Van Terra [MOVING JUNE 30]

Chapter Seven ~ Physically I'm Here...

They stepped off the elevator on the thirteenth floor and made the short walk to the apartment. Jasper flung the door open with as much flair as she could muster through her pain. "Welcome to my home."

"Our home," Holly corrected.

"All you do is complain about the place."

"I just find the furnishings a bit—much." Holly's hand brushed the gold frame of an abstract painting stolen from an upper district museum. The rest of the apartment was furnished with mostly black, balanced with some white, and accented with more gold. And hot pink. Anything that caught Jasper's eye while she was out and about.

Jasper gestured to the black couch in the front room. "Have a seat, Angel. Jax, Thea, could you take a look at her injuries? I have no idea how much is cybernetic and how much is good old-fashioned biology."

"I don't really know, either," Grace admitted as she sat down. Pain flashed across her face as she stretched out her wing for Jax and Thea to examine.

Jasper leaned against the wall and traced a finger along the blade of a sword hanging behind her. Her favorite sword: a weapon with a wide blade that excelled at deflecting bullets and glowed pink with the flip of a tiny switch in the darker pink handle. She usually kept it on her but had left it home today to ensure the police wouldn't have a chance to confiscate it while she got arrested.

"Thea, is the extra bedroom still filled with your junk?" Jasper asked.

"It's not junk," Thea replied as she sat down next to Grace. "You wouldn't get anything done without my tech."

"Okay, whatever, is the bed clear at least? Can our guest sleep in there?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine." Thea rested a hand on Grace's shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "There's some pretty complex wiring going on here."

Jax sat down on the other side of Grace and examined the wounds on the side of her face. His palms glowed a faint blue, signaling the use of his healing power.

"Is my wing okay?" Grace asked.

"There's not a scratch on the wing," Thea told her. "Whatever the feathers are made of, it's tough. Probably a galaxium alloy of some sort." She leaned in and frowned. "There is some damage to some components under your skin, but I can get them working again with my powers alone."

Holly moved to Jasper's side. "I still think this is a terrible idea," she whispered.

"Noted," Jasper replied.

"Are we really going to keep her around until we take down Starr? We have no idea how long—"

Jasper cut Holly off with a sigh. "I don't know. Right now, I'm focusing on Ringmaster. Once I have a better idea of how useful she'll be when it comes to Starr, I'll start thinking long-term."

The blue glow faded from Jax's hands and he stood up. His powers weren't a cure-all, instant fix. He could get rid of light scratches in seconds, but for anything worse, he essentially gave the body a boost to speed up the healing process.

Thea stood, too. "Go ahead and see how that feels," she said.

Grace stretched out the wing and winced. "Well, it's better than it was," she said. "Thanks."

Jasper clapped her hands together. "If you two are done, I'll show her to her room."

She led Grace down the hall and opened a door on the right. "You've got your own bathroom, and there's a closet you can go through for clothes," she said. "We keep tons of extras around for disguises. I'm sure you'll be able to find stuff that fits."

Jasper watched Grace survey the room for a long moment before continuing. "We aren't hitting Starchatter until tomorrow morning, so you have a full day to rest."

Grace turned around, surprised. "You're taking me with you?"

"I don't like the idea of leaving you unattended," Jasper said. "I mean, you can stay here, if you prefer. But you'd be safer with me than alone." Holly would throw a fit if Grace tagged along, but the team would split up to do reconnaissance anyway. And once Grace got her bearings, she might actually be helpful.

"I guess that's true."

"We're just infiltrating the building and looking around," Jasper added. "Nothing exciting."

Grace swallowed. "Okay."

"I'll let you get some rest. Holler if you need anything." Jasper pulled the door shut and turned around. She found herself face-to-face with Holly.

"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days," Jasper said.

Holly's dark expression didn't change. "I sincerely doubt the Blades would find her here."

"I'm not taking any chances," Jasper replied. "Now, could you go be creepy somewhere else?"

Holly rolled her eyes and stormed off to her room. Jasper walked to the kitchen. Thea sat cross-legged on the counter, typing on a laptop, while Jax searched the fridge.

"Does anyone else want to file a complaint about our guest?" Jasper asked.

Thea shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really care."

"Cool. Jax?"

Jax straightened up and closed the fridge door, an assortment of meats and cheeses and vegetables in his arms. "Uh, I guess she seems nice?"

"So, you two don't think I'm the world's biggest idiot for helping her?"

"Not for that reason, no," Thea said.

"You kind of did the same thing with us, didn't you?" Jax dumped his food onto the counter.

"Yeah. You'd think Holly of all people would get that," Jasper muttered. She left the kitchen and went to her own room, where she shrugged off her coat and laid down on the bed. Her mind was too chaotic for her to sleep, but she figured she'd at least give her aching body a chance to rest.