[I][U]Hi-Voltage[/i][/u]

Volt stepped in close, grabbing Apogee's shoulder and attempting to spin her around to face him. If she had been expecting it she probably would have never budged, but she was all sorts of unbalanced right now, both physically and emotionally, so she turned like a top. [i]Heres hoping I dinnae take the place of thon punching bag.[/i]

He could see her face now, the raw emotion that etched nigh unbearable pain across her usually pretty features, the conflicting tumult of emotions that raged like a storm behind her eyes, the tense hump of her shoulders. He knew it all, had been there himself. He didn't have to cast far to remember what it was like to taste failure quite so bitter as she was now, after all he wore his failures like a uniform, but he knew some people weren't as adapted to self loathing as he was. Some people liked themselves, and when they did something wrong it felt like a betrayal. Emily was still new to this job, and this was the first time that she was forced to accept the concessions that heroes have to make to keep the world safe, the decisions they choose that chip away at their soul. 

It was a horrifying revelation, finding out that saving the day means damning yourself. He remembered when he found that out for himself, the feeling of grey emptiness, the knowledge that he'd already lost Daniel for not doing what was right, then realising that if he was going to do the right thing he was more than likely going to lose himself. He'd just wanted someone to hug him then, and tell him it was gonna be alright. 

[i]But nae one did. Deep down ye widnae let them. Ye started this on yer own Tommy-Boy, so ye dealt wi yer problems on yer own. Even when Clara and Szymon tried tae help ye shoulder the weight, ye just pushed them away. Ye've always had a knack fer daing things tha wrong way. At least ye can learn from yer mistakes, help others dae things tha right way.[/i]

So he threw his arms around Emily, pulling her into a tight hug. He tried not to feel self-concious, public displays of affection never sitting very high on the list of things he enjoyed, knowing that Emily needed this. 

"We're people Emily. Nae Gods." He spoke softly, still holding her close. "Nae matter what anyone says different we're just people. We laugh, we cry, we win, we make mistakes, we triumph, we fail. Then we pick oorselves up and dae better next time, we dae it tae honour those we failed, tae make sure nae one else has tae suffer for oor mistakes. We dae it cause its the right thing tae dae." He fell silent then, but kept on holding her. He'd keep on holding her until she told him to stop. 

Because it was the right thing to do. 

[i][b]Morniningstar[/i][/b]

Morningstar entered the room then, soft and quiet. Vigilance had said the hard approach would just make Villa clam up, and he was right. It was the soft approach that would crack this nut, the one were you slid up to your target all nice and quiet, picking your moment. 

She sat herself at the table opposite the legionaire, made herself comfy on the seat then began. 

"I read your file Villa. I read about LA, about your parents and your gangs, the bodycounts and the Golden Knights. I read it all and one thing stuck out to me. Your a survivor. You understand how the world works. Or at least you did. You see, back in LA you didn't let anyone or anything slow you down. You did things your way on your terms and you were untouchable."

"Now? Now you've hitched your horse to Legions wagon, and look were its got you! You're in the tender care of Vigilance here, the kind of cretin that would never of dreamed of nabbing you back in your LA days." She knew it was Pariah that had caught Villa, but she doubted the distinction would bother the crook overmuch. The point still stood. "And the bad news is we took a lot more than you from Legion today. I myself went knocking on the door of a place called the Den. If you don't know what that is then your useless to us, and if you do know what it is then you know Legion has much bigger worry's than getting you back. They haven't protected you Villa. Its time to stop protecting them."

The hero lent in across the table, enough for atmosphere but not enough to actually be in danger if Villa tried to attack her. She wasn't stupid. 

"It's time to start thinking about yourself again."