Trigger Warning: This chapter may contain scenes or references to sexual assault. If this is triggering for you, stop reading at the astricts and skip to the next one <3
Chapter Eleven
"Hi, my name is Faith; I am a family friend of Alexander Caspian. I need to speak with him, I spoke to his assistant and she said he would be free," I say speaking to the lady at the front desk.
"Mr. Caspian didn't call down to let me know that he was expecting guests. What did you say your last name was?" She asks me.
"I didn't, my name is Faith," I say.
"Dear, we look people up by last name here," she says getting annoyed. I sigh frustrated.
"I don't have one," I grumble out.
"Okay Miss, I don't have time for these games. I'm calling security," she says picking up the phone and I throw my hands up in the air frustrated.
"Faith?" A familiar voice asks me, and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Hi Cathleen, I need to see Alexander and this lady is about to call security on me," I say frustrated.
"I'll show her up Lori," she says dismissively, and she waves off the security guard.
"He's probably in Aviva's lab considering he doesn't need to be in his office right now, it's a straight shot so just find the one that says Arlington on it and knock," she says as the elevator doors open.
"Thank you, Cathleen," I say.
Walking down the hall I peer in some of the labs and see all kinds of different projects going. I nearly walk into someone because I become so distracted. I mumble an apology and keep walking until I come across a lab with frosted glass. The plaque reads Arlington, so I give the door a knock. The door slides open and I see a confused Aviva in front of me.
"Faith, is something wrong?" She asks me with concern lacing her face.
"Is Alexander here? I need to speak with him," I say, and her eyebrows jump up.
"Yeah," she says stepping out of the way.
Alexander's head lifts from his phone and he makes confused eye contact with me. I don't step into the lab, so he gets up and comes outside to meet me. He makes a gesture for me to follow him and I do. We get back into the elevator and go really high up, all the way to the top. Stepping off the elevator we walk past two nice ladies and down the hall into his office.
"I have to say, Faith, I certainly didn't expect you to be here to speak to me," Alexander says sitting down at his desk. I sit down in one of the chairs timidly.
"Well, I wanted to apologize for my behavior at our first meeting. I had a horrible panic attack and don't have a strong grasp of my emotions sometimes," I say.
"Faith, I understand, Ruka told me about how you suffer from panic and anxiety attacks and I would never hold something like that against someone," he says, and I can see the understanding in his green eyes, so different from the other green eyes I know.
"There is another reason why I came here today," I say shifting in my seat. He eyes me curiously.
"That being?"
"This is quite rude of me but... can you tell me about your mother?" I ask him, and his eyebrows almost shoot off of his face in surprise.
"Why?" He asks confused and slightly guarded.
"I... I just need to check something..." I say, and he continues eyeing me confused.
"Well, my mom died when I was pretty young actually," he says.
"Oh," I say surprised.
"Yeah she was on a work trip up somewhere north and it was late at night and she accidentally drove her car off of a cliff," he says.
"That's horrible," I say but I know that is the perfect cover story.
"What kind of work did she do that she was traveling?" I ask, and I see Alexander trying to be patient.
"She was a surgeon; she focused on medical replacements and things like that. She used to replace knees and elbows and she could fit prosthetics. She also went back to school and got a degree in pediatric surgery or something of that nature," he says and my blood runs cold. That is exactly what someone would need to work in that kind of camp.
"Did she look like you?" I ask carefully, and I see the frustration in Alexander's eyes.
"Why are you asking me all of these questions, Faith?"
I sit there trying to formulate an answer, but I didn't know how to explain what I am thinking. I didn't want to insinuate that this woman was his mother, especially after all of the terrible things she has done but at the same time I don't know whole the story. I let out a sigh and look down at my feet.
"I didn't mean to snap at you, but I feel that it's imperative I know why you are asking all these rather personal questions," Alexander says in a soft but stern voice.
"I don't know how to explain this to you, Alexander, without explaining a lot more than I bargained for," I say nervously.
"Please," he says, and I see the begging in his eyes.
"I'm a Metahuman Alexander, but I wasn't born that way," I say very tentatively. I already know that he and the rest of Aviva's friends are metahumans, so I don't foresee that being an issue.
"Well now the other night makes sense, but what do you mean you weren't born that way?" He asks.
"There's a camp way out west, that takes orphan children and tries to turn them into metahumans," I say.
"You're kidding me, right?" He asks disgustedly.
"I wish I was, but I came from that camp and there's a woman there, she's the lead doctor and surgeon..." I say and Alexander physically pales.
"I have to say the resemblance is striking and considering the things she did to me, seeing her eyes, hair, and nose on you, made me panic. I thought you were from the camp and here to take me back," I say quietly, and Alexander just looks shell shocked.
"Did she have a small chip in one of her front teeth?" He asks me, and I strain my memory.
"Yeah in one of her canines, it was almost flat," I recall.
