerged in a thick fog, the blonde managed to register the weight of the oncoming situation. With monumental effort, she regained enough clarity to smile reassuringly at her girlfriend, though it was tinted with exhaustion. "As ready as you are, Precious..." Nat's throat clenched; she knew that Quinn had to be terrified, yet she never failed to mask her emotions in the most heinous of circumstances. All for Nat. All to keep her calm, while the speedster was suffering.
Nat refused to let Quinn down.
"Quincy, is that a Trial Chamber? If so, could you please place the lab on lockdown and clear the floor? Noble and I can move her in there and we'll be ready for you." Her heart drummed furiously within her chest. She pressed a hand over it, as if the motion would physically calm her anxieties. Of course, it didn't nothing, and the nervous continued to rage through her system like a typhoon. I can do this, it'll be okay, it's fine...Marco believes in you. Time to believe in yourself, Baby Sunrise.
"Okay...perfect. I am glad to hear the energy won't come back and smother me to pure ashes. I should have told my loved ones the desires of my will before agreeing to coming in here." Arthur mumbled, mostly under his breath as the woman reassured him that there wasn't a chance of backlash. He never had a problem with astral energy hurting him, in fact it never even burned or seared his skin. He couldn't believe that he was immune to the powerful energy, all because of the mask, but he supposed it was possible. Beside him, Quincy hummed softly as he held out his hands, revealing two small, compact metallic pieces. Arthur could recognize one that looked similar to a transmitter, the other was simply a rectangular piece.
"This will at least begin to help with the process. One of these pieces gather extra energy, the other manages to transform it into useful energy for the machinery around it. There are better pieces of equipment within the holding facility, but these two will be a little bit helpful, specifically if she is suffering from overheating afterwords. We will have to get her hooked up in there just in case, the problem is more of the case of what happens afterwords. If Sirena could handle this, I am sure your friend can as well." Quincy mused before exiting the main lab, heading into the trial chamber to set up the equipment. Arthur bit his lip, scratching the back of his head as thoughts scattered his hazy mind. He couldn't believe he stayed for this, but he knew it was the best. Besides, Cyrus probably would have preferred to finish his shift by driving them both home. Arthur noted that he may have also needed a reassuring hug from Cyrus, reminding him that Arthur was still Arthur after all. Cyrus was good at reminding Arthur of the kind of person he was.
"Hey! You must be my new roommate!" A jovial blonde man peeked his head into Arthur's new dorm, his head kept down as he nervously tugged at the beanie that his cousin had knitted him. It was bright pink, as per Arthur's request. He wished to spread awareness of each type of cancer per month, and he figured that he should get breast cancer awareness out of the way before hand. Even if it wasn't quite October yet. Besides, the pink truly hid the lack of hair that plagued Arthur's scalp. "Neat hat man! Most dudes I meet can't really rock the color, but I am glad you are deciding to fuck off with toxic masculinity." The man plopped next to Arthur, adjusting his broken, bright orange glasses to the bridge of his nose. His stormy grey eyes locked to the hazel fog of Arthur's gaze.
"I didn't realize I had masculinity to say fuck it to." Arthur murmured, pulling the hat over his eyes as a blush overtook his features. "Jesus...Um...I wasn't expecting I had to live with anyone. I mean, I am not sick anymore but I doubt anyone would want to live with someone like..."
"Cancer?" The man assumed, his eyes lightening. "Well. I am glad to hear you aren't sick anymore. Besides. The beanie looks great on you. Um...by the way, my name is Cyrus." The man took Arthur's hand gently in his hand, a grin consuming his features entirely.
"Like the biblical king?" Arthur inquired tiredly, a chuckle escaping his weary lips "Or the childhood pop star who I am sure will go crazy at some point. Or maybe already has. I don't know. I haven't been watching the news. Too busy throwing up and pulling my hair out."
"Uh...I prefer the biblical king. I guess. I don't know man, my cousins would know more about that stuff anyway."
"Same with mine. Im Arthur...by the way,"
"Like the Arthurian legend?" Cyrus inquired with a smirk, his eyes suddenly filled in concern for the man in the pink beanie. "Just like that king, you can overcome anything that comes your way."
"Even a bastard incest related child?"
"...I pray you haven't gotten to that point your life yet Arthur."
"And I pray you never have to save a man named Daniel from lions."
"Holy shit that happens? Better call my friend Daniel and tell him to stay away from the circus, the poor bastard."
"I know where we are going this week, Persian Majesty."
"Oh Sir Arthur, I pray no blood shall be shed with this friendship." Cyrus smiled as Arthur slowly peeked his head from the beanie. He smiled genuinely for the first time in nearly a year.
Arthur snapped from his memories, his shoulders slackened in his peace. He did not realize it until this moment, but his color of peace was blue. Blue was something that Cyrus wore often and enjoyed to use whether it be writing or for simple scribbles. He swallowed. That...explained a lot more than he was hoping for.
"I got her." Arthur claimed as he went over to the blonde woman, slinging her arm around his shoulder. "Would you just prefer if I carry her all the way? I would at least like your permission before I do." Arthur claimed with a small shrug, humming his nervousness away. Quincy had this under control. So did the brunette. This was going to be alright. He knew it would be. Arthur decided to use some energy on the blonde's side to assist her there, getting her to her feet. "We've got you blondie. You can count on us. Promise."
