Chapter Twelve
Click grabs my shirt and I throw an elbow; it collides with metal and even through the padding I can feel it. Tripping her up she stumbles and tries to pull me down with her. Putting an arm across her throat, she has her one foot in my ribs ready to push me off. She gives me a nudge and I know she is going to try and flip me. Preparing myself, I go straight over her head and land on the other side of the mat. Pulling myself back to my feet, I fix the padded gloves and we continue to spar and let her train turning her skin to metal.
"Woah!" A hear a voice says surprised and I see the three Metac kids in the doorway of the training center in Caspian. Looking down at Click, I have her in a nasty headlock. Cranking it tighter, she buries her chin in the crook of my elbow and rips my fingers apart, and pulls me into an armbar before letting go. We are both drenched in sweat. Adjusting my mask, I tug it away from my face for a moment trying to get some airflow.
"Is something wrong?" I question winded and Faith shakes her head. Trying to make the high pitch ringing in my ear go away, I realize that isn't coming from me. Making eye contact with Faith, she tilts her head to the side, and it dawns on me that I have no clue what her ability is.
"We just weren't expecting to find you about to kill each other," Orion says uncomfortably, and I burst out laughing.
"I promise, she's fine," I muse, and Click grins. She lunges for me and I step forward and kick my foot back and she trips. Gripping her arm hard, I keep her from face planting, and she cracks up.
"You win," she says as I pull her back to her feet with ease.
"Do you mind if we spare on the other mat?" Orion asks and I glance at Click.
"We're done here anyway," she says sweetly, and I can see she's looking at Cabe.
"Oh, okay," Cabe says surprised and I rip the ultra-thin pads I have off and toss them in the bag. Rolling out my wrists, I can feel a few bruises forming.
"I can see your elbow bruising from here," Click comments as the other metas in the room warm up.
"Yeah, that one really hurt," I say with a wince and she tosses me the cold water she brought. I hold it against my skin for a few moments and Click grabs my bag and we wave to the other metahumans before heading upstairs.
When we get upstairs, I rip off my mask and chug almost an entire canteen's worth of water before grabbing one of the ice packs that Velcro's out of the freezer and wrap it around my arm. Sitting on the counter, I hear Click going to take a shower. Something shifts in the room and I dart and grab my mask and hold it over my face as Aviva appears.
"Aviva?" I question confused and she gives me a baffled look.
"This isn't the fourth floor," she says tiredly, and I give her a confused look.
"Are you okay?" I ask her concerned, she just missed by a lot and she sighs in response.
"Nine saves in the last three days plus a ton of meetings, this week has left me drained beyond belief," she says walking over to the island and leaning against it. I slowly lower my mask and put it on the counter next to me. She isn't wearing her glasses and probably can't see my face properly. With frames that thick, her vision must be terrible.
"Are you looking for the Metac trio?" I ask her still confused about how she missed by twenty floors.
"Yes," she says, and I can see the exhaustion in her eyes.
"Is it your week to train with them?" I ask and she nods before pulling her hair back. I take notice of her tank top and workout leggings.
"Yes, and I so look forward to spending time with them, but I am just dead right now," she says, and she puts her head on the counter. Undoing the ice pack, I pop my elbow and roll it out.
"I mean I can try to help, but I'm not sure if I could be of any assistance," I say. I am tired too, but I can probably go a few more rounds. Rolling out my wrists again, the water in the shower is off.
"Are you serious?" Aviva asks me surprised and I shrug, and she clues into the blooming bruises on my arms. Shit, maybe her vision isn't that bad.
"Did you get in a fight?" She asks me surprised and I chuckle.
"I mean I'm the one who picked it, it's not her fault she's punching metal," Click says strolling in to grab something to eat.
"Excuse me?" Aviva asks baffled and I chuckle.
"Click, do you want to tell her?" I ask quietly and she pauses in her pursuit of finding a snack to think.
"I am Viro's daughter, but I would appreciate if that stayed between us," Click says as she turns part of her neck to metal, and when I glance back at Aviva, her jaw is practically on the marble slab. So she can see, or can she see the molecules? I wish I could figure that out! But if she could properly see my face right now she would know everything.
