Once Racheli had fully dressed and adjusted everything, with both individuals showing enough decently to leaver her alone finally, she begrudgingly walked to the door. Her arm reached out and grasped the metal handle with her gloved hand. For a moment, brief, she tightened her grasp in thought. She considered melting it away then use it to kill those she knew might be on the other side. It would’ve been quick and relieving stress. However, several things came to her attention to conflict with her plans. First, the bomb within her head that should Midas’ heart stop beating could possibly kill her. Despite what Gabe had said, she held very little faith in the theories the being had once uttered about her potential and didn’t want to risk putting them to the test. Second was the matter of assuming they were on the other side and not in some waiting room, expecting her to arrive. Third and final, she was her father. The thought stabbed into her heart and made her stop cold in her tracks, frozen to the stop to shake the strange sensation.
Inhaling, her fingers fastened onto the metal then gave the handle a quick turn. The door popped open easily with barely a grind from the hinges. From there, things were typically boring as she was escorted to a car then drove to her new residence. Idly she pressed her elbow into the arm rest and watched out the window, wondering how long this new ‘home’ would last. Considering most of her others ended up becoming rumble or she didn’t stick around in for longer than a few months, her odds weren’t in favor of it lasting that long.
Ms Sparks sat in the car next to Racheli as the vehicle took them from Midas Industries to the apartment safe house that Rach would be calling home for the immediate future. As the sun started to rise and the early morning commuter traffic began congesting the streets, the ride from Midas Industries to the highrise apartment building began moving at a slow crawl. It wouldn’t have been too bad if her companion had been more sociable, however, due to the circumstances of their cohabitation of the vehicle, she was not surprised by Racheli’s lack of social graces. Finally, after what had seemed to be an eternity of awkward silence, their car had emerged from the morning gridlock and pulled up to the curb in front of one of Sherman Square’s most prestigious apartment buildings, Halcyon Towers, which of course was owned by one of Midas’ subsidiary companies. Once the car came to a stop, Ms Sparks got out of the car and motioned for Racheli to follow her. Once both women were out of the vehicle, Ms Sparks turned to Racheli and offered her a smile.
“Ready to go home?” She asked as she led the way to the front door of the building. As they passed the doorman and entered the building, Ms Sparks was taken aback by the detail that went into seemingly every inch of the baroque structure. Everywhere she looked there were detailed etchings on not only the marble floor, but in all of the woodworking as well. Carvings that depicted great leaders from history, presidents and emperors. Everyone from Alexander the Great to George Washington. Also, the phrase “Not all that Glitters is Gold” was etched above the first floor elevator door. “I think you’ll like it here. It suits you.” Sparks told Racheli as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside, where Ms Sparks pressed the button for the 46th floor.
“I give it a week before it’s turned into rubble and that’s generous. My last apartment last only a day,” Racheli shot off while her eyes glanced at the doorman, noting his buff physical state and narrowed her vision. She noted an unnatural bulge at his hip and zoomed in on it. From the outline, she suspected it was a gun. Her hands pressed deeper into her jeans, her hood hide her face from sight, as her feet followed Ms. Sparks into the elevator. Her figure leaned against the side railing with her shoulder and crossed over her arms, looking impatient to get this tour over.
“I sort of doubt that. A bit too fancy for me and the fact we got an armed guard downstairs, makes this a rather elegant prison.” “I think you’ll find that this place is a bit more...sturdy than your last apartment.” Ms Sparks said meeting Racheli’s gaze. “Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but we are here to help you.” The statement was in essence true. Although Midas had his own reasons for wanting to have Racheli under his control, he did want to help her learn to control her powers. If nothing else, a woman who leveled entire city blocks every time she got angry was, to say the very least, less than ideal. Ms Sparks knew that they were in the right in this matter, regardless of how they came to be in possession of the girl, they were in the right. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, and I’ve been where you are. But we’ve got your best interest in mind.”
