*Hey everyone, happy Monday. I know, I know, it's shocking that I'm actually posting on time. I'll let you get right to it and have a longer authors note at the end.*
- Rya -
My eyes flicker over the office, from the modern desk to the metallic shelves to the door made entirely of frosted glass. Everything is chrome and white and sparsely furnished, the same as the rest of the rooms I've seen in League HQ. I'm seated along the back wall in the same metallic chair, my hands cuffed before me.
Nothing shows that this office is special. Nothing, that is, except for the framed picture of a gapped toothed kid with dark hair and even darker eyes. A younger version of Connor Warrick, making this Archer Warrick's office. Afterthought's office.
My gaze moves on from the desk to the one interesting thing in the room - the wall of blue energy sparkling before me. It slices the room in half, separating me from the door and the figure standing there.
Trey has his arms crossed, resolutely staring at the wall a foot above my head.
His brow is furrowed. Someone else might assume it was from the concentration of keeping up the energy field, but I've seen that look before. Time and time again, but never with this much furry and never directed at me.
He hasn't spoken to me, hasn't looked at me, in at least half an hour. The silence is thick with rage as he tries to ignore me. With each second it grows worse, threatening to choke me.
Finally I can't take it anymore, I snap and my voice punctures the silence between us, "So what, you're not even going to look at me?"
Trey grits his teeth, his gaze never wavering from the point over my head. He looks older. From the dark circles under his eyes to the stubble dotting his jaw the night seems to have taken a toll on him.
I lean forward in my chair, trying to ignore the press of the metal cuffs into my wrists.
"Come on, Trey please just listen-"
"Nope." I flinch back in shock as the harsh word echoes through the space. He looks down at me for a split second before his gaze flickers away again as if the sight of the suit burns.
Holding out a hand, his brows draw even closer together. Releasing a shaky breath he commands, "Just stop."
Again I wait. My hope is quickly dissipating into thin air. If Trey can't find it in himself to trust me how on earth can I expect the Council too?
"I'm not evil, Trey." I whisper but the words sound more like a plea than a statement. The truth is I'm not sure what I am, but I know I'm not a Villain.
"Tell that to the 21 people that died."
The words bite into me and I look away. He's right, their deaths are all on my shoulders. Maybe I didn't kill them but I didn't save them either and that's just as bad.
"What I don't understand," His face hasn't changed from the intense frown but finally his eyes float down to me, hovering somewhere in the vicinity of my shoulder. I swallow back disappointment. He still can't look me in the eyes.
He starts again, "What I don't understand is how you could be a terrorist. Fine, you lied about being a Super. I can accept that right up until you start killing people. I mean we were, what, freshman? Was high school really so terrible that you had to resort to murder?"
A startled laugh escapes me, I can't help it, and in a moment I'm laughing almost deliriously. I'm not even sure if I'm laughing or crying anymore. Everything about this is insane, finally the lack of sleep and my wrung out emotions are catching up with me.
"Yes, high school was that bad. That's why I'm a supervillain." I can't help the satirical tone. I shake my head, finally getting the laughter under control.
"Come on Trey seriously, that's what you think. Just because I'm Shadow doesn't mean I'm different," I shake my head in exasperation. Getting to my feet, I move forward until I can feel the heat from the energy wall sizzling against my skin. The crackling of his forcefield only serves to punctuate the silence.
"Has it occurred to you that there might have been a misunderstanding?" I ask.
Through the blue haze, Trey's eyes glint with confusion as they finally lock onto my own. I keep his gaze, speaking with all the conviction I have, "I was trying to save those people. I sure as hell wasn't about to kill anyone."
I can't read his expression as he lets out a slow breath. It takes a lot to break Treys trust, but once you do it's almost impossible to regain. I've gone farther than just breaking his trust, I've completely decimated it. Now my chances of gaining it back are infinitesimal.
Running a hand over his face, Trey looks back at me through the web of energy. The seconds tick by as I wait for his reaction.
Just as the corner of his mouth twitches the door flies open, almost hitting Trey in the shoulder. He whips around and his hands shoot out, sending a bolt of energy at the new arrival.
A spark of shock runs through my gut as I recognize Connor Warrick. He ducks just in time, the bolt barely singing the top of his hair. He glances up in shock, eyes wide, "Jeez, jumpy much?"
"What's going on?" Trey asks, not bothering to turn back to me.
"Um, I don't really have time to explain the entire thing." Connor mutters, jumping back to his feet. He grabs Trey's arm and drags him to the edge of the forcefield right before me, "But suffice it to say, we're going rogue."
