4:03. Marcus had effectively spent the last half hour trying to distract himself from the upcoming 'date'. Now that it had actually rolled around, his calm and collected demenor was quickly slipping out of his grasp. He'd read over the text conversation once more, so he knew which door he was knocking on, and the utter shame that washed over him in viewing that exchange was basically palpable.
"Sounds like a plan, Stan?" For christ's sake. Good thing he was charming; or this would be a reletively short day.
He hadn't really dressed up that much. Another choice that he had mentally fretted over. It was just two pals getting a couple drinks and chatting - no need to rent a tuxedo or something dumb like that. He had brushed his hair down a little bit, upgrading it from 'terrible sawblade nightmare' to 'slightly unruly spiked mess'. He figured he looked presentable, having given himself the once-over in the mirror beforehand. Hopefully Emma thought the same thing.
He gulped once. 318 was right in front of him. He was Marcus; cool guy extrodinare! Nothing to worry about!
With a quick breath, he knocked on the door.
Emma was as 'dressed up' as her wardrobe allowed, which was to say not very. She had paid particular attention to her hair and makeup though, which made her look
damn good.
At least, that's what she thought. Maybe Marcus would too, she had hoped.
She had spent the past half an hour pacing around the room nervously, shifting between checking her phone, look at herself in the mirror, and glancing out the dorm's window.
Far too nervous for a first not-even-date. she admonished herself mentally. When Marcus finally did knock she moved to the door quickly, but not
too quickly. She allowed herself a small pause before the door, taking a quick breath.
Any nerves slipped away as Emma opened the door. The mask was still good for this, at least.
"Hey Marcus, how's it goin'?" Her usual smile slipped its way onto her face.
"
Well, better now that I know you didn't trick me into knocking on a stranger's door!" he said, returning her grin. She definitely looked nice; which meant that he probably looked like an utter slob next to her. Already, he was nervous again - worried about how much effort he had put into his appearance. Although, it's not like he would have been able to put much effort into it - besides fighting the losing battle that was his mop of a hairdo. He'd neglected to get anything nice while he was out gathering essentials; the nicest thing he owned was probably the torn hoodie he left hanging back at the dorm.
Still, maybe it was best to just not be so worried about it; there wasn't anything he could do now - for better or for worse.
"
Shall we away?" he said, giving a slight bow and a flourish of the hand, in the universal 'lead the way' motion.
Emma laughed a little at Marcus’ exaggerated manner. He was a total dork, she had decided, but maybe she liked that.
”Alright then, let’s go.” she said, stepping out the door and closing it behind her.
She hovered for a moment after locking the door behind her, glancing at him.
What the hell do you talk about on a first date at a place like this? she quickly realized that she had paused for a moment too long, and was now veering into the territory of awkwardly staring at Marcus. It looked like the nerves weren’t quite
all gone.
She quickly grasped at the first conversation topic she could think of as she started walking down the hallway.
”So, how’s superhero life treating you?” not a great opener, she decided, but at least she had said something.
"
Oh, you know..." Marcus said, shrugging nonchalantly. "
Between getting Bruce-Lee kicked by Kusari and dunked by Siena, it's not exactly how I pictured it going. Not the glamourous, rockstar life I thought might come with it!" he said, following Emma down the hallway.
Thank goodness she had been the first one to say anything, because he had been desperately trying to think of a conversation starter...to no avail.
"
How about you? You feeling alright after...yesterday?" he said, the slight pause hanging longer than he intended.
'Oh yeah, how're you doing after all your friends tried to squash you?' Good choice, dumbass. he thought to himself.
Emma rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.
”Uhhhh…” the noise came out awkwardly. Yeah, that wasn’t a great conversation topic. She had to say something, she realized, so she didn’t look like an idiot.
”I’m… fine. Things got to violent, but I’m fine.” she lied.
To be perfectly honest even though the violence was concerning, the thing that had her worried the most was her inability to summon Determination. Not just during her last encounter with Hazel, ever since the fight she’d been completely unable to summon any of her Tulpas. She knew that her power relied on her emotional state, so something like this didn’t bode well for her.
She moved her mind off it, and quickly tried to change the subject,
”How’s Cal and Sienna? I’m sure living with a pair of girls isn’t easy.” she realized that the question made her a little jealous, but at least she wasn’t thinking about flag football.
"
It's...interesting, to say the least." Marcus said, jumping along with the quick conversation shift. It was obivous that the game wasn't a good topic, so he was more than happy to try and move away from it. "
I don't know what's going on with Callan, but I'm pretty sure she got angry and did some landscaping last night, or something." he said, remembering the tree that had been haphazardly tossed to the side last night.
