Ari wasn't sure what to do, just the mere thought of her father in the hospital scared her. Thehospital brought back terrible memories memories she wished she could erase from her head until she remembered that she actually did have some of her memories wiped, when Cate decided to get rid of the real accident from her head...
That wasn't going to cure her of everything. In the back of her mind she knew she would never be able to forget her mother, or what happened to her.
Her mother was everything to her, and when she died from a surprise attack from one of her father enemies, she felt a little piece of herself die too, one that she never thought she would get back, not until Jordan reappeared in her life.
Now she was leaving jordan to be at the place she hated the most, perhaps a place that was worse than 'the woods' for her, though she knew others that had actually been there would choose a simple hospital visit to a lifetime in confinement.
Ari walked down the hallway alone as she basked in the silence. The halls were empty, she saw only a few nurses occupying them the whole time she was there, and it made her even more uneasy. She didn't like silence either. It reminded her of how alone she once felt, even when school first began. She had no friends, and even less no family. Now she had connected to her brother for the first time in years, gotten back with Jordan and made new friends, just because the school just so happened to be corrupt.
When she finally reached her dads room she stopped to take a big breath, but nothing could prepare her for the sight of what looked like her dads lifelessbody.
"Andre what happened?" She asked once she finally found the courage to walk in.
"He had a seizure on live tv, and even worse almost crushed me and all of the paramedics on the way here. They don't know if he'll wake up." He looked down, seated in one of the hospital chairs.
"How does this happen?" She asked innocently, to her just the idea of a supe being hurt meant danger. Supes were supposed to be the protectors, the heroes, and indestructibly. Polarity now was anything but indestructible.
"I don't know."
"First mom, now..." She doubted that he would ever wake up again, he looked almost dead.
"Don't fucking say it Ari." Andre snapped, this might be the man he always got into arguments with, but he was his dad.
"I'm sorry. It's true. Something like this has never happened to a supe before, not like this. He should be up by now."
"He'll wake up. I know he will." He almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself that instead of Ari.
"Andre..." she wasnt okay with her father dying, not at all, but she was used to not having him or Andre around, used to being the one who was shunned or kicked out fro the family because of something she didn't even do, and was framed for. So in this moment instead of being sad, like she thought she would be when she came to the hospital, her whole demeanor changed, she was mad... Mad because she knew that if her mom was still there she would have never treated her like that, she would have taken her side over anyones. And she knew that if her father never became Polarity, her mother would still be alive.
"I know what you're thinking."
"Do you, now?"
"I'm crazy for thinking he will somehow be able to wake up from this and everything will go back to norm-"
She interrupted him. "I don't want things to go back to normal, back to you and dad not caring about me, back to the two of you pretending like I don't even exist. I love you Andre, but I miss the old you, the old us when we used to stay up playing stupid videogames for so long, that mom had to come yell at us, when we made snowmen, and when you caught that huge fish when you were ten and tried to put the bait in my hair. Which was an ass move."
He has no clue what to say. Instead it all came back to him. He should have been there for her. He should have supported her.
"And I-"
Andre interrupted her this time. "I have been an asshole, even now. I should have never stayed away from you like I did. I should have been there for you. I mean we lost our mom and then you lost all of your friends, and were blamed for it when you didn't even do anything. I've been a horrible brother, and he's been a horrible dad, but I want him to live. And I know you do too. Things could change, I mean really change this time."
"I want them to. But how can we know they will? How can we really be sure?"
"So many things have already changed. I've been stuck with you for weeks now, and despite everything going on, this is the most time we've spent together in years without fighting."
"You're right. " She gave him a hug, one she's been waiting years for, and when they let go of eachother, he let her sit beside him.
After a few moments of comfortable silence between the two of them Andre broke the silence, speaking directly to their father, though he was out cold.
"S-sorry I haven't been around." He held on to his fathers hand, as he was closest to the hospital bed his dad was lying on. He took a deep breath in, his sadness filling the air, until a notification sounded on both Ari, and his phone.
Ari read the message from Cate aloud. "Come to Shetty's... Are you going?"
"You go ahead I'll stay here." He said, understanding why she would rather be with her friends.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah... I need to be alone."
Ari got up hesitantly. "Okay if something happens, even if it seems like nothing, call me."
She walked out the room, but stood at the door frame for a split second, only long enough to hear Andre say "I'm here." to their father.
✯★⁂★✯
She got to Shetty's house almost around the same time as the others, watching as they came around the corner.
"Where's Andre?" Jordan asked when they noticed he wasn't with her.
"He's still at the hospital with our dad." Ari looked down, now feeling guilty for even leaving.
"What happened?" Emma looked genuinely concerned, along with Marie, who always seemed to welcome her with a smile, this wasn't a smile, it was a look of worriedness.
"He had what looked to be a seizure, but the doctors don't really know what caused it."
"Shit."
Jordan grabbed her hand, to let her know they were there for her, a simple gesture, but it made her heart skip nonetheless.
"Come on, enough about my family, we need to go see what Cate wants."
They jogged the rest of the way to her house, and when they got there they noticed the door ajar.
Marie grabbed her knife from her pocket, ready to defend them if need be.
Jordan opened the door, allowing Ari to step in first, the others following right behind them. Indira Shetty's house was big, and fancy with an elegant, or mor vintage feel to it.
"Cate?" Marie called out at they walked through the dining room and into the living room where Cate was standing slightly in front of Shetty while Athena was right by her. Cate's face looked emotionless, but her eyes were blood red like the last time she used her powers. "Cate? Are you okay? Your eye." She looked closer.