"How? What?" She questions and stutters.
"It's a long story, but once he was imprisoned, I moved here to start school, but one thing led to another... eventually I ended up having my ass saved by Beta and the rest is history," she says barely saying anything in her story.
"We should get going, you don't want to leave them waiting," I say hopping down. Walking into my room, I grab a fresh mask and the pads for my hands.
"Don't overdo it," Click says seriously, I down a sports drink quickly pulling the dark blue mask into place.
"I've got this," I say without worry, and Click rolls her eyes before walking back to her room.
"Thanks for the assistance, it's mostly just sparring this week," Aviva says, and I redo my ponytail and follow her.
"Hi guys," Aviva says, and they all turn and stare at me.
"I'm not sure if we've been formally introduced but I'm Beta," I say and Aviva grins and the three metahumans nod.
"How are your hand to hand combat skills?" Aviva asks me and I resist the urge to snicker.
"I can handle my own," I say, and she pauses.
"Spar with Cabe, I am going to oversee the fights for now," she says, and I nod.
Throwing my hands up, Cabe does the same and we square off. Watching the way he steps as we circle, I am reminded so much of Alexander it hurts. His first punch is strong and well-aimed, but I parry it easily and counter. He blocks and so starts our back and forth. Sweat starts to pour down my face as we continue to fight.
"My money is on Beta," I hear a voice mumble and I try to focus.
Watching Cabe, I can see that his hits are far more aggressive than Alexander's ever was and that he was taught to street fight first. But the years of training he had under that man shine through brightly. He goes to fake me out, something I used to do all the time to win fights, but I am not fooled. His first hit barely grazes me, and I catch the second fist and nail him in his exposed stomach. Yanking him closer he stumbles, and I throw a strong punch right past his face and he halts.
"You win," he says winded, that punch would have ended the fight.
"You didn't fall for my fake-out," he says while trying to catch his breath.
"Who do you think Alexander learned that from?" I ask him and his head whips up.
"You were his sparring partner and the person that used to be the king of the ring!" Cabe says excitedly and I am surprised. Alexander actually mentioned me to someone?
"You know about that?" I ask curiously and he nods.
"He never said a name, or where you went. But when he was teaching me to control my powers, I was nosy, and he eventually told me that he taught someone else how to manipulate their electrical abilities. Now and again he would drop another anecdote about this mysterious person, but I never thought she would be right under my nose," Cabe says, pride in his eyes but his tone serious.
"He did teach me how to manipulate my own electrical signals, but I can only do it in short bursts. It's quite useful but can be very taxing," I admit, and Aviva looks at me in understanding.
"That explains so much," she says sheepishly, and I laugh genuinely at her expression.
"I thought you were the singular genius with good observational skills," I tease, and Aviva gives me a massive grin.
"I'm not perfect," she muses.
"I have to ask, who is currently the King of the ring?" It's a question I had wondered since I saw the team's expansion on television.
"Oh, it's Aegis, but Aviva can give her a run for her money some days. After that it's me and Alexander, we also go back and forth," Faith says, and the high-pitched noise starts to irritate me.
"Oh sorry, let me turn that down," she says, and she touches her watch and the sound is cut in half, instantly helping with my irritation.
"Aegis... that's Zana, right? Thalia adopted her?" I question carefully, I hadn't talked to Thalia recently, but Lyle has loose lips and loves to talk, and Click used to watch her a bit in high school. She tried to make it sound not creepy because she was just curious about Zana and had a hunch she was Aegis, but I will never not tease her about it being a little creepy.
"You know Zana?" Faith questions skeptically and I can see the protective look in all of their eyes.
"I don't know her personally, Calikta does. They went to the same high school, they were never really friends but then again they neither ever really made friends," I say, and they relax.
"Where does the name Beta come from?" Cabe asks me curiously and I cringe.
"I chose that name when I was in a dark place..." I admit and I can feel Aviva's confused stare, she probably just assumed it was because of my job title. I should have just said that, but it wasn't the truth. I chose it shortly after she joined the team as Alpha.