"
Siena's...I'm not sure. I can't quite get a read on her, but she seems friendly enough." Marcus said, shrugging. He contemplated making a joke about the white-haired boy's infatuation (not to mention allowing Siena to feed him snacks), but decided against it. If that sort of rumour spread, he was all to sure it'd work around to screw him over.
"
And there's the dog. That's a treat." Marcus said, a slight snort of derision punctuating his sentance.
Emma gave Marcus a slight look of befuddlement.
”Not a dog fan?” she said curiously, Lizzy’s near-cartoonish antics on her mind. She quickly forgot about that, realizing something,
”We should probably grab a bus. It’s a bit of a walk into CC1, isn’t it…”"
More of a cat person myself." Marcus said, relieved when Emma's mind switched over to their destination. "
Little bit. And I'm willing to bet you wouldn't even offer to carry me!" he said with a chuckle, following along.
It wasn’t a long ride before the duo arrived at the town. Emma had been doing her utmost to keep up the conversation with Marcus. After all it wouldn’t do her well to look boring, would it? The citizens of CC1, as they tended to do, side eyed the pair when they noticed their marks. Emma did her best to ignore it. As the pair stepped off the bus Emma produced a map of the town from her back pocket.
”The café should be roughly two blocks…” she spun around and pointed off into the distance,
”That way!” she declared.
Marcus returned the side-eyes as Emma pulled out a map. He hadn't noticed this much attention from the populace the first time he'd come through here, but he hadn't honestly been paying attention then either. He supposed it made sense; couple of subhumans came walking around the place, you keep your eye one them. Seemed like it'd be daily routine with a town this close to a subhuman base, but what did he know?
He took a small step backwards as Emma whirled around dramatically, looking off into the horizon she was pointing at. He grinned slightly at her, before speaking up himself.
"
Well then, I suppose we shouldn't tarry! Onwards! That way!" he said, giving his own point and declaration. He grinned some more, walking slowly down the sidewalk. "
So what else does that map have on it? Anything interesting?" he said, leaning over slightly to try and get a look at it.
Emma followed Marcus, glancing over the map.
”Town… stuff. Plenty of places to eat, cafes, etcetera. The most notable thing is probably the Institute. Crimen Culpae is a pretty big town though, and a pretty hip one at that…” Emma mused aloud.
”Plenty of places like the one we’re going to, but from what I’ve seen this is the most popular. Would be a pretty nice place to live if not for our current… circumstances.” Emma paused for a moment, thinking,
”Although for regular people I can’t really imagine why the hell they’d stay in a place like this. I guess they figure that USARILN will keep them safe, but… well, I think we just attract danger.”"
Yeah...I bet the insurance rates are crazy high here. Kids who can pull out trees and crystal bomb a football field sized area? Must be hell on deductibles." Marcus said, looking from the map to his surroundings. It was a quaint little place, he wasn't sure how to feel about the people populating it yet, but the town itself seemed nice.
"
I guess when burglars come to your door, you want the house right next to the PD. Must be the same type of logic with these guys - if they're gonna get hit, then we really have no choice but to intervene!" he said, shrugging. "
Or maybe they're all actors hired to make us feel less imprisoned. Who knows?"
Emma gestured offhandedly to one of the leering citizens,
”If that’s the case they’re not doing a great job. If they’re here for our benefit you think they’d be less… weird.” Emma said the last part a little quieter so none of them would hear her.
”But anyways, I don’t think we’re really your average PD. A better analogy would be living next to a military base in a warzone, I think. We all saw how close Menagerie’s monsters came to town last time. You’d think events like that would scare them off.” Emma gave a small shrug,
”Their gamble, I guess. Maybe they’d just rather take us than DC’s monsters.” We are DC’s monsters, a voice echoed in her head.
”Either way, the locals aren’t really what Zhang is concerned with, are they? She seems a little too pragmatic to worry about a few civilian casualties.” there was a hint of bitterness in Emma’s voice.
"
Ah, you see; it's their complete inability to remain inconspicious that makes you less suspicious of them!" Marcus said, chuckling slightly. "
But yeah; they might just think us being close is somewhat of a protection. She might not care about the civilians, but this is probably close enough to the school to consider it a threat and send us out to save them."
There was a thought that crossed his mind as he went over this in his head: "
How public do you think that knowledge is? Like, do you think the citizens actually know there were monsters knocking on their front doors? It'd be hard to cover up normally, but you could attribute literally anything to some students." Marcus said, pondering it out loud.