Alexander leans his chair back and runs a hand through his hair. I didn't want to tell him, but I wanted to know if there was a correlation or relationship between the two of them. Their resemblance is so similar it's jarring.
"Wow, this is not how I thought this conversation would go," Alexander says with a flat laugh.
"I'm sorry... I'll leave you be," I say getting up quickly to leave. My heart continues to race away violently as I try to push thoughts of him being an agent for her away. That's not true and I know it, but I can't seem to calm down right now.
"You don't have to go, Faith, I have a few more questions for you," he says.
But I already have my hand on the nob and the door halfway open. I nearly run into Cathleen and she steps out of the way as I run down the hall. I opt to take the stairs instead of the elevator because I don't want them to be able to catch up to me. When I finally reach the ground floor, I see Alexander running out the front door and I wait a few moments before walking out myself.
I see him peering around confused; I walk in sync with an older taller man and keep myself out of sight until I get to the subway. I text Dax to let him know that I finished my errands and am on my way back. Walking into the apartment I hear Dax on the phone, and he doesn't sound happy.
"What do you mean she went to Voyager? She told me she was out running errands," his voice says, and I silently curse and turn on my heel.
"Don't even think about its Faith! I heard you come in," he yells, and I freeze.
"I'm sorry she ran out like that on you Alexander," he says making pointing eye contact with me and I just pull a blank face.
"I'm not sure what has gotten into her, but I will make sure we talk," he says before they hang up.
"Faith,"
"Dax,"
"What the hell are you up to?" He questions me with his resolve softening.
"Nothing Dax, I just had a few questions for Alexander," I say with an innocent face.
"You were asking about his mother?" Dax persists, and I regroup.
"Yes,"
"And you think she is the same woman who is the surgeon in the Metac camp?"
"Possibly, that's why I was asking questions," I say.
"Well that would have required you to tell him that you are a metahuman, would it not?" He asks me, and I straighten out my shoulders.
"The whole lot of them are meta's so why does it even matter that I told him? Aviva and Cathleen already seem to know from my behavior," I say
"Faith," Dax says frustrated.
"You are going to tell me that they don't know that the rest of your foster kids are Meta's?" I snap out annoyed.
"How did you know that?" He asks me surprised.
"Well besides the fact that I heard you say it, I can sense a meta from a mile away," I say.
"How many of our conversations have you overheard Faith?" Dax asks me, and his voice raises slightly.
"Far too many," I say guilty.
"You didn't think to ever mention that fact to us?!"
"I thought you would put it together from the fact that I told you I have heightened hearing!" I yell and my watch dies.
Frustrated I rip it off my wrist and shove it in my pocket annoyed. I charge it every night, but I have been talking a lot today and I burned through the battery quicker than I thought. Dax's face is slightly red from frustration.
"Faith," he says, and I snap.
Grabbing my bag off of the floor I walk to the front door and slam it shut behind me. I storm past someone on the stairs and don't stop stomping around until I am blocks away from the apartment. I wander around for what feels like forever until I stumble upon a piano in a park. I can tell that it has been worn down from being outside for so long.
Sitting down at the bench I test it and see that it isn't atrociously out of tune. I press down on the keys and the music fills the park. Knocking my hair in my face so people can't see me very well I play the piece I have been working on in music. I run my fingers over the keys and I can tell a crowd his drawing near, so I stop.
The crowd bursts into applause and I give a slight bow before practically running away. I need to attract the least amount of attention to myself as possible. I find a nice bench and pull out my portable charger and start charging my watch up. Checking my phone, I see quite a few messages from Dax and Ruka. I ignore them and check the one from Elijah.
"They love you Faith and only want what they hope is best for you. I don't know the details, but I just felt you might need a reminder, I know I did when I was your age," he writes.
I type back a thank you and put my phone away. Gazing around the park I start to get cold; it is January in New York. A harsh breeze cuts through me and I just bundle up more. I see my watch is half charged so I unplug it and put it back on. Walking through the park a deep chill goes down my spine, but it isn't from the cold.
I can feel his gaze burning into my back from thousands of feet away; he is practically dissecting me with his eyes. I resist the urge to shiver, not giving him that satisfaction. Memories flash before my eyes but I just clench my jaw and push them away. My adrenaline starts pumping but I force myself to calm down, I can't lose my head now. I start drifting through the streets, trying to find a nice ally to disappear down.
I cut behind an old gym and turn my watch on, the pitch drawing him closer. I hear his every breath, being shortened by the cold, every footstep, quiet and cautious. I lean against the wall and a faint memory of Cathleen turning the corner comes to my mind, but I don't remember that ever happening. He finally shows himself and I can see how much he has aged.
His black hair is shorter, and his brown eyes are harder than I remember, there are faint wrinkles in his forehead, worry lines. He is barely twenty-one now, but he easily looks thirty. That's what happens to kids at that camp, they either die or are so broken they age rapidly.
"I can't believe I found you," he says almost in shock.
