Going to work the day after you nearly get a potential intern killed is not only difficult, but extremely awkward. It's like when you break a bone and have to walk around with a cast; everything feels wrong and everyone around you feels the need to point it out. It's impossible to deal with.
It's also not a very common thing, so most people likely wouldn't understand.
I just had to play it off as if everything was normal. I was cleaned up and most everyone was accustomed to seeing colleagues looking sleep deprived, so I skated by there. Except, what I didn't anticipate, was Zoya's attack being the talk of the office. Everyone there had their whole attention on it. As I walked in, Miles the sports columnist stopped me.
"Did you hear?" He asked eagerly.
My brain flew into panic mode. I decided to play dumb. "Hear what?"
"Zoya, that intern from a while back, got attacked last night," Miles said, sipping his coffee excitedly as if Zoya's attack was the best thing he'd heard in years. "Heard she was trying to interview the White Knight. Who knows what happened after."
Miles's smile was off putting. I flashed him a fake smile, one that looked closer to a grimace, and shrugged. "Yeah, I heard. I let her do the story. I was supposed to do it; but it was the same article I wrote months ago."
"Wow.... That's tough." Miles nodded, smile staying locked on his face. "That must suck for you. And be good at the same time, ya know?" He flapped his hands around as he spoke. "That could have been you instead of her out there. I'm glad it's not! I bet you must be so relieved."
"Yeah... I mostly just feel bad." I said awkwardly. "But... I really gotta go, you know. Stuff to do."
I fled as quickly as I could. Miles waved me off. "Not your fault she almost died!"
By the time I reached my desk, my ears were bright pink and I was flushed. I set my stuff down with shaky hands, trying to collect my thoughts. I could feel my mind slip as I tried to ground myself at my desk, slowly failing.
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"Clear the table!"
My suit was soaked in blood, making it more red then white. My team scrambled to pull items off of it, eventually resorting to dumping the table onto the floor. The moment it was clear, I set my precious cargo down on the table.
Bernice seemed to have gained energy since getting stabbed. Blood flowing everywhere and adrenaline surging through here veins, she struggled on the table. She nearly slipped off one side nearly as she wiggled, letting out tiny sounds of despair as she wiggled. Lily was at her side in an instant, soothing her as if it would help.
"We're going to have to hold her down, aren't we?" Darwin's quiet voice asked from behind me.
"She doesn't need to be held down. She needs a doctor!" Theodore reasoned.
I sighed, searching through the cabinets for the med kit. "We can not take her to the hospital. It isn't safe right now. I'm going to buy her time."
"Buy her time?" Theodore sounded shocked.
"Look, I just need you to hold her down until I can take care of her. Just a few seconds, thats all." Ayo and Sydney, the trusty team stoics, were on it. The others lingered for a second before steeling their nerves and getting into place. I dug through the med kit, not finding what I needed.
"No. No. No. No."
Lily moved to my side. "That's not a good sign."
"We've only got local anesthetic." Lily caught my eye. "I can take care of that. Can you do the stitches?"
"Yes, but you'll be in pain the whole time. Are you certain you can maintain it as long as you need to?"
I pulled out the stitch kit and handed it to her. "We're about to find out." Moving to Bernie's side, I started to doubt myself. everyone had their eyes on me with varying expressions: shock, fear, determination. I had to keep my cool for my team. "Okay, I need you all to focus, tune out whats going on, and just hold her down. Lily will stitch her up, I'll keep her out. Doesn't mean she won't move, but I know every one of you can handle this. She's your teammate, your family, and I know I'd do anything for family."
"This is insane." Theodore's hands shook violently. "We caught Split. Doesn't they mean it's safe?"
"Theo. You can do this!" Ayo's voice was strong and I silently thanked his courage. I'd owe him after this, but that would be a problem from later.
"Everyone ready." Lily gave a subtle nod and I engaged my powers.
All I felt after that was pain.
When I woke up, I was on a couch. A familiar couch, the one that lived in the corner of the base for moments just like this. If nothing else, it was comfortable. What really shocked me was the face I woke up to. Devin loomed above me, not looking happy.
"Hi."