Nat watched as Quinn didn't resist at all to Noble's assistance. Her vibrating didn't cease, but she had forced enough clarity into her gaze to nod at the hero in acknowledgement. "Yeah...J-just be careful with her," Nat said, instantly cringing as soon as the words left her. Of course the man would be careful; she just couldn't help that nagging anxiety deep inside her gut when it came to Quinn. As they hobbled off into the Trial Chamber, she gratefully took the stabilizing devices, giving Quincy's hands a brief squeeze. "Thank you, Quincy. I assume the floor has been cleared and a major experiment announcement has been distributed throughout the building, so I won't waste anymore time. If you want, you can wait out here...It's entirely up to you." Another reassuring squeeze and then she was also entering the chamber behind Noble and Quinn, snagging a bodysuit on the way in.
She slipped the suit over her clothes before running a mental check over with the splicer. Everything seemed to be in order, as set as everything could be with a rushed job like this. If this worked and she truly started working for WPHO, then she'd go back and spruce this up for sure. It had potential to be quite helpful for future altercations. But that was speculation for another day. Quinn was set up on the opposite end of the Trial Chamber, her form seeming so frail and small in that moment...The sight cleaved her heart in two. Hoping to save face, she swallowed shallowly and looked over at Noble. "Get ready. This is...It's going to be intense."
She raised the splicer, mentally cursing upon realizing that her hands were shaking. Quinn leaned against the wall, pure exhaustion, defeat, and resignation rolling from her being. Nat's eyes stung and she could've sworn her own heart would snap her ribs. The brunette's lips slowly peeled about to mouth 'I love you'. The blonde smiled encouragingly, the expression so strangely depressed and loving.
"I love you too, Precious."
Nat's gut sank.
"Get in position, Noble." Her finger rested on the trigger. A pause. A moment of hesitance floating suspended in time...Then she crushed it under her heel, grit her teeth, and pulled the trigger.
A high-pitched and hellishly loud whir pierced the air. Before anyone could blink, a ferocious bolt of electrical energy blasted from the splicer, the force behind it nearly knocking Nat off her feet. However, she remained upright and had to bite back a cry as the force nailed Quinn in the chest. The blonde immediately seized, her entire body rigid and trembling from what she imagined to be a pain beyond compare. The tears rolled freely down Nat's cheeks, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. The lights up above and around them flickered as the device began to pump more and more energy.
"I promise I will be careful. I promise, she's going to be alright." Arthur reassured, his tone heavy with reassurance and interlaced fear. Arthur knew that she could easily assist the blonde woman into the trial chamber, but he feared what was going to occur after the experiment. He did not want the woman to perish, and he feared his own fate, a thought he knew was selfish and lingering. He did not wish to think of such a thing, his sympathy remained for the woman. He did not wish for her to be torn apart from her lover. He did not wish for his power to cause her death.
"The floor is cleared. I am going to give you three space for the experiment. I will be back to make sure she is stable once the test is complete." Arthur's head turned towards Quincy, who squeezed the brunette's hand in return. His shades were removed, his light brown eyes shimmering with hope and an empathy for their situation. He did not appear to be a drone after all, which comforted Arthur. He knew that Cyrus was an empathetic worker as well, but he could not be sure if all other words shared Cyrus's sentiments and desires for his job. Not everyone was as kind and selfless as Cyrus Booker, yet Arthur could rest assured with Quincy overlooking the test.
Arthur guided the blonde woman into the chamber, sitting her down at the table, making sure she was at least comfortable before she was to experience the electrical outburst. Arthur gritted his teeth. This was going to hurt. He knew that much, and he needed to prepare himself for the agony that he was going to assist in causing this woman. He knew that this was for the better, but guilt built up like plaque at the edges of his brain. "Um, I haven't known you long, but uh, care about you too blondie." Arthur snapped his fingers before stepping back, observing the brunette's movement. He was surprised how complex the machine she built seemed to have been. Arthur knew of his intelligence, but he was also very, very aware that he could not build something of this caliber. Not in two hours. Arthur found that he was growing fond of the brunette's integrity, his nerves relaxing now as he felt he could trust the process.
That this truly had a chance at working out for the best.
That blondie and the secondary energy both had a chance at making out of this alive.
"In position." Arthur claimed, clamping his hands before him and breathing in, swallow and rugged.
"Gunner? You there?"
"Kiddo...I don't think Im gonna be of much help...I feel a little unsteady..." Gunners voice boomed, informing Arthur that the likely suspect was tormenting him and draining him of his usual energy. Arthur bit his lip. That wasn't good.
"Eliza?"
"Are you sure you want this sweetheart?"
"You said you'd keep me stable. Besides. You are strong enough to help with this, just in case we need to stop the process for any reason."
"I am here for you, my little one." Arthur found that his body was consumed with the familiar, warm presence of Eliza's spirit. He did not enjoy the possession piece of the process, but with Eliza, he found that he was truly, truly at peace. Eliza knew how to do this with him, make him feel safe as she guided his body, rather than overtook it. Her form flooded over Arthur's physical form, the mask horribly reminding her of her time alive. She exhaled, her head turning to meet the brunette's.
"I've got you sweetheart." She observed, calm, patient, bright pink energy sparking at her fingertips. She soothed Arthur's weary soul as she allowed him to rest within his own mind, craning her neck as the splicer was activated. She grimaced as she could feel the agony of the two spirits. The blonde was in horrible pain, beyond comparable to what Eliza had ever been through.
Including what had ended up taking her life.
"Now, Noble!"
I miss the name Masquerade. But I suppose this is fitting for my little one.
Humming patiently, Eliza raised her hands to release her energy, recalling what Arthur had told her about how much energy this was going to require. I can't go too far. And I must focus on splitting the two spirits...
She began with little energy, then increasing to the proper voltage for the poor woman. Slowly, she focused on the second entity within the body, seeing if she could ease it out of the poor woman's body. Come on sweetheart, I'm going to get you out of there...jut work with me....