Emma folded the map back up, returning it to its place in her pocket.
”I guess that would work out pretty well for them, huh? Zhang seems like the type to have all her angles covered, so I’m sure she has something figured out.” Emma considered the thought,
”I’m sure she’d have to balance it out though. If you blame too much on the students they’ll start calling for our blood. They want them to hate us, but not enough to actually do anything about it themselves.” Emma had already realized this reality, but it sounded especially shitty coming out of her mouth.
”But, uh, maybe we should talk about something a little lighter than that? Like… where are you from, Marcus? Y’know, before this whole subnatural nonsense.” She was quick to change the subject as soon as the thought came to her head. Best not to get bogged up in the details of their confinement, she decided.
Although Emma seemed perfectly content with the second change in topic thus far, Marcus's own feelings were slightly different. Easy question, but not one he really wanted to think about too hard.
A smoking hole in the ground, now. crossed his mind, but he kept that downer of a thought from slipping through.
"
New York originally. The state, not the city. And no, I do not say things like 'Capiche' or 'Fuhgettabout it'." he said, emphasizing the local accent as he spoke. "
But I was basically in Vermont, so I never picked up the accent." he said, kicking a loose stone across the sidewalk. "
Shittiest little suburb you'd ever see though. How about yourself?"
Emma returned Marcus’ answer with a small laugh, not picking up on any discomfort he may have had.
”No kidding? I’m from New York too. The city, actually. Lived in Tribeca pretty much my whole life, at least until I got here. And I’m a little ashamed to admit that the New York accent shows when I get angry.” Emma intentionally avoided the accent as she spoke.
"
Really!? Marcus said, turning fully to look at her. "
Small world, I guess!" he said, chuckling as he walked along with her. "
Maybe there's something about New York that just makes us more receptive to powers and shit. Something about the fresh, city air and clean, city water! Or maybe DC just loves New York for some godawful reason!"
”Well, if by fresh city air you mean the distinct smell of garbage, sure.” Emma quipped. By now they had arrived at the café, and Emma pushed open the door in front of her, holding it open behind her for Marcus. Emma walked up to the line that formed before the counter. The place sure was busy, but Emma supposed that wasn’t too surprising given it’s apparent reputation. She considered the menu as she spoke to Marcus,
”You much of a coffee drinker?” she spoke up a little so she could be heard over the bustle of the café’s patrons.
"
I'm pretty much an anything drinker, as long as it's not toxic." Marcus said, looking over the menu. The place certainly did seem to be crowded, and he caught himself looking around at some of the other patrons more than the actual menu itself. He wondered to himself if there would be any other students here; it was a big town, but he just wanted to know how dispersed they were.
He looked back to the menu, having grown bored of people-watching, and ruminated over the options in his head. There were a couple of things with weird little names that he wasn't super confident about trying. Instead - he decided to go with something plain, boring, and safe. A mocha - hopefully 'mocha' was pretty universal around these parts, and not some fancy perversion of a basic drink.
By the time they reached the front of the line Emma had finally decided on a drink,
”I’ll have a macchiato, please.” she politely asked the wide-eyed cashier. He, like most of CC1, was still somehow enchanted with the ideas of subnaturals before his very eyes. Emma glanced at Marcus, now his turn to order.
"
Caffe Mocha for me." Marcus said, glancing back at Emma. "
So, Tribeca; that's practically straight in the middle of the city, huh? What was that like?" he said, trying to keep the conversation going. "
I never was a fan of large crowds, so I didn't go into that area if I could help it. Just the relative peace and quiet of middle-of-nowhere for me, thanks!" he added.
Emma shook her head,
”Tribeca’s on the southern tip of Manhattan, so not really in the middle. At least, not in the geographic sense. Population wise, sure. I got to be right by SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, all that. Nice place.” ‘nice place where rich people live’ was what she didn’t say.
”The city has its charms and its challenges. As long as you avoid the rough parts it isn’t too bad. It can be hard being around all those people… all those very rude people. And it’s loud, and I’m pretty sure I already said it smells bad… buuuut I wouldn’t really want to live anywhere else.” Emma did indeed miss the city, but that was something she’d rather not think about.
”Plenty of places to get food, which is nice.” she clarified.
"
And that's really the only critera you need!" Marcus said, grinning. If he had his drink, now would be the time to toast it - but he didn't, and he certainly wasn't going to embarass himself by going for the air-toast.
Emma nodded in agreement.
”Yeah… I guess it also help that family is there.” yeah, she realized, it wasn’t the city she missed. That stung a little.
