The Spark. (001/Peter Ballard/Henry Creel Fanfic)

- 14

(cheers)

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He was hurrying. The kind of hurry you do when you have somewhere to be but cannot look like you're hurrying. Somewhere between a brisk walk and a jog, 001 headed down the twists and turns of the cold lab, slowing down to give a polite nod to workers and subjects who passed by. A totally doing my job and being polite, definitely don't have somewhere to be nod. The kind of tight smile that didn't quite reach your eyes.

And yet, it worked. He, hopefully for the final time, made his way down that cold hallway, the tiles so familiar it made his heart ache. But he could fix her. He had to. The door was shut, possibly even locked, and yet it gave 001 a sense of relief no sane person would get from a door being locked. But in his mind it meant she was in her room, meaning he could do this once and for all.

Once and for all.

So, without even knocking he used his abilities to shove open the door, lingering in the feeling of that satisfying stretch from his powers interacting with the things around him. He could have knocked, could have waited for her to open the door for him, but no. A small, selfish part of him did it just to prove to himself that he could.

"Hello? No knock or nothing?" a voice called through the now half open doorway. The only voice that could bring him to his senses. That sweet voice that used to say his name so affectionately. No. He shook his head, no point to linger in the heartache of the past. It was time to focus on the future.

001 stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"Sheesh, what happened to you?" A1 asked, her eyes shifting over his face, his collar, his neck.

He turned slightly so she could no longer see the injury. It was merely a dulling pain in the complex plan within his mind, less than a setback. It was something that needed to happen, something unavoidable. And he could care less about the pain, too adrenaline high over the mere prospect of what he was about to attempt.

"Turn around" he ordered in a sharp tone, watching her raise a brow from where she was sitting on a chair. His chair.

"The hell did you say?" she bit back, crossing her arms over her chest, making it very clear she was not moving. And yet, something in her tone, in the way she sat told him something had changed. Likely some instinctive reaction, her abilities sensing his again.

"Remember what I said about the chip? Turn around."

Her eyes widened after a moment, her gaze snapping back to the chip sized wound on his neck. She had pieced together what had happened, or at least some of it. He knew her, knew her face of realization, the way her eyebrows slightly raised, hery eyes widening only a sliver.

"Peter, where's Tate..?"

"Turn around."

"Peter-"

"Please," his voice cracked with the plea, his eyes finally meeting hers, "it will make sense in a bit, just please turn around."

Something in his voice, in his tone must have convinced her. Her face softened a bit and she turned around, leaning on the back of the chair.

001 stepped over, raising his hand to hover above her neck. He closed his eyes, tapping into the power that was finally coming back to him. But fuck, it was a lot harder than he remembered. It took much more out of him to feel around the space around him with his abilities, let alone to search under skin. But he pushed through, for her. Anything for her. He gently swept her hair back with one hand and placed the other on the back of her neck. To his surprise, she didn't say a word. He stretched his mind, his powers, much more than he had in a very long time. The pain took his breath away, traveling up his neck, into his head, resting behind his eyes and spreading to a steady headache.

But there.

Underneath layers of skin and flesh, he felt something off. She did too, apparently, a small gasp coming from where she sat, splitting through his quiet mindscape version of reality. He wrapped his powers around it, and once he was sure it would come out in one, sharp tug, he felt a squeeze on his arm. He wasn't even aware of it, so embedded in the foggy mindscape world that it made him jump. A small squeeze that seemed to say, "I'm ready."

And with that, he tensed up and then yanked his powers back, slamming himself back into reality in one long tug. He heard something clink on the floor, but his headache was too harsh for him to care. He sunk down into a ball position, covering his head with his hands and closing his eyes.

Deep breaths, one after another was all he could focus on to try and dull the pain. And then, very gently, a warm touch cupped his cheeks, gently lifting his head.

He dared to open his eyes, and there she was;

Crouched down in front of him was A1, her hands softly cupping his cheeks, a smile so sad and yet so happy it made 001 want to cry. A1, soft tears running down her cheeks, tracing blurry lines down her face.

"You asshole, I should have listened to you," she said, her voice cracking with emotion, torn between utter joy and complete sorrow.

"Like I said, I'm always right," 001 rasped back, his voice cracking.