Electra
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"Thank you," Erin told Travis politely, her smile a little more real than it might have been a few weeks ago. She still had a lot to prove to Trevor's grandfather, but she no longer worried quite so much about his potential disapproval, and that made things a lot more comfortable. "This isn't the end," she told Sage, her words almost echoing Oliver's, for all she didn't speak to the cat that way. "We'll still be in town, we'll still be around. Even Mark can teleport back whenever he wants to. Nobody's really going away."
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There was a moment of disorientation as the link was established, Eve's own consciousness temporarily distancing itself from her body in order to delve within the shattered mind of the girl she was trying to help. Opening her mental "eyes" as the link took hold, Eve found herself in a dark, strange room, with walls that seemed to be made up of broken rubble and a few pinpricks of reddish light shining through cracks in the ceiling. There was a broad doorway behind her that appeared to have been hacked out with a sledgehammer, offering easy access to whatever was on the other side of the walls. In the corner, in the darkest part of the room, a figure was huddled, hiding.
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Miss A started to say that she'd intended for them to go see Eira while he got some rest, but decided to save her breath. He probably knew what she meant anyway, but couldn't resist another visit. They'd just make sure it was a quick one. Nodding to Sharl to come along, she fell in beside the Baron as they made the short journey to Eira's room. Along the way, Miss A lowered her voice to ask Magnus softly, "Have all the preparations been made for end-of-life care for the body, once we're done with the digitizing? I don't want to see Eira or her parents distressed any more than necessary by what has to happen there." At this point, when it was a matter of when Eira's body would die rather than if, keeping her body comatose and pain-free after the procedure would be something of a mercy, but if not handled properly it could also provoke the kind of existential questions that the family didn't need right now. Her best suggestion had been to allow the parents to stay with the body until the upload was complete and Eira was awake in her new environment, then reunite them quickly while the shell that had been their daughter was moved somewhere else. In a hospital this size, she doubted it would be a problem.
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Wander Raptor Ready (8ish) Some Who Wander Are Lost (17ish) Iron Bars a Cage (16ish) Sleep Sound Tonight (17ish) Graduation Day: Noise of Thunder (5ish) Full Circle (39) On Your Way Out (7) The Measure of a Hero (4) The Last Picture Show (2) We'd All Go Down Together (12) Fleur de Joie Angels Unaware (14) Room for Rent, Spacious, Good View (25) The Stars Went Out (16) Miss Americana One Out of All Things (15ish) Second Opinion (10ish) The City of the Future (30) Double-Edged Blade (1) Other Fishies in the Sea (10) NPC Time Spent With Cats (Oliver, 3/1)
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"I think we've got the basics down," Miss A told him, "and I'm sure the hospital staff can help any of the setup questions we might have. This space should be fine for the theatre, and we'll use one of those other rooms for a team command center, and probably a third to let people bunk down as needed. I'm hoping everyone got some rest on the trip." She gave an arch look to the support staff they'd brought along, most of whom answered with smiles. "Do you mind if we go look in on Eira while you're resting?"
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Wander crouched down next to Eve and put her hand on her shoulder, her own face whiter than usual. She'd only gotten echoes over the link, but most of it wasn't new material to her and she got the gist of what was happening. "Stop it, now," she told Singularity sternly. "She doesn't need to see any of that. You're hurting her." Truthfully, Wander wasn't sure if she was so concerned about Eve's peace of mind or her own. She didn't like any of those images being shared any more than Eve probably wanted to see them. In the cell, Singularity raised her head, arms wrapped around her knees. She smiled with satisfaction. "Mine," she said, very definitely. The alien thoughts were gone, all that was left was, if not pleasant, at least her own.
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"Yes, he's very good," Erin agreed, with hardly a hint of reluctance. For all she'd feared and resented Dr. Marquez and his power to control her destiny when she'd first come to school, two years of very hard work with him had brought her attitude around significantly. "Do you have many people who were supervillains or almost-supervillains working for you?" she asked. While she approved of the idea in theory, it seemed like something of a security risk. She cocked her head as she caught the sound of the students growing louder. "Field trip?" she asked.
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"He is nice," Erin said awkwardly, not sure exactly where Mark was going with that thought. She was saved by actually catching sight of the two distinguished Hunter gentlemen on the other side of the graduation buntings. "Hey, they're over there," she told Mark, leading him over to the others. Today she was wearing the same outfit she'd bought for job interviews, so at least she looked decent even without the cap and gown on. As they caught up with the group, Erin gave Travis a smile and a polite nod, then slipped her hand into Trevor's. It was a gesture she might not normally have made in public and on campus, but today was an unusual day. Leaving was hard. "Hi Eve," she said with another smile to the slight telepath. "Looks like we'll have good weather today."