Nat caught sight of Noble's form...changing from her peripherals. His body wasn't exactly morphing, but it was suddenly coated in a shape not his own. A woman. Her skin transparent and radiating what the brunette assumed to be astral energy. Another aspect of his powers, she assumed. She didn't have any time to ponder or question his methods; she had already confessed that she trusted this man and going back on it was no longer an option.
The splicer was warm, even through the thick material of her gloves and suit. She almost feared that the device would overheat, but then reminded herself that the sensor on top would prevent this from happening. She gritted her teeth as Quinn's trembling grew violent. Was this...was this how she looked whenever she experienced a seizure? Rigid, shaking beyond control, veins in her neck visibly contracting as her eyes rolled into the back of her head...
It was terrifying. Nat never, ever, in her entire life wanted to see Quinn endure this kind of agony. No one deserved to feel like this. Another tear trailed down her cheek, drying from the stifling heat building in the chamber. She could've sworn the temperature jumped several degrees as Noble's pink energy enveloped Quinn. As soon as it grazed her skin, the blonde grew fretful and violent in her motions, as if she was battling an internal demon to the death. And then it happened--
"Ahhhh!" Quinn's agonized scream shredded Nat's heart to pieces. The speedster began vibrating once more, but it was far more distorted and...wrong. So completely and utterly wrong in every sense of the word. For a flicker of a moment, Nat could've sworn she saw half of Quinn's face morph and shift into someone else...
"C...C-Colette?" Before shock could numb her to the bone, a sickening noise filled her ears. Ripping. Flesh, pulling itself apart, fiber by agonizing fiber. Nat couldn't see Quinn separating at all, but she could hear it reverberating deep in her gut and it stirred nausea within her. She was almost thankful that it was drowned out by another noise, but Quinn's shrieks proved to be far...far worse.
The lights threatened to flicker out, running on its last inkling of energy as the building's power grid was drained. The monitor scope began to blink rapidly--it was nearly its limits. No...no, no, no fuck not now! Nat's eyes burned. She couldn't afford to stop. They were so damn close! Among the chaotic swirling and crackling of energies, she could discern Quinn's writhing figure. Fighting with everything her soul had to offer and more. It would be hellishly sinful to give up now.
Finally...finally, Quinn's form solidified into place, rays of energy setting her skin aflame as the astral energy tore from her being. A humanoid beacon of lime green wiggled free, clawing its way out of the blonde's body. It screeched a horrid sound, formless hand outstretched like a plea for help. However, it then shimmered and fluctuated like a pixel plane, microscopic beads of something solid knitting and adhering to it like skin. It spread down the spirit's arm, revealing a ghostly pale complexion, then further up its neck to the underside of its jaw.
Silence plucked from the void.
In a sharp suction of air, the energy condensed around Quinn before imploding. A powerful wave of feedback smacked into Nat. The brunette gasped from the force behind it and found herself thrown off her feet, flying back to smack into the wall. The air rushed from her lungs as her finger released the trigger, slumping to her knees and cradling herself with a series of pained wheezes. The florescent lights shattered and a massive network of hairline cracks riddled the concrete walls. WPHO's backup generator whirred to life, dousing the building in a red lights as the intercom buzzed with the announcement of power failure.
Through the aches and lack of oxygen, Nat slowly sat up and peered through the haze. She could vaguely make out silhouettes. Two of them. Quinn's first came into view, unconscious, but seemingly unharmed aside from the cuffs of her clothing singed.
And then a second body...a second body.
"Oh my God...o-oh my God..." Nat feebly crawled towards them, eyes wide and glimmering with raw relief. "...It worked," she whispered hoarsely.
Eliza grimaced at as her energy overtook the blonde woman, wracking her body with agony. Eliza had seen horrific things while being alive, and had seen even worse while she was with Gunner. This poor woman's pain, however, struck a chord with the woman's soul. Eliza's throat clenched as sudden, thundering waves of pain rolled over her skull. She could sense the absolute confusion and striking pain that the two energies were suffering, causing her own teeth to clench. Observing the two bodies begin to split, the second energy clawing it's way out of the blonde woman's body.
"Huh...This is new." Eliza mumbled to herself and grit her teeth, the energy continuing to over flow from her fingers. She could see an occasional red spark form, but she did not let that worry her. She refused to let panic over take her and her little one. She needed to keep herself at ease during this. For Arthur's sake.
Eliza had never enjoyed shutting down other people's screams from her ears. It was her job to over look the innocent, to protect them when no one else could. Yet she knew in this moment that she could not allow for the stranger's shrieks overwhelm her system.
"I've got you El. Focus on us...not her. It's okay. She's gonna be okay..."
"El...my head El..." Gunner and Arthur's voices began to meld into each other as they attempted to soothe her, Arthur's body beginning to falter underneath the use of energy. Eliza had almost forgotten how horribly tired Arthur would grow after each major usage. She knew that this mask was beginning to suffocate and all she wished was for her little one to be able to breathe.
She noted now how there was a piece of green energy, which relieved her immensely "That...huh. I have never had to do this before...I can't believe it worked." Eliza muttered, mostly under her breath. Skin appeared to wrap around the energy as it ripped from the blonde woman, a sight that fascinated Eliza. She did not realize it was possible to force two astral energies together. She had heard a story from the man who had given her the mask after he had returned home from the war, who claimed that he used the energy to protect those around him during his time, however there was one thing that Eliza did remember before he fully entrusted her the item.