”Speaking of, what’s yours like? Your family, that is.” The question hit Marcus like a truck, and he turned his head to nonchalantly look over the crowd and avoid betraying his thoughts to Emma. His hand twitched involuntarily, wanting desperately to fidget with the dogtags under his shirt, but he didn't allow himself to give it away that easily. "
They're...distant." Marcus said, his words unsure as he tried to come up with an excuse.
He turned casually back to Emma, having brought himself back to status-quo. "
The only one I'm really close to is my sister, but she's a pain in the ass." he said, feeling the pit in his stomach simmer away as he grinned awkwardly.
There was a pause as Marcus thought over his own response, lost in his thoughts for just the slightest of moments. "
How about yours?" Marcus asked, suddenly becoming aware of the silence and hurrying to fill the empty air.
Emma wasn’t dense enough to miss the awkwardness that her last question brought.
Whoops, she remarked internally, trying to figure out how to best get things back on track during his pause. Luckily, he had offered a solution for her.
”Standard stuff. Mom…” there was a small but noticeable enough pause as she seemed to consider something for a second,
”Dad, sister.” there was a hint of sadness in her voice when she mentioned her sister. Val still never texted her back. It looked like the topic was a little awkward for both of them.
Well, it appeared that talking about the past was getting the two of them absolutely nowhere, and fast. Marcus certainly didn't want to revisit that baggage, and had been purposefully trying to avoid thinking about basically since it happened. He wasn't sure what Emma was feeling, but he recognized the down-tone of her voice.
"
I still can't believe they have us doing classes." Marcus said, shaking his head. "
Here I was, thinking that I'd never have to worry about Math again! But nope, first thing they make you do in superhero camp? Math." he said, trying to bring the conversation back up with humor.
Emma shrugged slightly,
”I’d say we’re better off for it. Classes are a good distraction from…” Emma waved off in the distance,
”Everything, I guess. I’d rather think about Calc than being killed prematurely by some monster.” the sadness in Emma’s voice had disappeared, now replaced once again by her usual chipperness.
”Plus I was always good at the whole ‘school’ thing.” "
And that's where we differ, dear Emma." Marcus said. "
I was never a huge fan of it myself. Boring, boring, read garbage, high-school drama, yadda yadda." he said, dimissively rolling his wrist.
"
And if they were going to distract us with anything, why school? Why not something cool like an arcade?" he said, chuckling. Complaining about a little thing like school; it almost seemed like they were two normal teenagers just having a chat. Maybe Emma had a point after all - just a good distraction from what the world had become and a little bit of help to make everything seem like it was the same as always.
At Marcus’ suggestion of an arcade Emma gave a slight shrug,
”Zhang’s probably not a big gamer, if I had to take a guess.” Emma heard the barista call out for a mocha and macchiato.
”Sounds like our drinks are ready.” Emma walked towards the counter and picked up her macchiato. She thanked the barista, who gave her a small wink. When she looked down at her drink a slight frown crossed her face. An ‘X’ was etched into the milk foam. Latte art was usually cute but… Emma wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be flattering or threatening. She turned to Marcus quickly, handing him his drink,
”Let’s find a seat.” she said quickly,
Marcus eagerly eyed his drink as Emma grabbed it, not quite noticing the little exchange she had, but noticing her looking at her drink with a frown of displeasure. He cocked his eyebrow, moving closer to get a look over her arm and at the offending beverage. "
What? Not what you ordered? he asked, before he caught sight of the foam art.
He gave a lighthearted huff at the little 'X' drawn in the foam, the likeness clearly meant to resemble the 'X' across his date's throat. His drink seemed to lack the similar marking - whether it was his little paint splatter being too plain, or he just wasn't worth the barista in-joke was unknown to him. Either way, Marcus grinned as he snagged the beverage and moved over to one of the empty tables.
"
Want me to get 'im for you?" he said, jerking his thumb back towards the counter. "
I can probably move fast enough to bop him and nobody'll notice." he added, taking a sip and jerking it back quickly. He quietly nursed his burnt tongue, looking to Emma - he wasn't sure how the X's felt about their marks (because he'd never really asked), so he wasn't sure if the foam drawing was actually irritating her or not.
Emma sat down, rubbing the X mark on her throat for a moment.
”It’s fine. Forget about it.” Emma grabbed a stirrer from the bin on the table, taking a moment to break up the foam on the top of her drink before taking a careful sip, the X dispersing quickly.
”It’s just… you know, the ‘X’ isn’t really a great thing. We made the wrong choice, y’know? There’s something about it that makes me uncomfortable,” she’d rather forget about it, truth be told,
”Maybe it’s just a desire to avoid being defined by it or reminded of it… or maybe it’s just because the way these CC1 guys act creeps me out.” Emma shook her head slightly,
”It doesn’t matter. Guy probably thought it would be cute or something.”"