Racheli’s eyes darted toward Midas’ lackey, her gaze displayed subtle hints of fire burning underneath, while she let her mind tick away. Being a prisoner was never a natural state in the human condition and often rejected by anything from morals to modern expectations, but she kept finding herself in the situation of being under someone else’s thumb. First the CDC, then Cowl and now Midas. Her head fell backwards to thump against the elevator’s wall as she tried to hold back her strength, managing only a small indentation in the flawless steel.
Resting her head there, her voice kept a tense and razor edge to the tone,
“I seem to be doing that with everyone I’ve met since I became infected. It’s getting hard to tell the good guys from the bad, my unwanted ‘guest’ attracting more attention than I need. Getting off on the wrong foot after kidnapping is the last phrase I would consider using.” “Is that what you think? Racheli, I know Midas has an...interesting way of getting people’s attention, but despite everything, we didn’t kidnap you. We rescued you from that self aggrandizing mercenary and prevented you from blowing up any more of the city.” Ms Sparks said as the elevator came to a stop and the large double doors opened.
She then exited the elevator and motioned for Racheli to follow her. Ms Sparks led her down the hall until the reached the last door on the left next to the large picture window at the very end of the hall which allowed for an incredible view of the city. Once they reached the door, Ms Sparks pulled a key out of her purse and unlocked the door and led Racheli into the large penthouse apartment.
[color=redindian] “Pardon me if I’m not grateful for something that came as a surprise, especially when it came with an explosive strapped to my skull,”[/color] Rach snipped back as she grudgingly followed Midas’ babysitter through the hallway, her eyes darted to the view due to her smoldering fury within her core. Her hands dug deeper into her pant pockets while she kept pace with the clicking woman in heels. When Ms. Sparks stepped back and gestured for her to walk through, Racheli brushed past into the room.
The first room that greeted her was a short hall that lead into a much bigger kitchen, dining and living room combination. A kitchen lined the wall to her right complete with fridge to microwave, each one along a black marble counter that ended where living room began. A table able to seat about six or more comfortably stood within the center, decorated by yellow, freshly cut flowers and a welcome basket. Racheli frowned at the sight and assumed Midas thought it would make her feel right at home. Her figure edged deeper into the elegant ‘prison’ as she spotted the state of the art smartphone, her leash, next to the welcome basket. She reached for the device and held it out for her eyes to examine along every inch of it. While it appeared she had never actually seen one and tried to satisfy her idle curiosity, she actually had been looking for any miniscule flaw within the phone’s seam. Any little hint of customized additions she preferred not to find later.
After Rach took several moments to look at it, her hand set it down surprisingly gently. It made a soft tap upon the hard surface. She twisted about to face Ms. Sparks, who she expected would be likely leering at her again, before she spoke again,
“Alright, now what? Do you plan on sticking around or does Midas have something for you to go do before hightailing it back?” “Well, that depends on you. Can you be a good girl, or do you need a babysitter?” Ms Sparks snapped slightly harsher than she had intended. While she understood Racheli’s anger at the situation, the young woman’s attitude was beginning to grate on Ms Sparks’ nerves. “Look, we don’t have to be enemies. I know what you’re going through, and it sucks. Hell, I understand better than most exactly what it’s like. But it doesn’t have to be a bad situation. We can make something good come of this.”
“Let the hell you do! You don’t know half of it and don’t try to pretend you do,” Rach growled, her fist tighten and her hunches raised at the retort. Any metal within the room rattle slightly at her emotional outburst while they twisted and contorted before her peripheral vision noted it. A sound of frustration died in her throat, her figure twisted about to walk away toward the living room connected to the kitchen. Her figure leaned against the window frame overlooking the street below, her palms not caring if the metal started to bite into her flesh. It would heal.
“You’re wrong. I know exactly what you’re going through. I went through it too.” Ms Sparks said as she pulled back her hair at the back of her head, indicating a small, almost unnoticeable scar just behind her ear. “It sucks, there’s no way around it. You feel like you have no choice, like you’re caged in. But I do promise you, it gets better Racheli. It gets easier, and eventually...well, I guess that’s up to you.”