"I never had seen something so goddamn awful than what happened over there, girly. A burst of energy here and there to protect the camp, no one even knew that I was doing magic tricks because they were too damned distracted by the thought of gettin shot. I didn't even have the damned thing on my face and I could still do voodoo...you know...I sometimes wondered what the other's souls felt like when they died. Of course, I felt it. They left, they existed, they just...went somewhere I couldn't read. But this one man...His soul...his soul clung to someone else...I don't know how he did it...but he was there. Damn solider thought he had some sort of insanity. But that solider who had died...he was so desperate to cling to something. Was he afraid to die? Or was he afraid of hell? I dunno, is there a hell to be afraid of? I always assumed so, and perhaps that's why I have the mask with me. Being scared of such a thing saves you from a fate that...well, hasn't happened yet. Tell me, girly, are you afraid of hell?"
Eliza answered as she always did.
Of course.
She was snapped from her memory as a burst of energy suddenly flung back and struck her in the center of her figure. She barely had time to catch herself and was slammed back into the wall, a wave of Arthur's pain rocking her to her core.
Little one it is okay...little one it is okay...
She slid into a half sitting position, her breath caught in her throat. "Ah....that was a bitch." She claimed, slowly struggling to her feet as she kept her form over Arthurs. She felt both energies returned to their bodies, her smile palpable behind the checkered mask. "Ha! It worked!" She claimed, making her way over to the brunette woman to make sure she was alright. "How are you fairing sweetheart? My little one and I are very proud of you." She continued, hovering her hands over the woman's shoulders. Her eyes peered to the two unconscious forms. "They should be awake soon, but their spirits are tired..."
"Heaven seeking or hell avoiding? See kiddo, it really doesn't matter if you are a good person, if you are God fearing or fearing of several gods, what truly, truly matters about this mask is this. Y o u a r e a f r a i d ~" The previous owner's voice haunted her. She swallowed and shook it from her head. No. No no. She wouldn't think of him now.
"Rest easy, little one. I will care for them..." She pressed her hand over Arthur's stomach, inhaling for him as she could suddenly feel the body underneath hers shake. "They are alive little one...You did wonderful."
"How are you fairing sweetheart? My little one and I are very proud of you. They should be awake soon, but their spirits are tired..." Nat had flinched at the unfamiliar voice and her form stiffened further upon realizing it was Noble...but not Noble. It was clearly a woman's mirage of some sort covering his form, but he could care less about the implications of his powers right now. All that mattered was checking on Quinn and...Colette. Of all people. Of all fucking people. No wonder Quinn was suffering so much; not only was a foreign soul crammed into her body, but it belonged to the absolute bane of her and Nat's daily life. Colette was cold, mocking, spiteful and a total bitch.
But...even then...Nat was powerless to fend off the twinge of sympathy in her chest. None of their positions were ideal. Everyone endured agony in their own horrendous way; all that mattered was the pain was over. Finally...finally over. Nat gently waved off Noble...err, Noble Lady? Ms. Noble? Fuck it, she would stick with Noble. Point was, she gently brushed away his touch and reassured him in the most level tone she could muster, "I'm fine, Noble. Um...thank you. I, uh, I'm proud of you as well. You did great. Seriously...this wouldn't have been possible without you and Quincy's help. I'll always remember this." Having said her piece, she shifted focus back to Quinn and crawled over to the woman.
"B-baby? Sweetheart? Can you hear me?" With the gentlest of touch, she hoisted the woman up in her arms and brushed stray blonde locks from her face. She seemed so peace, as if she was merely sleeping. Even then, Nat couldn't overlook the singe marks and the acrid scent of...of just burned flesh. Quinn didn't seem to be harmed in anyway, so the underlying smell baffled her. However, her thoughts derailed as a gentle groan escaped Quinn, followed a moment later by languid shifting about. "S-sweety? Bluebell?" A hand tenderly caressed Quinn's cheek.
Slowly, hazy and sky blue eyes fluttered open. They struggled to focus at first, but the sensation of Nat's encouraging touch guided her through the tunnel and back into reality. "...Precious?" Quinn grimaced. "Jesus...Why does it feel like I went through three rounds of Thunder with Jungle Juice last night?"
A smile graced Nat's visage. Her Quinny was back. "It's just the atom splitting, sweety. Does it feel like you can stand?"
"Barely," Quinn mumbled. It wasn't an overstatement; she only had enough energy within her to sit up halfway before falling still, exhausted. She managed to prop herself up with Nat's help, however, and watched her girlfriend blearily as she retrieved the stabilizer from Quincy and approached Colette's body. Initially, Nat moved on shaky and cautious feet, but as soon as she was within close range of the woman, a gasp pierced the air.
"Oh God...o-oh fuck," Nat whispered as she fell to her knees beside Colette. "Jesus...This is so f-fucked." Despite having a physical body, the one containing Colette's soul was incredibly weak and fragile. She barely had any fat left on her body, her cheeks hollow and pale, lips dry and trembling, her chest rising and falling to an erratic beat. It was the prominent stretching of skin over ribs and hip bones that had nearly set Nat off into a vomiting fit, but she had swallowed it down and turned to Noble anxiously. "Bring in Quincy! I-I need a blood sample and these two transported to the infirmary for nourishment now!"
Quinn stared at the motionless woman in bubbling horror. There was no way...There was no way that could be Colette. Not the same aggressively confident and pompous bitch who had been torturing her for weeks. Surely, they couldn't be one in the same. The blonde never thought she would witness her harasser in such a horrid and vulnerable state...It twisted her guts in knots. "Colette..."
Rushing them into the infirmary didn't take long, though the entire process felt like it had lasted an eternity for Nat. They had to treat Colette's body with upmost care, as if they were dusting an ancient butterfly wing. She had never dealt with a body of such fragility...of such decay. With the health she was showing, Nat assumed the worst.
She was currently studying the blood sample Quincy had taken for her under a microscope. The lack of sleep and constant stress was slowly weighing down on her. There were a few times beforehand in which her vision doubled and her mind floated, but she had done a decent job hiding it from the others. She couldn't afford to pass out or seize, not quite yet.