Well, I don't know enough about it to really say anything with any sort of confidence." Marcus said, leaning back and sipping his own drink more gingerly this time. "
I'd like to imagine I didn't pick the right choice any more than you picked the wrong one." Marcus said, lowering his voice and putting air quotations around 'right' and 'wrong'. "
Just two different choices."
He didn't say anything about Emma's 'being defined by it' comment. He of all people knew what it was like to have a bad memory in the reflection. That was certainly something he didn't need to talk about, and he was eager to bring the conversation back around (having to redirect the conversation being something that seemed to be happening a lot, he noted to himself).
"
And hey, if there's one thing I know for certain, from many years of testing, it's that being cute doesn't automatically save you from getting bopped. Trust me" he said, sipping his drink through a wide grin.
Emma raised her eyebrows slightly at that,
”Sounds like someone has a story to tell. I’m waiting.” she said playfully, taking another sip of her drink.
"
Oh no, not a story. Just experience. I've gotten bopped plenty of times for being a pain in the ass, so clearly just being cute isn't working out for me!" he said, chuckling softly.
”Mhhhhhm…” Emma mulled over a witty retort in her head through a sip of her drink before finally deciding that a little flattery wouldn’t hurt,
”Well, it’s working out pretty well for you right now, eh? You’re on a date with a pretty girl, so things aren’t going that badly.” Emma trailed her sentence with a slight laugh. Hopefully that wasn’t
too bold.
"
This is true! Marcus said, smiling and giving a joking wink. "
The lovely company of a strikingly pretty girl, having a grand ol' time, and I got a halfway decent cup of coffee! Surely, life doesn't get any better than this!" he added, before looking down at an invisible watch on his wrist. "
Which means that a semi-truck will come straight through that wall at any moment." he said, nodding to the wall behind her.
Marcus
almost made Emma forget about their current situation. But then she thought to herself that ‘life doesn’t get any better than this’ seemed a bit of a silly thing to say given the fact that they were imprisoned against their will, forced to fight monsters and each other. In a lot of ways, she felt like the optimism was just a way to make it easier to hang on but… well, she appreciated it. Marcus’ cheery attitude and the fact that he wasn’t constantly losing his shit definitely gave him a leg up on the rest of their party. Plus, he called her pretty.
Overall, he was likeable guy.
And that in itself was
very concerning. Emma was conscious of the fact that she had a tendency to get caught up on people, and she was also conscious of the fact that this was happening right now with Marcus.
”Well, either that or our cuffs are about to beep and we’re in for a tazing.” she mentally reprimanded herself for saying that. She had no doubt Marcus would rather not think about their confinement right after he was just done talking about how great life is. She took another sip of her Macchiato only to find that it was worryingly low,
”I probably shouldn’t mention that. Things almost feel normal right now, which is nice.” Emma said, shifting slightly in her seat, small smile etched on her face.
"
What, you're telling me that you don't enjoy a million volts straight to the leg?" Marcus said, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. "
But yeah; it's nice to just get out and not worry, isn't it? Almost makes this place feel like home, if you're willing to blissfully ignore everything that would have you believe otherwise."
He sat for a moment, sipping his drink, before he spoke again. "
I suppose I should thank you for that. For making this all seem ordinary - for a wonderful afternoon out, where we can just sit, chat, and be people. So; thanks, Emma." he finished, putting his cup down on the table. It was the honest truth; no matter how cheesy it came out. It had been ages since he'd been able to relax like an average teenager, and he didn't realize how much he truly missed it until just now.
Emma rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. That was certainly an unexpected declaration.
”You’re welcome, I suppose. But it goes both ways, y’know?” she thought about Hector and Miranda, Clark, the hit she took from Hazel, falling off roofs, sneaking around the medical building with Brent, watching Sparrow and Prism fight Menagerie’s monsters, fighting those very same monsters themselves, watching Allison get stabbed in the eye… the past week’s event cycled past in her mind, and it was all so much. What Marcus said was true, this was the first time she really got to be a normal person for quite a while. There was a small sense of peace that came with that.
”Things… I don’t things will ever be normal again, but stuff like this makes it easier to handle.” she remembered her conversation with Lawrence, about relying on others to make survival easier. Maybe there was a chance for that, even if he didn’t think leaning on them was a good idea.