"What were you thinking? Making a stupid decision like that not knowing what might happen to you. What if you had hemorrhage or had a stroke or a heart attack? Why didn't you just take her to a hospital like a sane person would? What came over you to treat her at here, where you had neither the expertise nor the set up to take care of this? and why, WHY, would you drag your team into this knowing they would suffer from seeing her?" Devin was red and clearly livid. I was groggy.
"Bernie?"
"Even in pain, you care more about others than yourself." Devin said, softening visibly. "She's fine. You have all the equipment to take care of someone in her condition. You just needed someone to set it up and get her hooked up. She's stable now."
"Thank you."
"You know, you should probably keep this stuff set up and train your team on this stuff. It's not here as decoration."
"I'll keep that in mind." I quipped. "For next time."
"I swear to God, if there is a next time you will be dealing with more than a headache and exhaustion."
"There won't be."
"I'm sorry?"
"There won't be another time because there won't be a team from here on out." I mumbled. "I've had enough of this. Training, saving, helping, I have no idea how the others do it. I'm not a leader. I'm an idiot with superpowers."
"You're my idiot with superpowers, who has a team who look up to her. They depend on you for..."
"I don't care!" I huffed, trying to sit up. My brain buzzed out and my vision went black. "They're not my problem after this!"
"They will always be your problem. These people are connected to you now, and they will always be your problem for as long as you are all alive." Devin said as she wrapped an arm around me to steady me. "You can't give up on them now. Please, don't."
"Why do you care?"
"Because I care about you. And these people have been good for you." Devin wrapped me in a hug, as though it would help. "You love them. I love you. So I care about them, just like you do. And keeping this team together is good for everyone involved."
"Too bad. I've decided."
"That really is too bad."
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"Can I talk to you?"
It was lunch already, somehow, and my mind had been on everything but the assignment. So I sought out the one person I could always count on talking to: Lily. She was at her desk, typing furiously, very much not paying attention to me. "Sure." She continued typing without stopping, mind and body wholly dedicated to the project in front of her. I had spent enough time with Lily to know it would be faster to let her finish. When she did finish, she spun back to me. "Right, what's up?"
"This isn't really a here conversation."
She stood, collecting her stuff. "Cool. Let's get subs."
Once we were alone, I struck up conversation. "So, I was wondering if you can contact the team? I want to meet. Soon. Preferably tonight."
"Tonight?"
"It doesn't have to be tonight. But you know, sometime soon? This week, hopefully. Or not, if it doesn't work."
"Is this about Zoya?"
"No... Yes...I don't know... Can I just say it's complicated?"
"Yes."
"Can you do it?"
"Of course I can. They've been waiting for this for weeks. Tonight works, Maverick." Lily pulled out her phone, typed something in, and sent it. "Done. They know to be there. Tonight at 8 good for you?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm free all night."
"You know you'll have to tell Devin. If you're putting the team back together, she'll have to know."
"She'll be happy to hear it."
"You're going to have to tell her."
"That, I'm not looking forward to," I sighed. " I am looking forward to seeing my team, even though it's not going to be a very pleasant interaction."
"Well, thats what happens when you leave people who aren't in the best place," Lily replied. "They'll all get over it, eventually. Ayo may need a little more time than the others, and you two may need to spar a few rounds before you're able to make up."
I shuddered. "It'll be fine. We're tough. And Ayo, I know he's angrier at me for leaving than what I did while I was there."
"It will take time. I'm guessing more time than you're willing to admit," Lily reiterated. She went quite for a second, shifting hesitantly, before looking at me. "I have a question, and you don't have to answer."
"What?"
"Why now? Why, after all this time, did you decide to bring back together? Was it Zoya, or Devin, or something else?"
It took me a moment to respond. "I don't know. Part of it was Zoya. Seeing her, last night, it made me miss our team and what we had going. She reminded me of Bernice and of what would have happened if we had done the right thing that night and taken her to the hospital. And there was something else to. I got lonely over time. I've had someone looking out for me in the field since I started. Being alone felt weird, like I was vulnerable. I don't like that. I want them back."
Lily's phone buzzed. "Well, you're getting them back. They'll be there tonight. All of them."