"What do you mean?" Cabe asks curiously and I grab my things.
"It's because I am a beta developer and engineer," I say before waving goodbye, leaving the room miffed.
Click and I cook dinner together and I keep rotating through the icepacks as they help ease the ache consuming me, I haven't fought that hard in a long time. Grabbing a drink from the fridge and head up towards the roof. Sitting up on the air condition unit, not in use, I pull my knees to my chest before tugging my scarf down and taking a swig.
I spend a while just gazing out at the New York skyline and questioning what I am even doing here. I am going against everything I set out to do ten years ago. I am right back with the people who did this to me, the people who hurt me the most. And yet; I don't mind. Things feel different, we are all so much older. Thinking about the way everything has been transpiring, I finish my first drink and crack open the second one and just contemplate what I am getting myself into.
Pulling my phone out, I scroll through the recently restored photos of Click and I. Smiling at the photo of us at the ice-skating rink, it puts me at ease. She is so supportive in all of the subtle ways, whatever I do she usually just follows and does whatever she can to help. I love her, I have since the moment I met her. She wants so much out of life, and she never lost her compassion even after she went through hell and losing her father. She was bitter when we first met, we both were, but she's let herself soften with time. Should I be doing the same?
Thinking back to what Cabe said today, and how excited he became when he realized I was the one Alexander had mentioned, it warms my heart. I can't help but begin to wonder if Cathleen has ever indirectly spoken of me to Aviva. She has to have, right? That's her wife and I am a person that Cathleen can't exactly pretend doesn't exist, we both played pretty big roles in each other's lives. Staring at the starless sky for a few more moments, I am startled by my phone.
"Hi, Click," I say amused.
"Where did you go?" She asks baffled and I laugh.
"I am just on the roof," I say and it's her turn to laugh. We used to spend hours on the roof of the warehouse talking and just enjoying how relatively quiet it was over there.
"Well there's a storm coming in, I would recommend coming back inside," she says, and I hop up and grab the two empty bottles before walking back inside.
Almost a whole week passes, and I don't run into either of the CEO's of Voyager which I found to be quite strange. I can occasionally hear Alexander's laugh from next door, but he never stops in to see me. I expected him to be nosier, maybe he finally grew out of that. Listening to some music Friday afternoon, I request the schematics for the boots earlier today and I can't wait to rip them apart this weekend. There has to be a better, less clunky method of developing them.
"Beta?" A voice cuts through my music and I look up surprised and see Aviva in the doorway.
"Hey, what's up?" I ask and I put down the tool in my hand.
"Do you have any plans for this evening?" She asks me tentatively as she closes the door behind her.
"I am just grabbing dinner with Click,"
"Would you be willing to attend the monthly recap this evening? You have helped out a lot this month and I just want to make sure our records are as accurate as possible," Aviva says, and I am surprised at how tentative she is being. She seems to swing from being someone who is incredibly forward and probes to a much, to a softer person who doesn't want to step on toes.
"Sure, I can stop by, but you said Cathleen has her memories back so I will probably stop helping out now," I say, and she nods.
"That's understandable,"
"See you tonight," she says sweetly before disappearing back to her lab.
Much later that evening, Click finishes up the dishes and I grab the boots from my new wardrobe and pull the clunky things on. Strapping my feet in, I sync them to my watch. Pulling a Mavericks long sleeve shirt on, the material clings to my body instantly. Grabbing a mask and my glasses, I give Click a hug goodbye before leaving from the roof.
Testing the boots, I am surprised by how easy it is to get the hang of them. Zipping past buildings, I push the shoes pretty hard and see how good the response time is. Turning on a dime, I roll slightly in the air before catching myself. Spinning in the air a few times, I lean back to slow myself down before dropping onto the roof. Grabbing my glasses out of my pocket, I put them on and call the elevator back down. Quickly stepping off, I walk into the massive open space. The tension in the room hits me like a walk and I almost turn around to leave.
"I would have brought a knife If I knew the tension in the room needed to be cut," I say trying to crack a joke and Aviva looks up surprised.