”With the way that last fight with I’m not sure how much we can count on everyone getting along, but maybe we can carve out a nice little slice of this Hell to enjoy if we do.” she gave a little laugh at herself,
”Or something like that, not trying to sound overly dramatic.”"
You know what? Maybe we can." Marcus said, chuckling and tilting his cup back. "
Eyuck. Now I feel all warm and bubbly inside. Like my heart grew three sizes or some silly thing like that. Gross." he said, making an exaggerated shudder. "
Don't go telling people about this feel good crap now, you hear? Can't have people thinking that I'm anything but a yuuuuuge pain in the backside." he said, emphasizing the New York accent and giving her a mischevious grin.
Emma nodded,
”If anyone asks I’ll tell the you just made a bunch of dumb jokes the whole time and that none of them landed.” she took another sip to see her drink empty,
”And that you made fun of my accent.” she said with an exaggeratedly hurt accent that matched his own.
"
Wait, can't we say that some of them landed?" Marcus said, putting his hands up in the 'slow down' motion. "
I've got some jokester cred to keep going." he added, chuckling at her. He made a big pouty face, and continued. "
Sorry, didn't realize that one was too far. Tell you what," he said, reverting back to normal talk and leaning one arm on the table, "
next time I'll buy you a drink to make up for it. Sound good?"
Emma performed an exaggerated double take.
”You can’t just go and change the script on me like this. If I’m going to lie for you we should at least make it convincing because let’s be honest, no one expects a lot from your quips,” she stated matter-of-factly.
”But the drink is a tempting offer. I’ll consider it, but I can’t guarantee that I can pull off such a bad lie.” "
Oh. Viscious. That hurts me right here." Marcus said, tapping his chest. "
You're just full of venom, ready to snap back, huh?" he said, pulling out an imaginary notebook and checking something off. "
Alright. Note to self: don't joke about accent unless you want dangerous levels of sass." he said outloud, shooting a quick look to Emma.
"Only fair that I can take a few jabs of my own with that bottomless pool of sass you carry around." the girl joked,
"But I'll lay off for your sake. I'm sure you don't want someone moving in on your niche and doing it better than you." she teased.
"
No. As a matter of fact I don't." Marcus said, with all the sass of a highschool girl. "
Don't need other people muscling in on my turf, especially not people who are better than me!"
Emma nodded,
”Of course, of course…” she let a small pause settle before gently tapping her empty drink against the table,
”Well, I’m done. Maybe we should start heading back? Don’t want to be absent if Zhang has some crazy suicide mission for us.” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"
Oh yeah, gotta be the first one in line for that!" Marcus said, scoffing and rolling his eyes, before standing up and stretching. Although Emma meant it as a joke, the thought settled uneasily in his mind. He had no doubt in his mind that they'd get sent out on a mission like that; one where all the odds were stacked against them, and they were somehow supposed to not die during the course of it. It wasn't a thought he was too comfortable letting rest.
"
I suppose a fun, happy mission is out of the question, huh? he said, smirking. "
Like, go talk to the cake monsters and politely ask them to keep it down? Or convince the fluffy bunny creature that he should devote his life to charity work? Just something that doesn't try to eat us would be nice."
Emma followed suit, rising from her seat.
”We can hope, but I doubt she’ll make things that easy for us. It’s a safe bet that whether we’re dealing with Menagerie or DC whatever we’re fighting is bound to try to eat us…” a thought suddenly crossed Emma’s mind as she was started walking towards the door, something that she had been mulling over last night,
”By the by, how likely do you think it is that those monsters actually were Menagerie? I mean, sure they looked like it, but wouldn’t it explain a lot if that was a lie? After all, he’s been off the grid for so long, and suddenly he shows up and attacks the school? By all accounts Menagerie is a good person, so him trying to kill a bunch of kids… doesn’t something about that seem kind of weird?” Maybe part of Emma just wanted to believe that it wasn’t really Menagerie that tried to kill them, after all she had always been a fan of the Precursors. Still, she had been uneasy with the prospect since they had gotten back from the field.
Marcus sighed, pondering what little information he had. After a slight moment of silence, he answered, his voice strained and uneasy. "
Honestly...I don't know. They're supposed to be the 'heroes', but how much do you see them doing out of the goodness of their hearts?" he said, the words bitter in his mouth. "
Hell, Benediction was here; but I haven't seen Padma or that other girl walking around, have you?"
He paused again, inwardly worrying. Maybe that wasn't fair. Maybe he was letting his feelings towards them color his opinion of the current situation. They were the good guys, the people they were supposed to look up to, but it seemed like they didn't do anything to deserve it other than develop powers. The potential they had, and yet they still neglected the little people. The people who were left to rot because they weren't important enough.