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Singularity hid her face as Eve pushed memories into her through the link. She could feel them wash over her, pretty and tempting to look at, to hold onto, but they weren't her own thoughts. They were fake, not real, just a trick. Suddenly, she got an idea. Memories could go two ways. Maybe the telepath would go away if Erin could just fight back. Across the link, she forced her own memories to the forefront of her mind and through to her foe. The memories didn't survive the process well, all broken fragments, but even momentary views of dead loved ones and the crushing grief that accompanied it, the terror of armies of walking dead bearing down on her, the rage and helplessness and hatred of capture and prolonged captivity, all those were enough to make quite an impression across the link.
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"Yeah, okay, we should probably try to focus mostly on the task at hand here," Wander interrupted, trying to intervene before an argument broke out that left the spaceship stuck in the church basement. "It doesn't sound like there's a lot of non-dinosaur sentients or plants in the Forever Empire's neighborhood. When's something's scarce and it's life of death, you have to use it. That's sort of the way nature is," she added, looking at Willow. "But around here, there aren't any big sentient reptiles," she told Runs-With-Claws. "We, humans," she said, waving an arm around, "we're at the top of the food chain here without a lot of pressures or threats. So we have to police ourselves and try not to let happen to us what happened to the people who came before you. You guys are really far from home right now, and we'll try and get you back where you belong. But you owe it to us to show some gratitude and some politeness while we help you."
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Singularity stared into Eve's eyes, her own face impassive, all but slack. Over the mental link, though, Eve could feel the fog of a growing despair, and a feeling that swirled around a few moments before coalescing into an actual coherent thought. What else is there? Behind that thought, for just a moment, Eve got a glimpse of a mind so full of horrors, it didn't seem as though there'd be room for anything else to exist. It didn't look like an appealing place to visit.
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Erin shook her head, even as she rose to pick up her robe and mortarboard where they were spread out on her bed. "The other Erin's graduation party is this weekend," she told Mark. "They sent me a card, it was nice." She shrugged one shoulder for the lack, having long since accustomed herself to the fact that there would be no one for her in the audience at graduation. Oliver butted his head against her thigh, and she gave him one more pat before following Mark out into the hallway. "Trevor should be here soon, he was going to pick up his grandpa before everything started."
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"No," Singularity muttered, rubbing her cheek against the bear's head. Wander sighed. "Do it," she told Eve. "If you have to do it, better to get it over with, right? She's not likely to ever say yes to getting her mind messed with." Folding her arms, Wander studied her confined counterpart, the only sign of her own continued stress a foot that wouldn't stop tapping.
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"Absolutely," Erin agreed with feeling. "You're never alone so long as you've got your friends." Corny as Mark's favorite saying was, on a day like today, it resonated with her. "Anyway, it's getting the diploma that matters, not whether anybody comes to see you get it. Graduations are boring anyway." She shrugged, half-smiled. "Trevor's grandpa is coming, I know, and there'll be some other parents in the audience, but I think it's going to be mostly a school crowd. Alex checked, cause she wanted to know if she could talk about powers and stuff in her address. She's really excited." There'd been no real question who the class valedictorian would be, but it was still an honor for Erin's petite roommate.
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"Not really," Erin told Mark with a shrug, "I've been too busy with everything else. Finals and trying to get a job nailed down, all that stuff. I still haven't got a place, so I'm going to be staying over with him for the next few days." She shrugged, smiling a little ruefully. "Figure I'll be able to relax a little more after all this is done with anyway, right? And Oliver is excited to be able to check that whole huge house for any mice running around." She hesitated a moment, then asked, "So, any sign of your folks?"
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"Come on in." Mark stepped in to find Erin seated at her desk, sorting through some school papers. Alex's side of the room was totally cleared out now, and Erin's would be very soon. Erin had more stuff now than she'd had when she arrived at Claremont two years ago. Back then, all her worldly possessions had fit into a dufflebag and a half-full knapsack. Now that she'd moved up in the world, all her worldly possessions fit into her duffle bag, an entirely full knapsack, and a medium sized packing box that mostly held Oliver's stuff. The room looked like it had when they'd moved in, with perhaps a few more thumbtack holes in the walls, and a very small kittyscratched area in one corner of the carpet. Erin hadn't been able to sleep last night, so the cleaning was already done, and the whole place smelled like Windex and Endust. "Hey," she said, giving Mark a tired sort of smile. "You all ready for this?"
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"I appreciate it, whenever you want to give it," Erin said, though she didn't sound too confident. "I think I'm probably a lot more likely to land a regular security job. And that'll be fine," she added, just a little too firmly, as though she were trying to convince herself just a little bit. "Either way, I'm sure we'll be working together as long as we're both in the city, there are just too many bad guys cropping up all the time for anybody to not be necessary. You don't even have to be on a team to do hero work practically full time."
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"Everyone here is here for Eira, Magnus," Miss A said gently. "You have some of the best technological minds in the world giving Eira all of our considerable attention. We're going to do everything we can to save her, and there is no one who could do it better. The reason we're here is because of you. There is nothing you could've done that you haven't done already. Right now it's time to put aside any what-ifs, any might-have-beens, and concentrate on what we're doing today." She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "And part of that means that you're going to take us to the hospital and show us where to set up, then go and get a few hours of sleep. We're going to need you on top of your game when we start this."