She zoomed in. Something seemed...off with Colette's blood cells. She continued to zoom in more and more, her heart rate climbing with each tuning of the dial until...Her chest collapsed in upon itself. "Fuck...fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." She pushed away from the microscope as a hand flew up to her mouth in shock. Jesus. This couldn't be happening. After everything they've done. After all the hard work and stress they cranked into this...
Voice shaky, Nat called out lowly, "N-Noble...you might wanna come look at this."
"My little one appreciates your kind words. He shall keep them in his heart." Eliza replied, a gracious and patient smile upon her lips. Her eyes flickered back briefly, her hand pressed against the accursed mask.
Sweetheart, are you ready to...
T...the second energy...she's...she's not well...Arthur's voice echoed weakly through her skull, her breath catching in her throat as she realized very well that the energy was weaker than she thought it would be. But she did recall Arthur's words to the brunette woman, stating that the energy relied on the primary consciousness in order to stay afloat. Her mentor's words stung true and bitter in this moment, how some energy became desperate to stay. The woman she had extracted was indeed weak, grotesquely so. Eliza was surprised to see she was even breathing, her skin stretched thinly along her skeleton. Eliza had seen this before hand, having lived out in the suburbs of New York during the twenties, some people were better off, while others were starving, ill, or had simply neglected their children or other loved ones. Bile threatened to build upon her tongue, and she was silenced until her little one's new found friend appeared to have noticed.
"Quincy!" Eliza called, the man peeking into the doorway with speed and grace, eyes seeming wide at the sight of both Eliza and Colette. However he turned his attention towards the sickened woman, his features softening with sympathy. He inhaled sharply, the spark vanishing behind his glasses. He did not speak, his hands nearly trembling as he reached forward to assist the woman with one foot in the grave.
Time appeared to disappear around Eliza as the next moment they appeared in the infirmary, Quincy taking blood samples and attempting to stabilize her. She was surprised to finally hear Quincy's voice boom, a single name escaping him
"Cyrus! We need you in here!" Quincy disappeared beyond the doorway, Eliza's form shimmering as she attempted to coax Arthur back out into reality. If the woman died now, it would not be Arthur's fault. She understood now that Arthur was no longer afraid of killing someone and gaining an eternity within the mask. He was genuinely horrified of this woman losing her life. Eliza heard the woman call out to her little one, and she gently inquired onto him
Are you ready?
Yes. I should look at the blood samples...
It's not good is it dear.
No. No it's not. Is there anyway I can still assist?
I have faith that you can find a way my dear. Eliza reassured, slowly relieving control back upon to Arthur. Once Arthur was in total control of his body, he gasped out against the mask, eyes fluttering briefly.
"Oh sweet Moses. I need a second." Arthur claimed, hand clamped over his chest as the nausea dissipated. His eyes flickered over to the brunette as she asked of him to look at the sample. He peeked into the microscope, his heart dropping to his stomach. "She...her cells. She's dying. And at an accelerated rate. How is this even possible?" Arthur swallowed hesitantly as he examined, realizing very well that this woman was dependent on the blonde for survival as he had hypothesized. Her cells most likely couldn't function on their own.
"Hey Nobs, hows it..." Arthur's head peeked up to view Cyrus Booker, his glasses forever cracked down the middle. His grey eyes shimmered in worry as he was very well aware that there was something wrong. "Oh, oh God. How can I..."
"We split them, initial accident fused them together. One is dependent upon the other, her cells are dying out..."
"Um, buddy from what you see do you think I will be able to stabilize her?" He inquired, his form already hovering by the woman as his hands gently wrapped around her arm. "I...I can try and keep her cell count steady."
"I don't know. Just...just try until we can think of a way to fix this..." Arthur's nails began to scratch at his scalp as his mind went from thought to thought. That woman needed a body to attach to.
Nat felt like she couldn't breathe. Why? Why did this have to backfire? What...What had she ever done to deserve this? What had Quinn ever done? Anyone? No one should have to endure this Hell, especially not to taste a safe haven, only to have it ripped away from your grasp so violently that your nails bled. Not even Colette deserved...
The brunette could've sworn she wheezed, slapping a hand over her chest as reality crushed her lungs flat. She glanced up at Noble, hating herself for how vulnerable and cornered she must've looked in that deafening moment. "I...O-oh fuck, I...I-I don't know what to do I...I don't know--" Another wheeze, this one more profound than the last. She had reached her limits. Her body could no longer handle the stress and a dreaded restlessness nagged at her insides. No...no, no, no. She refused!
Nat shot up from her seat and staggered out of the lab into the halls. She needed a moment; however, before she stepped foot outside, her shaky voice carried over to Noble. "T-tell them. We..W-we have to..." Her body roared in protest; whatever sentence she attempted to utter disintegrated and the throbbing in her veins doubled. Oh God. She felt sick. Nat exited the lab quickly and slapped her back to the wall. A muted cry of despair ripped from her as she slid down and clenched fistfuls of her hair.
Quinn Bonnibel Kimberly & Colette Jacquot Fournier | Location: WPHO Infirmary | Interactions: Each other
It was so quiet. So empty inside her head. She had forgotten what a free mind felt like. It was liberating, the returning of a loved one long lost, and just...relieving.
Quinn felt weak. She knew she looked far worse than she felt, which wasn't a surprise. Although her memories were fuzzy, she could recall the sent of burnt flesh and clothing, prominent and nauseating. Whatever contraption had struck her was insanely powerful and had put her poor body through the ringer. Headache, joint pain, muscle soreness, tender skin, especially around her torso...Quinn had seen better days.