"Sorry we were just having a discussion, let's start the meeting," she grumbles, and the couch is full, so I grab an extra chair and plop down beside everyone.
"Wait, is this the Beta?" Zana asks confused.
"The one and only," I muse, and I can see her gears grinding.
Aviva runs the meeting with ease, and I use the notes on my phone to talk about the few things I helped out on. The rhythmic clacking of the keys as Aviva types is almost soothing and I try to ignore the budding tension in the room. Glancing at Macie, I catch her gaze and she looks away. We have only met once or twice before and that was years ago. I wonder if she even recognizes me.
"Alright that's a wrap," Aviva says, and she pushes her glasses up her head. Zana pops up and Orion grabs her arm before they disappear.
"Call me if you need me," Macie says quickly before heading towards the elevator.
"Well if that's all you needed, I'll be heading out," I say before standing up and stretching.
"I have a question before you go," Aviva says, and her voice is choked. Meeting her gaze, I can see the anger and distress in her features. Glancing at the guilty duo on the couch, neither will even look at me.
"That being?" I ask carefully.
"Who are you, to them?" She asks and she points at her wife and best friend.
"Cathleen has her memories back, correct? She can tell you whatever you want to know," I say, and I can almost feel Aviva's temper skyrocketing.
"She doesn't want to say anything," Aviva seethes and I turn my gaze to the CEO who is too busy staring at the floor.
"I mean I know it's probably an awkward conversation to have, but I am sure she has mentioned something that she can start with," I say confused. Something starts to eat at the lining of my stomach, and an uneasy feeling sweeps across my body.
"No, there isn't anything," Cathleen mumbles and I stand there stunned. She hasn't mentioned even the smallest detail about me.
"Even Cabe has heard stories about me, you are going to tell me you've never even dropped the smallest anecdote about me to your wife?" I ask Cathleen directly and she doesn't respond.
"So, you haven't told her anything, were you ever planning on mentioning something?" I ask trying to get angry over the situation, but a sense of emptiness and defeat blooms in my chest. Swallowing hard, I wait for her response. When I don't get one, I wait for my temper to spike, but I just seem to sink further into the pain.
"Answer me, Cathleen," I spit out and yank down my mask. I keep my back to Aviva and when Cathleen looks up annoyed, her jaw hits the ground, and emotions flood through her eyes.
"No, that answer is no," she stutters out.
"Woah..." Alexander mumbles and I pull my mask up and turn my head towards Aviva.
"We can have this conversation at another time Aviva, I'm sorry your wife is so prideful she still can't even admit her faults to you," I snip, and the shadows in the room surge.
"You have no right to speak about me like that," Cathleen growls and I lazily turn my gaze back to her and give her a flat look.
"It's almost as if nothing changed," I say dryly before walking past her and out of the tower.
"Wait!" Alexander's voice calls out to me and I take my finger off the watch.
"What?"
"Aviva does know about you, in some regards..." He says and I can feel him grasping for his words.
"I'm guessing that would be your doing?" I ask him in a bored tone.
"In the same way I never named names or said too much, she knows that there was supposed to be a different leader before Greyson took over," he says, and I wait for him to finish his thoughts.
"And?"
"I also mentioned that I was dating one of the most brilliant women in the world and that the day I let her walk out of my life was the biggest mistake of my life," he says firmly and my heart flutters slightly but I squash it with rage.
"Is that all?" I ask him, trying to keep up my indifferent mask. I knew getting involved with this team again was a poor choice, I am not about to get burned again. I am not going to make the same mistakes that I was too naïve to protect myself from ten years ago.
"Cathleen is going through a lot right now, I can't defend her for her actions, but I know she's really struggling with everything and her memories coming back," Alexander says, and the emptiness is filled with rage.
"She was going through a lot ten years ago too, but I'm not about to lose the other half of my face to her poor temper," I snip before tapping my new watch. I don't listen to anything else but take back off into the night, running far away from the storm brewing in the tower.
The truth is slowly coming out 👀👀 . A lot of people have asked why Xander doesn't have a wife or girlfriend and now you know why... he never moved on.
Don't forget to vote and comment!!
XX Cc