“No, it fucking doesn’t,” Rach’s eyes turned to spy the scar. She wasn’t comforted by the fact it seemed Ms. Sparks shared the same experience, from both her words and her show, as she didn’t have the past that rotated around violence and blood. Her fingers only tightened on the railing until it gave an abrupt squeech causing her head to jerk down and see the damage.
Puck’s prophecy surfaced to her mind and part of her wanted to merely just… run. Run far and fast from the doubt and pain of what could be a possible truth, that she was a monster. It had been rather rattling to hear a ‘demon’ himself point blank call her one. Ever since she felt the day slip from her grasp until where she had finally hit rock and landing her here. Still unable to leave the window, her arms crossed over the distorted bar and lowered her head to hide from the defeat she felt.
“That’s...quite a grip you’ve got.” Ms Sparks said as she looked at the damaged railing. “Racheli, I’ve been where you are, and I know the fear and anger that you’re feeling, and I promise you…” She said locking eyes with Rach, trying to show her that she is sincere, “You will get through this, just like I did. Hell, when it’s all said and done, maybe you’ll stick around like I did. Maybe you won’t, that’s up to you. But let whatever may come out of this, let us help you learn to control your powers. You don’t want what happened yesterday happen every time you lose your cool, do you?”
“Try saying that in the same tone when even a demon subtly hints that you’re a monster,” Rach snarled softly, her eyes refused to look at the damage her grip had caused,
“The bad part… I’m not even sure I reached my max power during that fight. I just got this gut feeling I held back and… fuck.” “A demon told you that?” Ms Sparks asked unable to hide the shock in her voice. During her time in Lost Haven, she had seen a lot. She was there for D-Day and saw the destruction that the demons had caused throughout the city. When she spoke, she slightly recoiled at the sound of her own voice. She never liked showing anyone, no matter who any sort of weakness. That was a trait that she had gained in her years of service to Midas. “And you believed him? Racheli, a demon’s entire purpose is to plant seeds in your mind, to make you doubt yourself. Nobody is destined to be a monster. You choose to be one, or you choose not to be. It’s up to you, and no one else. Never, ever let anybody get that kind of control over you.”
“Right or wrong, I don’t deny… I’m obviously not normal. Even before the virus,” Racheli huffed, only half agreeing with her, while letting her hand ruffle through her short hair and let it fall back into place. Her figure rose from the railing and continued to stare outside,
“He might be designed to get under my skin and in the end I can’t help but wonder.” The words brought a venomous tone into her voice as her father’s image surfaced, a memory from years ago. Usually she refused to reflected on the past but now she found herself trapped and unable to run away from it. No matter how much she wanted to. Anger foamed at her center and bubbled up as her fist raised before cracking the side into the glass, letting the desire pass. It spiderwebbed on contact but didn’t break.
“Hurting yourself won’t make the truth go away…” Both women heard a masculine voice come from behind them, the virus’ usual form stood not far from their location.
Ms Sparks jumped at the sound of the male voice coming from behind him and instinctively grabbed the sidearm she had hidden inside of the lightweight leather jacket that she wore. She stood there in shock staring at a man who should not be there. This was a secure building that nobody should have been able to breach, yet he was standing there right in front of her. There was something familiar about the dark haired man. The way he leered at her with a predatory look in his eyes, the way he maliciously smiled at her. He actually reminded her of...Racheli.
“Good luck hitting him. No one’s been able to yet,” Rach flipped over to lean her back against the rail, facing him,
“As for you, fuck the hell off.”“Friend of yours?” Ms Sparks asked, suspecting that she already knew the answer.
“More like an unwanted guest running through my veins,” she replied,
“He seems a bit too fond of that man’s image…” “Waitaminute...That, that’s not…” Ms Sparks said in disbelief. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. And yes, it’s my virus. I was sort of out of it while he was rampaging my system so I missed his explanation when he first appeared,” Rach sighed then moved toward the fridge, needing something strong to kill the figurative headache budding in her skull.