Being trapped in this bed inside of an infirmary wasn't much of an improvement. The blonde always hated hospitals, as her imagination always ran while in the establishment. A cough here. Surely a patient suffering from pneumonia. A groan there. Heart attack. Just because this was a single chamber rather than an entire building didn't mean that her anxiety lessened any amount. It still sucked.
A groan crawled feebly across the room, catching Quinn's attention. Usually, she'd be grateful to the sound for grounding her back into reality, but this reality was unsavory and the origin of that sound posed as the parasite that had burdened her for nearly a month. Quinn lulled her head to the left, coming to face with the actual bane of the existence...
How could such an evil presence look so fragile and helpless? The thought and sight tied Quinn's stomach into knots. "C...Colette?" The woman in question was incredibly slow to respond. Her skin was ghostly pale and thin, like sodden paper laid over a network of blue veins. The ball of her wrist stretched grotesquely against the poor excuse for an organ. Her hair used to full and voluminous and fell past her shoulders, the bangs kissing her forehead perfectly trimmed and shiny. But now...the scraggly mop atop her skull appeared dead or, at the very least, hanging onto life by a few threads. Craters rested under her tired eyes and ate away at the flesh of her cheeks. The woman emitted another groan, more pained than the last, and stirred slowly...
Quinn knew what was happening. Noble and the others had told her long before Colette was conscious. About Colette's cells. About how she was dying--rapidly.
And how merging once again was her only chance of survival.
Quinn had taken the news without a single shred of sanity. She treasured that reserve now, held it so closely to her heart that the muscle and her brain would threaten to meld into one. She had been quiet, reserved, falling deeper and deeper into sweetly missed silence of her own mind. And she reflected.
But now it was time to talk. Quinn wasn't sure if she was ready, but life waited for no one. Life absolutely hated her and Colette.
"Fuck, my head..." Colette whispered. She attempted to sit up on her elbows, but herself incapable of moving an inch. Her chest heaved, exhausted just from trying, as her eyes widened in perplexed horror. She ogled the gown resting flimsily over her, like a mound of abandoned and rusted tools cloaked in a putrid green film. The same hue steadily rose to Colette's visage and she slapped a hand over her painfully chapped lips. "What...w-what's happening to--" A wet cough. "T-to me..."
Quinn's vision snapped back to the ceiling. When she spoke, her dull voice startled the French woman.
"You're dying."
...
Nothing was said. Among the silence, she could make out the pathetic wheezes and dry swallows, likely Colette's attempt to fight back emotion. "Well, well...shout puzzah," Colette chuckled. The sound made Quinn's nerves tighten and crinkle, as if her entire being wished to inch away from the latent pain. Such a hollow and bitter laugh. Colette's palm was slick against her sweat-laden visage. "It seems that...y-you'll finally have your wish."
"Even in your final moments, you're turning this shit on me," Quinn growled while snapping a glare at the woman. She barely flinched, opting to meet the glower head on with dead eyes. Unbelievable. Her gaze was the first to pass over and leave its orbital corpses behind. Disgusted, Quinn looked away, taking a moment to gather herself. "Can't you be a decent fucking human being? Especially now? This...This is it for you, Colette. Seriously. Isn't that hitting you at all?"
"L-like a freight train...you damnable simpleton," Colette said. Her accent had thickened and hitched on her last words, submitting to the raw fear clawing up her throat. "But what am I to do? I'm no fool...While I was held h-hostage within that dimwitted skull of yours...I could feel it. Feel my life essence...dissipating." The ceiling lights were blinding and somehow caustic against the skin clinging to her sharp cheekbones. She basked in it, savoring her last sensations on Earth.
"...Why didn't you say anything?" Quinn asked, voice small and confused. She never envisioned Colette as one to silently accept her fate; the French woman was filled to the brim with fire and defiance. Stubborn and stern, proud and unbreakable. An angry scoff from Colette yanked her back into reality.
"Oh, please. As if I would confided in y...you of all people." The brunette paused to wheeze more heavily than before, her lips trembling from the effort. "Did you know? I...I could witness all your thoughts. All your dreams. Your fears...Your memories of Natalie." A ball of oxygen lodged in Quinn's throat. Another broken cackle. "M-Mon Dieu...You thought of her everyday, every waking hour, every nightmare and every dream. I've seen so much of her. Happy...Happy...Th-the first time I've seen her express such a level elation." Quinn wasn't entirely sure, but she could've sworn Colette sniffled, only to banish the thought instantly. The brunette was never one to weep or cry, nor to wear her weaknesses upon her sleeve.
And yet, even then...there was no denying it.
"She...I was never able to provoke that sort of happiness f-from her. And yet you? You do. Constantly. And h...here I was, forced to experience it on a loop."
"Sh-shit..." Quinn's mind was thoroughly scrambled. There was so much to take in...the first being that Colette and Nat...Colette's words insinuated that they had been... "Colette...don't you fucking lie to me." Her shoulders tensed. "Were you two, y-you and Nat, well...Did you two--"
"Date?" Colette finished with a sigh. Quinn could only bring herself to nod; an anxious series of tapping emitted from her stomach, where her clasped fingers drummed against her knuckles. "I am indeed traversing down the path to death row...so I suppose coming clean is of no consequence to me. Yes. Natalie and I were...i-in love." A grimace twisted her visage, "Until she met you and just...discarded me like expired milk. Abruptly. Just...without any heed nor warning."
For the first time, Colette locked eyes with Quinn. The absence of strength in her gaze was crippling. "Y-you stole the light of my life."
"Colette...I..." The blonde's chest heaved, pupils shifting about in her skull from side to side. She had no idea. None. She didn't know. Nat had never unveiled this to her--ever. It explained so much, explained everything. Why Colette hated both of their guts. Why Colette gave Quinn Hell every second her presence loomed about the station. Why so much cold hatred and betrayal dominated her very being. No...No way. That doesn't excuse her being a bitch until her dying fucking breath.
