Exhausting Evacuation Effort
Lily
Kusari | Marcus | Emma
Angélique | Grant | Sophia
𝕊𝕦𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ~𝟙𝟛𝟘𝟘
Collab with @Kyrisse @Piercing Light @Chasers115 @Diggerton @Riffus Maximus @Deathmyster @VampireOracle
There was a beam of light that darted through some of the side rooms, shining through the dust and glittering off each individual piece as it floated in the air. The offender was none other than Marcus, who was currently looking for some secondary way out of the ruins. The sound of rumbling accompanied the shuffling of his footsteps as he gingerly wandered the length of the hallway he'd found himself in, unwilling to investigate any further lest he trigger another collapse - one that wouldn't be so kind to him.
"...Marcus...where are you guys? Are you alright?
He jumped at the sound of someone right beside him, nearly dropping his phone in his shock. The owner of the voice didn't even occur to him until he'd made a panicked scan of the hallway, eyes darting to and fro suspiciously.
"...Angel?" He said meekly, still looking around. There was no possible way she'd followed him down, was there? Last time he'd seen her, she'd barely been able to walk by herself.
He found Angel's name on his communicator, raising it to his mouth. There was no reason to panic everybody in their class by using the cuffs. Or, more importantly, let everybody know how bad his decision making was. "Hey Angel; Marcus here. I'm fine...tentatively. It's entirely possible I'm currently inside that mound of rubble we're currently parked on." he said, almost sheepishly.
On the other side of the ruined condo, Angélique was starting to struggle on her own with the effects of the growing exhaustion she was feeling from her previous injuries and her overuse of her voice-projecting ability. While everyone was divided about helping in this scenario, the raven-haired Aberration had started to work as a teammate into this evacuation effort, even though her motives were different from the others. Still, she wanted to help, for her classmates' sake, just as intensely as she could.
The sky beginning to clear only added another layer to the young woman's hardships. Still with no sunglasses to shield her sensitive eyes to the bright rays of the sun, her vision began to blur as a sign of an overload. Soon enough, she started closing her eyes and putting her hands in front to shield them from the brightness, as her heard started to ache.
Getting an answer from Marcus over her cuff, she was shocked to know that he was inside the collapsing condo. Why was he in there? Was he also looking for survivors? But his powers were of no immediate use to rescue them. What was he thinking? Growing irritated, Angélique reached out to him once more with her powers.
"What are you doing? The whole place is just about to collapse. Get out of there before everything comes down on your head." Angel's tired voice returned to Marcus' side, her irritation hinting at her growing exhaustion.
"Well...you're certainly spot on in your assement." Marcus said, his tone making it very hard to tell he was currently moments away from being crushed to death. "It's already collapsed a little bit...which may have trapped me down here. A little."
"WHAT!?" Angel's voice raised considerably, taken by surprise from the considerable dire news that Marcus seemed to be taking so lightly. A moment of silence to recollect her focus. "Alright alright, calm down. Siena is already using her powers to save trapped people, so she can surely get you out no problem if she can know your location."
An inaudible sigh came from Angel's own mouth this time, both clearly anxious and annoyed by what Marcus just told her. "Why the hell didn't you say so in the first place? Just... don't move, alright? I mean, unless you got a rock going to fall on your face. I'm going to get someone get you out of there."
"Alright, I'll just...hang out here then." Marcus said, looking around the ruined hallway. Wasn't exactly like he had any other plans.
Knowing Marcus was now in danger from getting crushed by the unstable mound of ruins, Angélique lost no time in reaching out her Arbiter friend. Siena had just came out of nowhere from the rubbles, bringing children back with her. The message broadcasted from the cuffs earlier did not go unheard. She could sympathize with the possibly dead child, but for now they had to focus on getting one of their own from meeting the same fate. She reached out for the brunette girl with her magical voice, a faint but audible whisper coming to Siena's ears.
"Siena, it's Angélique. Marcus is trapped somewhere in the ruins. Could you get to him before anything bad happens to him?"
There wasn't enough time for Siena to stop. A cold, rational voice told her that the building could fall at any moment, and trying to extend the time she could utilize a name had been the wrong choice. Always the wrong choice. The girl's mind ran through the situation at hand when Angelique's voice whispered in her ear. A chill crept up the brunette's spine--had she imagined it?
No, apparently not. Not long after, a second statement. Marcus was trapped in the building. For a moment, the Arbiter felt her mind go blank as it tried to sort the surge of emotion that rose to meet the thought. Anger, fear, frustration, hesitation, guilt, remorse, fear, what the hell was she supposed to make of that?
"Transmit. I can get to him if needed, but I need a general location." Hearing her voice out loud, Siena couldn't help but grimace faintly. It wasn't the fact that she couldn't keep the worn tone out of the words, it was the fact that they were painfully calm--no. That wasn't quite the word she was looking for. Distant was better. As though she'd had to put herself at a mental arm's length from the situation to keep herself from letting control escape from her again. "Marcus, you need to stay in a small radius, but if you can find any survivors nearby, then bring them with you."
Her mind went back to the child she couldn't save, and Siena felt her heart try to tear itself a little further away. There was no time to stop and grieve.
"I'm going to need a clear space nearby too. Over."
More rumbling punctuated the end of the sentence. Time was running out.