"What happened?" Jordan asked, scared she used her powers on someone for no reason again.
"I'm okay, and now she'll do whatever we want." Cate seemed amused, happy to finally be able to do something good for them.
"Maybe you should rest." Marie seemed worried about the girl, while Ari had a bad feeling about the whole situation, wishing she would have stayed at the hospital, despite it being a triggering place for her.
"I feel fine. It wasn't my powers that were fucking me up. It was the pills she was giving me. I've never felt better. " Cate said, sending a chill down Ari's back. This whole time they have been underestimating her, and it's because of the stupid pills.
"Listen to your friends. They care about you. Shetty pleaded, yet Ari for some reason felt no pity. She decided in that very moment she was done with feeling bad for terrible people.
"Shut up! You had your chance to talk and now its my turn." Cate Yelled back at Shetty.
"Cate just calm down." Athena spoke for the first time since the other arrived, but she was just ignored.
"Please, Cate, you don't have to do this. I love you. " Shetty said in desperation.
"I know you love me. It doesn't change the fact that you're a fucking bitch."
"Cate what the fuck is going on?" Jordan wanted answers, answers they doubted that would even get.
"Don't worry, we're on the same side."
"Okay, sorry, can I get a quick SparkNotes version? 'Cause I have no idea what the fuck you guys are talking about." Emma seemed alot slower to grasp the conversation than the others.
"Tell them what you told me." Cate turned to Shetty.
"This school is a front. Thomas Godolkin was a behavioral scientist. He built this place to figure out what makes Supes tick. Their weaknesses, how to control them. You're not here to study. The school is here to study you. You're subjects not humans." Shetty admitted, everything and the only response she got was from Sam.
"We're better than humans."
Emma eyed him, as soon as it came out of his mouth.
"Me and Jordan found out that she has this virus intended to kill The Woods kids. And she only wants to make it more contagious" Ari said adding an aspect of even more fear, than what was already a scary situation.
"She wants more than that. Don't you?" Cate asked Shetty directly.
"I want it to spread across the globe and kill all of you."
"Holy fuck." Was all Emma could manage to say.
"Why? We don't want to hurt you, or anymore, you know that". Marie seemed innocent.
"Don't lie tell her." Cate used her powers again to make Shetty speak.
"Homelander."
Everyone looked confused at first, wondering what he had to do with any of this. Emma said something before Ari got the chance. She already somewhat had an idea. "So... so all this because he lasered that Starlighter dude? No sorry its fucked up don't get me wrong, but, like, killing all of us seems... seems a little melodramatic."
"Homelander took down the plane your family was on. He's the one that killed your family." Ari finally spoke, when she realized she and Jordan knew something the others didn't.
"It's not just him. You all leave a path of destruction behind you. You have ruined countless lives. Just look at what you did to your parents. You can't help it. It's your species."
"Tell them what your last assignment was for me." Cate's eyes were more than just red now, they were glassy, filled with tears that could boil over at any second.
"Kill everybody in the woods."
"Jesus christ did you?" Jordan asked out of concern, they were helpless.
"Of course not, Jordan I'm trying to show you what kind of a monster she is. She wants to wipe us off the face of the earth. They all do, so we have to strike first. Starting with her." Cate turned to Shetty with all of her pain and suffering.
"Cate, make me forget. We can start over. I'm gonna take care of you." Shetty pleaded for her life. But Ari somehow already knew she was gone.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut the fuck up."
"Cate!"
"Indira. Its time"
Shetty grabbed a large kitchen knife, from her pocket, holding it up to her neck.
"Fuck. Cate." Jordan thought she was insane in the moment, but Ari understood, as awful as it might be. Athena too nodded in approval, proud of the girl she secretly always looked up to as a sister. After the diner argument between the two of them, she later apologized and explained, rebonding their friendship that was created for the sole purpose of keeping order in the woods.
The others stated curses, trying to get Cate to realize how crazy this was, but she didn't budge.
She took the knife and ran it along the whole of her neck, letting out a sound Ari would never forget, it was too late, but still she tried to look away.
"Oh my fucking God!" Emma yelled out of panic, like the others. The old Ari would have had a breakdown after witnessing that, the new Ari expected it, yet not that fast.. It took her off guard, and in doing so a little part of herself was scared for her own life.
"No." Marie rushed to help her, only to be grabbed by Cate, who used her powers on her almost immediately.
"Don't help."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck fuck." Jordan was by her body, holding on to her neck in attempt of slowing the bleeding.
"Marie, do something!" They yelled to the only person in the room with blood manipulation powers, the only one but Athena.
Ari got an idea, though it was a bad one. "Athena please, you have to do something, save her." She knew Athena had a copying power, she most likely copies Maries, as soon as she met her.
Athena felt like laughing, but she didn't. "Why would I do that? She was planning something to kill us, all of us."
"I get it, the idea of wanting revenge, but killing someone makes you just as bad."
"I'm not saving her."
"Fine. You're a traitor."
"Cate. Cate, you don't need to do this." Marie begged, begged her to let her save her. "We have Neuman. She's gonna save us."
We can't trust anybody. They'll only hurt us. This is the only way.
Shetty was gasping for air, while Marie continued, the face of her mothers lifeless body reentering her mind. "Cate, please." She cried. "You have to let me save her."
But it was too late, everyone knew it. Jordan released their hands from her neck, and stepped away.
"Cate, do you know what you've done?"
"Justice." Sam spoke. He had been quiet most of the time.
"For all of us." Cate agreed, the start of an alliance, a terrible one between three people with the same motives, three people all let down by the system.