"What?" Trey asks, looking around wildly as if worried someone is going to overhear. He lowers his voice and hisses, "What about the Council?"
"They're not going to do anything, so if we want to get Nick back we're going to have to do it ourselves. For that we're going to need Rya, so." He waves his fingers in an imitation of magic, "Take the sparkles down."
I can see the indecision scrawled across Trey's face. Tonight was the first time Trey heard that his partner, really his mentor, is a Harrington and with the revelation that I'm Shadow... I'm sure he doesn't know who to trust anymore.
Trey holds Connors gaze for a second and something unspoken seems to pass between the boys. With a snap of his fingers the barrier releases, sending sparks fizzling around the room. Whatever decision he's made, whether or not he believes I'm evil, it's just going to have to wait.
Connor rounds on me but for the first time tonight the look I get isn't accusatory. He only looks desperate as he asks, "You said Nick went with Bella?"
"Yes," I confirm with a quick nod. The second of confusion I had when Connor entered the room is gone. I don't really care who helps me, as long as this ends with us putting a stop to the ridiculous plan Nick has enacted.
Taking a step forward I continue, "I don't know where she took him though."
"That's fine," Connor waves a hand in dismissal, grabbing a phone out of his pocket and tapping away at the screen, "I know where the Harrington mansion is."
"Mansion?" I mutter under my breath, my stomach rolling. Just how rich are these people that are trying to kill me? What did Nick walk away from four years ago?
"Yeah, it's insane," Connor responds in a clipped tone. "The good thing is, it hasn't been modernized so it's not a fortress. We can get in there easily and grab Nick then-"
"Everyone hold up just one second." Trey holds out a hand, his eyes narrowing as he looks at Connor, "Have you even thought this through? I mean, we're not talking about holding hands and singing Kumbaya, we're talking about trying to arrest a high-ranking member of the anti-Super movement."
"We don't really have time to argue about this." Connor huffs, looking between the two of us, "The longer we wait the greater the chance that Nick does something stupid and gets himself hurt. If we don't want that to happen we need to go now."
Trey presses his lips together, looking away as he mutters, "Fine."
"Okay so here's the plan, you," Connor points at me, "Are going to teleport us to the mansion and once we get there-"
I hold up a hand, my pulse pounding in my ears. No way. I am not using my powers again. It's too much of a risk. I don't want to know what happens if I get lost in the in-between space next time I try to jump and I really don't want to find out.
"That plan isn't going to work for me."
"You're the one who." Connor starts angrily before shaking his head and letting out a long sigh. He runs a hand over his face and then asks in a vastly calmer tone, "Why not?"
"For one, I can't jump somewhere unless I've been there before and also I kinda can't," My words trail off and I glance down at the ground, muttering, "kinda can't control it."
Treys jaw clenches a look of shock scrawled across his face. Of course he's never had trouble controlling his powers - why would he have? He didn't experience the terror that I did.
"Okay, okay," Connor nods, not even batting an eye at the comment. He pulls a pair of keys from his pocket, "Backup plan, we'll drive and just come up with the rest on the way there."
I sigh. Why does this seem to be how the League always ends up operating? For once can't they actually know what's going on before running into a dangerous situation?
It's not like I have a better option though.
Connor is already making his way to the door when I call after him. He and Trey both turn as I hold my wrists before me, the power cuffs pulsing faintly,
"Before we go, could you get these off?"
Connor is nodding before I even finish the sentence. He steps forward but Trey holds an arm out to stop him. He shakes his head quickly, "Absolutely not."
Seriously, not trusting me I can stand but refusing to let me help is a new low. I'm about to lay into him when he continues speaking, "Rya if you can't control your powers then it's safer for you, safer for all of us, if you can't use them."
I stare at him in shock. Did he just big brother me? I was expecting some excuse about liabilities since I'm in custody but no. I can tell from the look on his face, he would be fine with me taking off the cuffs if not for the fact that I could get hurt. The relief I feel at his normalcy is trampled by intense irritation. Seriously, Trey had to start acting normal again at the worst possible moment.
"Don't give me that 'it's for your own good' crap." I put air quotes around the words. That is the oldest story in the book, he could at least try to be less cliche. I sigh, "At least come up with a better argument."
Instead Trey just shrugs. I can tell that he doesn't fully trust me, not yet, but he's starting to.
"He's right though, if you can't control it," Connor trails off, shaking his head helplessly, "Sorry."
Connor turns to the door again, Trey following close behind him. I groan in exasperation and follow the two boys, muttering, "Do you know how irritating handcuffs are?"
"No we don't, we're not criminals," Trey grins cheekily over his shoulder at me. His words aren't as pointed as before but I can see he's still unsure, gauging my reaction to the ribbing.