"
We hold them on pillars, but they're just people. People change. Like you said, he was gone for a while - who knows what happened during that time? As for him showing up here of all places - well, what better place to find volunteers if you're trying to set up something big?"
Emma frowned a little as Marcus spoke. Truthfully, she had always idolized the Precursors but she couldn’t exactly disagree… still, it didn’t feel like things were that simple. And as for mention of Padma and Alexis, well, Emma knew exactly what had happened to them, but she wasn’t sure that she was comfortable sharing that quite yet.
”I get where you’re coming from, but… there’s too much that’s unclear to judge them either way. For all we know Benediction may have wanted to revive Padma or Alexis… Precursors have always been on the institute’s leash, just like we are now. Maybe there’s a limit to his power. Maybe they made him go somewhere else. Maybe they have some use for the bodies…” indeed they did, but Emma was unwilling to elaborate.
”I dunno, maybe you’re right about Menagerie but something about it feels weird… and even if he is trying to ‘set up something big’… well, I’m not sure I can exactly blame him for moving against Zhang after what we’ve seen.” Emma’s voice was filled with trepidation. She was hoping that she would be rid of the conspiracy theories after her trip underneath the hospital, but here she was entertaining yet another journey into USARILN’s darker side.
"
Like I said; I don't know. Until Menagerie kicks down the door and strolls in, there's really not much we can do except sit back and guess. Be ready for whatever gets thrown at us, I suppose. Cursor, DC, whatever it is." Marcus said. "
Unless you want to go up and ask the Director herself, but I doubt she'll have much to say on the matter." he added, shrugging. It was a fairly nonchalant attitude to have, he thought, but there really was no point in trying to figure it out. There was a whole web of misinformation at this point, and trying to pick the truth from the fiction was a useless endevor.
Emma sighed.
”Yeah, you’re right. I doubt Zhang or Freddie or Rosa or anyone from USARILN will let anything slip, so it is all speculation…” something in Emma’s voice sounded unconvinced. She started walking for the door,
”Either way, we’ve got a bus to catch.” she said, shrugging slightly.
"
Hope you brought a big enough net!"
Oh for fu-"
Ahem." Marcus said clearing his throat immediately after one of the stupidest things he'd ever said. "
Y-yeah. Let's go." he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and following her out the door.
Emma raised her eyebrows, mouth opening slightly in surprise as a laugh escaped her mouth.
”Wow, I didn’t expect something that bad, even from you. Impressive, really.” she said as she turned down the street towards the bus, a mocking clap following her statement.
Marcus let out a noise that could be considered a cross between complaint and distress, giving a confused shrug as he did so. "
Let's...let's just forget about that one." he said quietly, walking behind her, seeming to try and slouch into himself with embarrassment.
Emma let out a small giggle,
"I dunno, that's going to take a while for me to forget."
When the duo arrived back on campus Emma gave a slight pause at the bus stop.
"Well... that was fun... we should do that again." she suggest hesiantly. This was always the most awkward part of a first date, wasn't it?
"
Oh yeah! Definitely! Marcus said with his trademarked chipperness. He'd actually enjoyed himself; managed to get out into the town and explore a little bit, hadn't embarassed himself too much, and he'd had a pretty good time with Emma! All in all, he considered that a successful date! Now, he was following along as they walked back to their dorms, playing the 'gentleman' role of making sure the lady got home safely. Sure, they might've been in the same building, and she could definitely destroy him if it came down to it, but that wasn't going to stop him.
"
You've got my number, so whenever you feel the need to punish yourself by hanging out with me, I'm available!" he said, smiling widely.
Emma nodded to him.
”Sure thing, I’ll let you skip out on taking the initiative.” she said coyly with a small wink.
"
I mean, I figured me contacting you again was a given. I need to make sure that you're willing to put up with me a second time." Marcus said, responding with an equally coy wink.
Emma smiled,
”I’d be delighted to have to put up with you again. After all, this has been a good distraction from…” she thought for a moment,
”Well, take your pick. My roommate broke my ribs, I helped Ernie stab a girl in the face, I’m pretty sure th-“ Emma stopped herself.
”Sorry, I’m venting. I probably shouldn’t blast all my problems at you. We’re all struggling here, aren’t we?” she said laughing slightly.
Oh! So the crazy girl was Emma's roommate? That was a nice piece of trivia to remember; if only for the reason of 'never go into Emma's dorm ever'. "
Oh no, it's fine! We all need some time to vent every now and then! And hell, just because other people have problems doesn't mean your own personal issues are less important." Marcus said with a shrug.