The virus, however, merely chuckled,
“I feel bad for popping your bubble, but you’re not going to get drunk. The nanites will break it down too fast and use it for something else.”Rach just flipped him off as she opened the fridge, the sounds of bottle and other items clashing gently in her search.
“Listen to me Racheli.” Sparks said in as calm of a voice as she could muster. This thing inside of her, that was somehow standing directly in front of them has up until this point nothing short of a force of nature. There was no way that they could fight the virus here, their only hope was for somehow to banish it. “Rach, you need to get control of it. Remember, it is a part of you, whether you like it or not. You can control it, you just have to believe in yourself. You’re stronger than you know, you can do this. Racheli, you’ve got to do this.”
“First off, calm down. Let me show you something,” Rach causally walked up to the virus’ projection then showed one hand, her other held her wine cooler, then shoved it right through the ‘man’. She did this three time, her eyes watched Ms. Sparks’ expression each round. When it was done, her hand plopped the bottle down before she explained,
“From what I do know, the virus is intelligent. This isn’t really him but a ghost or what the fuck did you call it?” The virus rolled his eyes then corrected Rach,
‘Mental projection.’ “That,” she stated, her thumb pointed in the projection’s direction,
“Do you still think we are the same?” “It doesn’t matter what I think. You can control him. You can be in control of yourself. He is nothing but a parasite, but you...you’re something special. You just have to realize it.” Ms Sparks told her as she focused on the projection of the virus. “Take control Racheli, put him back in his box. You can do it.”
“Right now, he’s fucking harmless. He can’t attack you or even do shit to anything, at least according to what he told Icarus and me. Considering I’ve been carrying this damn thing around for nearly half a year, I’ve tried nearly fucking everything worth trying,” Rach’s voice was thick with sarcasm and irritation at the woman’s insistence at her to ‘turn’ him off. If she knew how, than it would’ve happened a long time ago as she turned to press her ass against the counter edge and pause from her search for a bottle opener,
“If you know how to turn off a mental project that isn’t yours… I would love to hear it. Other than that, do what I do. Shut up and ignore the bastard.” Her figure returned to seek out the opener only to find the drawers filled with anything but what she fucking needed. Leaning against the edge, her arms braced herself and took a breath before she lifted upright. Rach whipped out her arm to snatch the bottle’s neck before she held her hand an inch over the lid. It jiggled and vibrated until it crunched inward rather than outward. Glass crackled as it was removed, leaving a jagged stub to drink out of. Racheli had seriously started to miss the Forge since she barely broke anything mundane there.
Ms Sparks just stood there for a moment staring at Racheli.
This is Midas’ big plan? Her? She thought to herself as she continued staring at the young woman who was quickly becoming more than an enigma to her. She understood that Racheli was powerful, however Ms Sparks was beginning to question her mental state, and whether she was up to the task at hand.
“Right…” Ms Sparks replied to Racheli’s sudden outburst, and watched as the young woman broke the neck of a glass bottle. She then went over to the kitchen counter and opened the third drawer over from the fridge, and pulled out the bottle opener that Racheli had missed and left it sitting on the kitchen counter.
“Impatient much?” She said as she turned her back to Racheli and walked through the mental projection of her virus, and continued on into the living room.
“Yeah, especially in this situation. My usual method for chilling would likely break the guy in half,” Rach grumbled more to herself while she dumped the broken bottle and its contents down the sink. Leaving the broken glass there for the time being, her hand gripped the opener then moved toward the fridge to grab herself another drink,
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” “Yes. As a matter of fact I do. Do you think you can behave yourself long enough to allow me to get on with my day?” Ms Sparks asked, growing ever more tired of Racheli’s antics with each passing second.
“Then go. It’s not like I can really go anywhere without your boss knowing it and I’m sure if I go off the grid, you’ll be nipping at my heels,” Rach replied, her hand with the bottle gestured for the door.
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LeeRoy
Izurich
