Reality Check

The Disappearing Act

Medicine (by Dayglow)

"I'm on the outside looking in. I never said what I really meant. I wasn't made to be medicine for you . . ."

___

Charm couldn't believe she'd let Kiel come for this. Bringing him along? That was a recipe for disaster.

Not to say she particularly minded his company, though. Okay, she did, but it was better than doing this with — say — Owen, which would just make her uncomfortable. Charm was used to going on quests with Kiel. They'd known each other since they were little, so they'd gone on practically hundreds together.

Not all of them had been by choice. And by choice, she meant her choice. From the moment Charm met Kiel, she hated him. She thought he'd get a little less annoying or a little less dumb by the time he was older, but nope! No such thing. On lots of occasions, she even tried to ditch him while going on quests. He always seemed to find her, and then he'd make a joke about it.

Ugh. He was the worst.

If she hadn't been there to help him, Charm knew, Kiel would've winded up dead a long time ago. He tended to make decisions that usually led to them almost dying, so that always left Charm to fix things the logical way. Always.

Although, she had to admit that he was useful in a fight. He'd saved her many times with his magic, just not to the extent he liked to brag about. She would never say he was as incredible as he tried making himself look, but he was one of the few people she sometimes liked having around.

This time, though? This was not one of those times.

"So, this is nice!" Kiel was saying. "Two lifelong friends about to power up a time bracelet. With electricity. Electricity is dangerous, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "You haven't known me that long. And it can be, if you get electrocuted."

"Sounds fun."

Of course he'd think it was fun. She held back a groan. Could he get any more annoying? After all the years they'd known each other, she'd think he'd be easier to deal with. But Kiel always proved her wrong. She might consider him her closest friend, but did that make him any less annoying? No.

"We shouldn't have much farther now," she said, keeping her eyes trained on the tall power lines in the distance.

While Kiel hadn't been able to see it (no surprise there) Charm had detected it's location easily. She told him she'd been able to see it from far away, but in reality, she'd just scanned the area for the largest amount of electricity. Once they got closer to the road, they'd be able to reach it.

Charm hoped she wouldn't regret agreeing to this. If she did, she and Kara would have some words when they saw each other again. But, as Charm had discovered, Kara was surprisingly smart. And that wasn't something she could say about everyone, especially not Kiel. Sometimes Owen, though she'd never tell him that.

They headed down the forest path, Kiel talking her ear off the whole way. So much, that she wished she had duct tape to put over his mouth. Or a sound-proof helmet, which she could build in five minutes if given the materials. Unfortunately, neither was an option, so she'd have to settle for trying to tune out his rambling.

Her head was bent as she stared at Kara's time bracelet, turning it over in her hands. The properties of it were fascinating, unlike anything she'd seen in Quanterium. Of course, there was time travel back in her world, but it wasn't very common. Charm wasn't fascinated by much other than the most challenging aspects of science, and this was no exception.