"
But hey, I am more than willing to be a distraction for you!" Marcus said, chuckling.
Emma raised an eyebrow,
”Woah there cowboy, that almost sounds like innuendo. Girl can’t be doing stuff like that on the first date.” she joked, wanting to forget about what she was going to say.
Marcus's face immediately flushed. "
Nonono. I just meant that...you said this was a nice distraction and...I didn't mean to imply that you were..." he said, shaking his head and furiously trying to stammer out an explanation.
Emma gave a hearty laugh at that.
”I’m only joking, Marcus. You’re fine.” she accentuated her statement by giving him a small pat on the back.
”You’d think that a prolific jokester like yourself would be better at picking up on that, huh?” she teased with a slight smile.
"
You'd think..." Marcus said as a forced grin came across his face. "
But the first time I play along with a joke like that is the time that you're not kidding, and I get a nice handprint tattoo right across the face. And I'm perfectly fine without your palm marring my glourious appearance!" he punctuated this sentence with a showgirl style flip of the hair, directing a smoldering gaze a Emma, before blinking his eyes a few time to drive the beauty home.
”Mhhhhhm. Whatever you say. Wouldn’t want to mess up your good looks, if you weren’t so cute people might get tired of putting up with you.” Emma delivered deadpan. Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment, particularly the scars that covered it. She was almost half tempted to segue the point of his appearance into a conversation about them, but she was far too courteous to try something like that. Still, she was
damn curious.
"
Hey, it's hard being funny and cute! Marcus said. He watched her gaze as it fell upon his face, still grinning like an idiot. He didn't quite realize that she was eyeing up the gashes across his face; there were times when he forget they were there, and immediately after a date like this was one of those times. In this case, the newer additions to his portrait didn't cross his mind.
"
But hey, work hard and you might get it yourself; you've got cute down - and you've got sass at least, which is...close." he added.
Emma nodded,
”How sweet. Maybe if you keep up the compliments I’ll let you be a… distraction after all.” she said, her small smile playing its way across her face.
"
Well, I guess I'll keep that in mind!" Marcus said, his face very faintly flushing again. "
But, I do believe this is your stop." he said, jerking his finger to the big '318' that designated the room they were outside. "
I appreciate the day out, Emma - it was nice to just...sit and chat."
Emma glanced at the door, and then back at Marcus.
”Yeah, it was… thanks. For listening and everything. There aren’t a lot of people to talk to around here…” Emma squirmed uncomfortably for a moment. This was
always the most awkward part. Mulling over all the dating advice she’d always gotten from her sister, from Riley, from her friends, trying to decide what was the appropriate way to end the evening. But that advice didn’t
really matter because honestly Emma simply felt like kissing him, so she leaned in and did just that.
Marcus also squirmed a little bit, trying to assess the situation. Was he supposed to lean in at this point? What if she didn't feel the same way? Should he just go for a handshake? Nono, handshake was way too awkward. A hug then? Would that be too weird?
Fortunately, his questions were answered when Emma's lips pressed against his.
After a moment that Marcus wished wouldn't end, their first kiss was over, and Marcus found himself yet again burning a nice shade of crimson. "
Well, then..." Marcus said awkwardly, a bit unsure how to respond to the situation. "
...have a good...night?.
Emma giggled at Marcus’ bashfulness.
”It wasn’t that awkward was it?” Emma thought for a moment, before a look of concern crossed her face.
”Wait, that wasn’t your first, was it?” she said, in a tone that crossed somewhere between concern and sarcasm.
"
Nono....I just..." Marcus said, rubbing his head. "
I'm never sure what to say. 'Thank you' would be super creepy, and last time I said something like 'wowzers', I got dumped at the door." he said, deflecting his awkward attitude with humor. "
But yeah. Have a goodnight, Emma."
Emma laughed again,
”Yeah, I’d probably have turned around and slammed that door if you said ‘wowzers’. Or thank you, for that matter.” Emma tapped her foot on the ground,
”But, uh, goodnight… I guess I’ll see you later.” she said, smiling. She turned around, unlocking the door to her apartment and heading in.
Marcus gave a little wave, before turning around and walking back towards his room. A fairly successful date, if he did say so himself! Despite the couple of opportunities that he threatened to completely ruin everything of course. It was weird, he'd been awkward during this date, sure; but most of the other dates he went on had left him a quivering bundle of nerves. Hell, maybe he was just more confident now that he had time-travel powers, or maybe he was just less worried about everything after what he'd been through. He was certainly more outgoing than he had been before. That was something to ponder some other time though.