I stick out my tongue.
He rolls his eyes, giving me a choice finger as Connor clicks open the door.
What a brat.
I'm so distracted that I don't notice Connor has stopped walking until I bump into his back. Rising onto my tip toes I peek over his shoulder, seeing Ivette's dark eyes staring back at me.
"What's up Ivette?" Connor says in a voice that's much too high as he tries to shoo me out of her sightline.
"Next time you try to break out of HQ, be more discreet. You're not going to fool anyone when they can see Rya." She shakes her head in exasperation at Connors lame attempt to hide me. Raising my bound hands, I give her a small wave that causes the corner of her mouth to quirk up.
"You're not going to get away with it." Ivette says, crossing her arms over her chest, "At least not without me."
"Are you," Trey looks at Connor as if trying to confirm what he just heard, "trying to help us?"
"Listen, as stupid as you guys are - and it's so so much, like oh my god, how do you not fall over more?" She shakes her head, realizing that she's getting off track. She sets her jaw as if about to say something painful. Then, with a sigh, she continues, "Anyway, I realized I don't want any of you idiots to get hurt so I guess I'm helping you."
Connor nods in acceptance, pushing his way out into the hall. Trey still looks suspicious as he follows the other boy, his eyes narrowed as he surveys her. Falling into step beside Ivette he asks, "How did you know what we were planning?"
"The Council dismissed me and I ran into Alex in the hall." Ivette shrugs one shoulder, as she explains, "Alex had a vision and was coming to tell them but I convinced her not to turn you guys in, apparently she's friends with you all as well. Now she's waiting to distract the Council if need be."
I scurry to catch up to the group. Trey and Connor seem to take all this information in stride but my head is still reeling from the complete 180 from Ivette's attitude. She twisted my emotions so violently that I was left sniveling on the floor of HQ less than an hour ago. That's not what you do when you want to team up with someone.
Still like I said before, we're going to need all the help we can get. Instead of objecting to her assistance I ask, "Who's Alex?"
No one bothers to respond to my question as we traipse through the hallway. We're headed away from the doors to the Council chambers, at least I think we are. The walls here are all the same shiny plaster, nothing distinguishing aside from the rows and rows of doors. Even those can't help me create a mental map of the building.
I'm hopelessly lost. If not for Connor leading us through here halls I would never make it out of here.
As we wind through the halls, Ivette falls back a step, aligning her shoulder with my own. From the corner of my eye I see her glancing over at me.
"Listen," She mutters, playing with the end of one of her braids, "I'm, um, I'm sorry for earlier. I don't really get along with the guys and I didn't- I shouldn't have done that."
"Don't worry about it." I cut her off with a wave of the hand. Ivette looks shocked but I continue, not able to keep the bitter edge from my words, "Everyone hates me now, not just you. You're actually in the majority."
As we near the end of the hall she remains silent. There's an emergency exit up ahead, the sign glowing faintly against the door. Connor taps a sequence into the keypad next to the door. It's followed by a soft click and he yanks it open.
Beyond is a parking garage, deserted except for the rows of cars marching off into the distance. The first rays of morning sun are starting to creep through the space, a stark reminder that time keeps slipping away.
I'm about to follow the boys out when Ivette grabs my arm, spinning me around.
She nibbles on her lip for a second before the words come rushing out, "Of all the people I've met since I moved here you are the first person that I've actually kind of gotten along with."
Even as she speaks she looks extremely uncomfortable. Her gaze flits around, never landing anywhere for more than a second. Finally she forces herself to look at me and asks, "So can we still be friends or whatever?"
Even though I know it's the last thing she wants, I feel pity building up in my chest. It's clear that the younger members of the League aren't taken seriously, and being a woman with powers that are so stereotypically feminine, that has to make it even worse.
She may not be the most friendly person, but if I were in her shoes I'm sure I would bicker with the guys just as much. They get twice the respect she does.
"Sure we can, if I don't go to jail that is," I smile slightly, knowing the look doesn't reach my eyes.
Outside a lock chirps. I look over to see Connor pulling open the door to a dark suburban - the kind that looks as though its tinted windows are reinforced.
"Alright," Ivette nods, clearly trying to suppress a relieved smile. She marches out the door, calling back over her shoulder, "You don't want to go to jail, then let's go save that loser."
I grin, pushing out the door after them.
This might just work after all.
*I know you were waiting to see how Trey would react when he got to talk to Rya again and I hope I didn't disappoint. The next few chapters are all going to be big ones so be on the look out. There might even be some ~bonus~ updates scattered in so make sure to follow me for all of the alerts!*