"I can't believe you're not dead," I say and my adrenaline pumps wildly through me. I can feel myself losing control as awful memories flash in front of my eyes.
******
Dim lights flash before my eyes and the faint buzzing of the heater in the room fills the tense silence as they shove the boy into the room. He was quite a bit older then me, a few years maybe, I recognized him instantly. He was one of the guard's favorites, he was outside my age class, but they adored his abilities and temperament. He was going to be a charismatic superhero one day because of this place.
"Happy birthday kid, get to it," someone said through a laugh.
The boy's normally cocky grin faded. He cast a glance at me unsure, but the probing of the guard made him step forward. My back was already very close to the wall, a necessary and constant precaution, I hate when people snuck up on me. He stalks closer and I can see the indecision in his eyes as the guard closes the door. I can't help but to look at the door confused, they never leave us alone in a room, ever. Looking up at Cabe I have to crane my neck back to meet his eyes. The pain shows through his eyes, but he was given an order, and he would follow it, that's why they loved him.
His hand touched my chest and I jolted into the wall. He advanced further trying to touch me again and I hit him. Everything became so blurry, I can barely remember what happened, but I can still feel his touch and then my own. I remember the feeling of my knuckles splitting as I hit him, over, and over again. I grabbed his arm and snapped it in half. The shriek he let lose hurt my eardrums.
Not me was the last thing I remember thinking before I came back to reality. I had shattered my one hand and sprained my other wrist, but the pain was nothing to the burning sensation on my body where he had tried to touch me. Looking down at the body on the floor I vomited on the spot, his limbs had been bent at odd angles and there was much blood.
"You look good Faith," he says, and the tone of his voice reminds me so much of what happened years ago. Reluctant.
"You look like shit," I say.
"Well that's not very nice," he says advancing but I don't retreat.
"You don't look scared," he muses cautiously stepping closer until I can smell his breath, peppermint.
"There's nothing to be afraid of," I say looking into his eyes.
He is still much taller than me, but his body is weaker than I remember. His body is leaner, still muscular, but his meta ability is eating away at him. He can channel his electrical signals to make himself stronger but at a great cost. He wears out quickly and takes a long time to recover, and it quite literally is draining his life away.
"You're rusty," he says quietly, but I'm not.
I had found a gym in Nevada to spar in, it was brimming with fully-grown men, and they welcomed a young girl wanting to be able to protect herself, but they always knew, that something had happened to me in my past. They never questioned my strength or ability but pushed me harder.
"It has been a while," I say matching his tone.
His hand darts for my throat and I swipe away his arm and nail him in his throat. He takes a step back before grabbing my arm and shaking me around. I keep my footing and when he yanks me forward, I tackle him to the ground. I start beating on him until he throws me across the alley wall. My back smashes into the wall and pain sears down my body, but I force myself up.
We fight until he rips my arm out of my socket. A scream slips through my lips and I lunge at him and smash his head into the ground as we fall. He falls unconscious immediately. Carefully handling my arm, I turn my watch off and grab his throat.
"Wake up," I growl out and his eyes snap open in a panic.
"Don't move, just listen to me," I say with a shaky voice and I watch as his eyes glaze over.
"You will forget you ever saw me in New York," I start, and I can't stop the words that flow out of my next.
"You will forget you ever met me. You will forget how were ever a part of the Metac camp and most importantly you will forget who you are once you wake up again," I say and I can't say I regretted the terrible words as they slipped from my mouth.
"Sleep," I whisper, and his body goes slack.
Forcing myself up, my entire body trembles from the adrenaline, the pain, and effort that I already exuded. Looking down at myself I see that I am bleeding, I wonder how that happened. Looking back at Cabe I see how beaten up he is, and I know that I probably look just as bad. I can't remember the fight mentally, but I can feel every hit physically. I can also feel the words I spoke to him on the tip of my tongue.
Forcing my arm back into its socket it doesn't go back properly, and I nearly see black from the pain. Walking down the alleyway I try to focus on my breathing when I almost walk into somebody. Two hands grab me as I nearly fall backward and a scream rips through my lips as my shoulder is pulled on. I stumble back and look up and see a familiar set of eyes.
"Faith?" Aviva asks with pain and anxiety in her voice.
"What are you doing here?" I ask trying to even out my breathing, but the world is spinning.
"I work out in this gym, I heard a lot of noise and came to find out what the commotion was," she says in a soft tone.
"Faith, what happened?" She asks me, trying to play the maternal parent.
"Nothing," I say still out of breath.
"Faith, who is that?" She asks calmly peering behind me.
Through the pain, I can still feel his hands on my chest, the rough grip on my hip, and his hand trying to snake elsewhere. I clench my knuckles and a whole new wave of pain washes over me.
"What happened Faith?" Aviva persists but the world spins violently.
I feel myself falling but can't stop it from happening. Two warm arms grab me before everything goes dark.