"I didn't know. I...I swear I didn't. She never told me--"
"Oh, shut up!"
"But I swear!"
"I said shut up you stupid--!"
Colette rolled onto her side and spiraled into a cough fit. Her insides lurched violently with each lunging of the diaphragm, the volume growing in intensity, yet it could never hope to match the agony ripping her to shreds. However, it couldn't rival the pain Nat's atomic splicer put her through...it exceeded that. Ran beyond the physical plane of experience and seeped into her spirit like liquid venom. "F-...F-fuck...you..." she wheezed. And repeated. "Fuck. You! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, f-fuck..."
Quinn heard the sob before she saw the tears.
Quinn felt lost, incapable of forming a coherent sentence while in the presence of Colette's breakdown. She almost feared that the atomic splicer had killed her and sent her to a sadistic purgatory. A limbo plane wrought with woeful Colette's and skeletons spilling from Nat's closet. The blonde moved slowly; her body throbbed angrily, yet she ignored it in purchase of sitting up, legs dangling off the edge of her bed. She found herself studying Colette's bony back, which heaved and trembled with every hiccup...She could count each individual vertebrae from here.
"I fucking hate you, Colette...And I'll never regret falling in love with Nat. I'd never take back the moment we met." The brunette didn't reply, but her whimpers softened ever so slightly. A sign that she was begrudgingly listening. "But, J-Jesus. Colette. I...I don't want you to die. I know I said that so many times, promised on my everything to hurt you back but..."
"Now you n-no longer have the g-gall to...to do it."
"Not just that." Her nails embedded themselves into the sheets. "All this time, I thought I was the only one going through hell and back. You...You made me so fucking miserable. Like I wanted to rip my head from my shoulders or something. You drove me fucking insane, Colette." A short round of silence. "But it turns out I was torturing you just as much as you were torturing me. You're angry, Colette. I get it. You feel hurt and abandoned and...for fuck's sake. You were trapped inside my head. That's...It's awful."
"Is it w-wrong to presume that your babbling comes with a purpose?"
Quinn chose to ignore the jab and pushed on more sternly, "We're both fucked, no matter what. We fought and pushed one another until my head was about to split or something. It didn't make either of us happy, you know? I, uh...I don't know, Colette." She swept stray bangs from her visage and heaved a deep sigh. Pure exhaustion seized her by the bones. "I feel like...I feel like we could get something out of this. I know being in my head seems just as bad as dying to you, but I'm willing to tolerate your shit if you're willing to tolerate mine." She scoffed under her breath. "Yeah, I sound like a damn lunatic. You don't have to tell me."
"...I don't know what I desire anymore," Colette whispered. Her words seemed fragile, carefully crafted from the thinnest of paper dipped in water. "Whether I wish to live in pain or...die in misery. I-I can't choose...I have no reason to. I have no reason to care. To exist."
Quinn didn't reply at first.
...
Once she found her words, they pierced the air like a sharp wind chime.
"Maybe...maybe I can help you find one?"
Colette allowed her eyes to flutter closed, lonely tears trailing past her nose and staining the pillow.
She didn't fight the comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hey sweetheart. I see you are awake. I brought you some ginger ale. I...I thought I'd make a pun. You know. G-ginger." Arthur's cousin greeted him from the opposite side of the room, a clack of her heels informing him that she was approaching the bed. He peeled one eye open to observe her fall to her knees, placing the can of soda upon the bedside desk. She buried her head into the sheets, Arthur's form shifting slightly at her movements. "Y-you look a little better today buddy. I am...I...I brought you a birthday gift of sorts." She blindly reached into her purse, revealing a bright, bright pink beanie. It was knitted by hand, an image of a heart sown into the front, as well as little orange balls of yarn adorning the top. It was ridiculous, but in its own way it suited Arthur, calming him and presenting a weak smile along his lips. He knew that he would most likely wear this hat until he died, and he graciously tipped his head towards his cousin as she adorned the soft, wool hat upon his bald head. It comforted him with it's warmth, his eyes fluttering closed as a few words managed to seep from the corners of his mouth
"You are twenty two today Izzy. You shouldn't be here. Shouldn't you be, I don't know, drinking? Having a good time or something? Aren't there girlfriends to spend time with, men to attract? I...That was rude of me. Thank you for the gift. I adore it. But shouldn't I be the one to give you a gift? You know, being able to survive for twenty two years while you have this bag of flesh to handle?" Arthur briefly choked upon his words, his body weakly jolting up as nausea shot from his stomach to his tongue. Izzy shot up from her seat, but with one movement of Arthur's hand, she remained still. He finished his brief struggle, slumped back into the bed and whimpered. "Please don't look at me while I'm like this Iz. I need you to be happy."
"Arthur. You make me happy. I am not leaving you. N-no matter how much I want to...c-cry." Izzy managed, kneeling once again as she took his frail hand within hers. She squeezed. "You do look better today. And that's not just the hat. I t-think the chemo is working. N-not to mention they a-are gonna try and do s-some marrow transplants. T-they think they can do that okay...It's a good thing they c-caught it when they did Arty." She brought his pale hand to her lips, her eyes squeezing tightly shut in pain. "Maybe we can try and get you out on a walk today buddy. I don't think you've had enough sunshine."
"I feel like if I move I am going to die." Arthur mumbled, his head tipping to the side, his big hazel eyes inspecting his cousin. "Izzy. I am serious. You don't have to stay around. I think I am just going to rest today. I don't think I can do much else than that."
"If you feel like this is your last day than I am not leaving you." Izzy claimed, her demeanor softening as Arthur realized she was holding back tears. He sighed roughly, his own cheeks red with emotion.