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"I see me too," Wander murmured, though she didn't sound exactly happy about that. The shattered, demented girl in the cell wasn't exactly a reassuring or flattering reflection. For now though, Singularity seemed to be calmer, releasing her own skull to pat the bear again and smooth its fur. She still didn't appear thrilled to have them there, especially Eve, but it was a start. Inside her mind, Eve could sense a waiting, cautious and pessimistic, but not quite as hostile. There was also the wooziness of what was probably a mild concussion, but Singularity didn't seem concerned by that part. "Nobody's going to hurt you," Wander said again. "This is a safe place. They treat you well here, don't they?" After a moment's hesitation, Singularity nodded assent.
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Singularity moaned and covered her head with her arms, fisting her hands in her short-cropped hair as she fought the intrusion into her mind. Her barriers were completely ineffective, just as before, and Sage's thoughts, emotions, desires flooded her consciousness. She rocked back and forth, tears trickling down her face, but at least the contact didn't bring further retreat or violence. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Wander asked dubiously, rocking back and forth on her heels in a subdued mimicry of her double's behavior. "I mean... do you think it's going to help?" She was still very thrown by Eve starting to talk out of nowhere, but tried to keep her focus on the task at hand, disturbing as it was.
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Stesha packed up pieces of lasagna and garlic bread for everyone, passing them out as the angels said their goodbyes. "It was very nice to meet you," she told Jeanne and Azrael, "and I'm very glad we were able to help you. Take it easy for another day or so and you should be fine. Italian food is good for whatever ails you," she joked. It was impossible to think of a quip for Azrael's parting line, for all she knew it to be true, at least in Derrick's case. The idea that their daughter would have the same sort of protection was comforting. She answered Nick's earlier question as she gave him his leftovers. "Anything you can find to bring for them would be wonderful. Gabriel has been amazing about finding sources for clothes, toiletries and food items, and is helping me get a foundation set up for their future needs, but they have almost no books right now. I'm sure they would appreciate them, especially anything with pictures. Why don't you give me a call someday when you're free and I'll have you over?" Heyzel got a hug goodbye, though it was quite awkward between her tummy and his wings. "I'm so glad to see you again," she told him once more, "and I'm glad you're going to be staying. Let me know if you need a place to live or anything to make it homey again and I'll set you up, all right?" She pressed most of the rest of the lasagna onto him, since he didn't have a kitchen. "And the same goes for you, let me know when you're free for a visit. Maybe I'll take both of you at the same time."
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Singularity sat on the floor of her cell, her head spinning, her body aching. Falling on the floor never used to hurt so much before she came here. Now everything hurt, all because of the bad handcuff! That wasn't her current problem though. She flinched when the not-Pathos telepath girl yelled at her, drawing in on herself and groping blindly with one hand for the bear that had tumbled off her bunk at the impact. Kneading it in her hands, she glared sullenly at the telepath, fully aware that she could do nothing to stop what was going to happen, but nonetheless entertaining thoughts of what she would do if she were free, if she weren't so sick and weak.
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The sudden spike in emotion seemed to galvanize Singularity. The frightened muttering escalated into a wordless shrieking as she was suddenly able to put a face to the voice in her mind. Even as the guards reached for their weapons, she flung herself at the invisible barrier, which caught her and launched her backwards into the cell with a loud electric sizzle. The mad prisoner landed hard on the floor, hard enough that it took her a minute to sit up again. Even then she looked a little stunned. Wander watched the whole interchange in open-mouthed astonishment, not even reacting till it was all over. For all her super-fast reflexes, sometimes her brain just couldn't catch up. "What the hell was that?" she demanded, looking from Sage to Singularity and back. "I thought you couldn't even talk!"
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"Well, like I said, you're both more than welcome to come out, even if it's just for a visit to get an idea of the place," Stesha told them. "It will have to be in the next few weeks though, since after that I think I'm going to be busy for awhile." She chuckled, then offered everyone seconds of the food. "I can pack you all up some to take home as well," she offered. "Dark Star is gone right now, and I won't finish it all by myself." She looked sad for just a moment, then pushed it aside with her usual indefatigable cheer. "It turned out too well to let it go to waste."
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Singularity stiffened visibly the moment the link was established, her eyes widening and her breath coming faster. "No," she whispered, a sentiment echoed as the predominant overwhelming thought in her head. She looked wildly at the young women outside the field, then up and around in every direction, as though she could make out who was sending thoughts into her head just by looking hard enough. She stumbled backwards a few steps, graceless in a way Erin rarely was, and rubbed her knuckles against her temples. "No, no, no,no...." Wander stepped forward, carefully avoiding touching the field. It's okay," she attempted to assure her double. "It's not Pathos. Pathos is gone. This is Eve, and she wants to help you feel better." Singularity continued shaking her head, projecting disbelief and fear over Eve's mental link. As she retreated further into the cell, they could see that additions had been made since her arrival, a small television screen, a pile of thin books, some basic toiletries. It wasn't much, but the place did look less sparse.