"Hey...hey. It's not my last day Izzy. I am just over exaggerating. It's because I feel so much and don't know how to handle it. Feeling is good. I am not going anywhere. Please don't cry." He squeezed her hand, biting his lip. "H-hey. Um. You know, I don't like seeing you sad. I-is there anything I can d-do to make you smile?"
"J-just being here is the greatest gift you could give me. I don't need anything else." Izzy mumbled, her grass laced eyes fluttering briefly as a melancholy smile pressed against her visage. "I...Heh. You know what would make me feel better. It is something you sort of hate..."
"Izzy...I am not sky diving. Please d-"
"No. Remember what I told you me and mama used to sing on my birthday?"
"Oh, you used to...sing. You used to sing Build Me Up, Buttercup, didn't you? It made you laugh. I remember. You sang it to me when I was down as a kid. You want me to sing it with you, don't you?"
"I know you hate it."
"No. I don't. Come on, Izzy. If it makes you happy. Let's do it." Arthur cleared his throat, a chortle escaping him as his silent crying threatened to suffocate him
"Why do you build me up, buttercup, just to let me down and mess me around. And then worse of all..."
"You never call, when you say you will but I love you still. I need you more than anyone darling, you know that I have from the start." Izzy soothed in after him, a little smile on her lips. Arthur could tell she was struggling not to show emotion, either.
"So build me up."
"Buttercup."
"Try to find a little time."
"And I will make you happy."
"I'll be home."
"Ill be beside the phone waiting for you."
"Why do you build me up."
"Buttercup..."
Warmth spread through Arthur's body, sweet and unexpected. His heart fluttered, tears streaking down his face as a little laugh escaped him. Izzy was still holding onto his hand, her whole body trembling. "I feel alive. Thank you Izzy."
"Then my day is worthwhile. Do you want to try and..."
"Yes. Get me out of here. Please."
Arthur snapped out of his thoughts and he found that he was overwhelmed with emotions. He couldn't be here while he watched this woman dying. He held up two fingers to Cyrus, who seemed to understand what was happening to the man. He nodded his approval before Arthur exited the room, tearing off his mask from his face and placing his hands over his face as he trembled.
"S-shit. Shit." Arthur cursed, brushing his hair back before he turned to see the brunette in the same state of mind as he. His mask was dangling from his hand, but in the moment that didn't matter. The mask was suffocating. It prevented him from truly connecting. He knew that he needed to connect to this woman while she was suffering. "Hey. It...It's going to be alright." He called out, attempting to put on a smile. It hurt. He was surprised at how much he hurt. "A-also d-don't be blinded by the paleness. J-just a warning." Arthur swallowed, stuffed his mask to the wayside pocket of his costume's coat. His eyes directed themselves tot the floor. "We did all we could. We did good. B-but I can't stand to be in there." Arthur began to pace, lacing his fingers through his hair. "Im sorry about all this. I really am. I am sorry if I didn't do enough. And I am sorry if I was ever an ass earlier. I just want you to know that I admire you for your strength in there. And as shitty as this has turned out...we did do something remarkable. I'm just...sorry this had to go this way. I would give my life for that woman to stay alive. I...I wish I could."
Nat's breathing had evened out the best it could in the span of a few minutes. It wasn't by much, though; her chest heaved with the occasional heavy intake and fresh tears continued to roll down her face. She was drained. She no longer had any fight left in her, not even with the burning need to help Quinn and Colette pounding against her ribs. This was the end of the line.
"Hey. It...It's going to be alright." Noble's voice forced Nat back to reality, no matter how much she loathed to do so at the moment.
"N-not it's not," she mumbled bitterly. "I fucked up. I fucked up so bad a-at the absolute worst time. Noble, I...I don't know if I have the right to even l-look at her again." Absolute fear swallowed her whole at the thought. She had just got back the love of her life, the last thing she wanted was to lose her again. But she failed. She was a fucking failure. Unreliable. At the end of it, did she truly deserve Quinn? Regardless, the brunette finally looked at Noble upon hearing his warning and fell silent as she took in the man's visage.
Young. That was the first and only word that came to mind. Other than that, she was far too beaten down to be shocked by the fact he revealed his identity to her. It was a dumb move on his part...but Nat wasn't stupid. Or clueless. Or heartless. Deep down, she appreciated the act. "You're...not that pale. It's okay," she said, uncertain of how else to brush it off. She watched the hero pace back and forth, his own anxiety building to nearly match her own. It made her somewhat uncomfortable; she wasn't entirely in the right state of mind of comfort someone else, but she would try.
"Hey...hey, Noble. Stop." She stood up to seize the man by the shoulders, forcing him to cease his pacing and lock eyes with her. She gave him a gentle shake. "Don't...d-don't add on to the atmosphere around her, alright? I appreciate the help you gave and you clearly care. A lot...And that means th-the world to me. Seriously. I..." Nat's voice temporarily failed her. This man had put his all into helping her and Quinn, and now he was just as devastated as she was. He was a good guy. And maybe, just maybe, a potential friend. But, for now...She gave a comforting squeeze. "You've been a wonderful teammate, Noble. And I swear...I-I swear, I swear, I swear...We're going to figure this out. It isn't the end, dammit. Not by a fucking long shot."
Some of the determination in her demeanor was force. No, not the determination. But the confidence. Her faith in herself had been thoroughly dismantled today. However, she knew there was a future chance. The atomic splicer could be modified, studied under a hypersensitive scope. Tinkering with it around the clock. This wasn't the end. She refused.
Like before, Nat pulled him into a very fast and awkward hug, before taking a step back to sweep hair from her eyes. She rarely hugged someone more than once a day, unless they were Quinn or Detective Yamanashi.