"Hello!? Anybody else in here?" Marcus shouted in response to Siena's remark about survivors. There was a long moment of silence before he went back to the cuff. "Transmit. Alright; I'm not seeing anything else in this place. Looks like I'm near a stair-"
Something stopped him midsentence. Had he actually heard something, or had he just been imagining things? He strained his ears to listen, only being rewarded with more silence.
"Hello!?" he shouted again, allowing the silence to echo some more.
There it was, a barely audible cry, somewhere close.
"Hang on, I think I've got more survivors." he said, briskly walking down the ruined halls after a slightly delayed. "Over."
"Hello!? Anybody here? Evacuation team; looking for survivors!"
"In here!"
The voice was faint, but he heard it. Another destroyed apartment room - 203 if the slightly askew wall plate was anything to go by.
"Transmit. Siena, I'm near room 203. Plenty of space in the hallway, sounds like there's survivors nearby. Over."
"Is someone out there?" a female voice from behind the door shouted.
"Evacuation team!"
Of one..
"Here to get you the hell out of this place!"
"Oh, thank god! We didn't know if it was safe to move."
"I mean...it's as safe as it's gonna get..." Marcus uneasily stammered. The brave heroics and keen leadership had gone right out the window when he'd found himself entombed. Right now, he probably wasn't inspiring any confidence - he wasn't a hero anymore, he was a little trapped boy.
A sense of anxiety gripped at Siena's chest for a moment before fading back into that cool, calculating mindset that the girl relied on to carry her through. 'Deep breaths, Siena. That's it...you want to be thinking straight when things happen.' She felt the last of Kitty's influence slip away, but was already moving on to her next mark. Faster, her mind demanded as she pulled at the name, letting the influence take over.
One jump is all you get.
God, she was so tired.
A faint pink mist was all that was left where the Arbiter once stood outside the building as she plunged back in. 'Awfully chipper today, kid. Bounce back already?' The mist was all that preluded her presence before her feet hit the floor with little more than a faint tap, the slightly heavier breathing being the better indication of Siena's appearance. As usual, Bounce transported her with near pinpoint accuracy, leaving only a few short strides to reach Marcus, her eyes drifting to the door.
"They're inside?" No time wasted. No time to stop. "I need to move us out quickly if I--" A pause as her brow furrowed slightly. "We want to help anyone else."
"Yeah, inside. Careful with the door though; last time I opened one I got stuck down here." Marcus said, jumping only slightly when Siena spoke. She could teleport - right; he was more than familiar with that little ability of hers.
"You got a plan?"
A brief nod.
"I'll bring you through with me. By then I should be able to pull an adequate name to move any survivors out safely." Thoughts of the building crumbling around them before she could manage it tried to pierce through the calm, so instead fo dwelling, Siena sent her gaze downward, the purple light coming to life. "I suggest grabbing my shoulder or my arm. There's very little margin for error here."
As soon as Siena mentioned holding onto her, Marcus's slightly-shaky hand clamped down firmly on her shoulder. There were too many variables freaking him out, first and foremost being that he still didn't have a super clear idea of how Siena's power worked. Apparently she could do anything, and long as she had some sort of literature to pull from? His mind raced back to that very first combat day. The clearest explanation he'd gotten.
Still, every time they came into contact with each other, it usually ended poorly for him. He didn't need to get his torso deleted by a piece of wall when they teleported.
"Alright. Ready." he said, the slightest traces of fear in his voice. Any mistakes now, and it would be far worse than a dry cleaning bill.
Hand on her shoulder. Good. The name started to pull from its source, letters peeling from the screen. Siena didn't let her eyes falter. There were a few things that could go wrong...but based on calculations, based on experience, the plan would work… she hoped.
"Don't trip."
She felt the more powerful version of her mark take its place, felt an overwhelming sense of frustration and barely managed to curb it long enough to take a few rapid steps forward. A stronger version of Shadowcat, too strong to hold for as long as that dull, pathetic version that didn't know how to handle herself, but just right for the next phase of the plan, assuming nothing went wrong. The intangibility spread through her, to Marcus, and she pushed forward, through the door at fast enough clip to ensure the name wouldn't slip from her too soon.
"Don't...? A confused statement Marcus barely got out before Siena started to run. He dug his hand harder into her shoulder, probably uncomfortably so, and gave himself a burst of speed to keep up. No mistakes. Please god, no mistakes.
Siena was running. Don't let go.
The door was coming to meet them. His hand was slipping.
Siena disappeared through the door. She was going too fast..
His face went through the door. Couldn't hold on..
They were mostly through. He faltered..
His hand slipped off Siena's shoulder, and he stumbled into the room, only barely managing to keep his balance. There was something wrong. The arm that hadn't been holding Siena felt cold...colder than before. His heart skipped a beat, his face went numb, and it took a full second before he forced himself to look. It was bad, he knew it. He'd have to rewind. He'd lose his arm if he didn't rewin-
His sleeve fluttered freely, the back part of it sheared cleanly off, leaving the front to flap annoyingly. His arm was fine. He was fine.
The two civilians gaped at the entrance, eyes staring at the teenagers before settling on their white marks. The woman who had called out blinked and her expression immediately soured.
"You said evacuation team," she grimaced.
"We can leave if you'd prefer." Marcus said, his voice shaking uncontrollably. That had almost gone terribly wrong. As wrong as it probably could have. And he wasn't sure whether to be scared, cry, or just be absolutely pissed. She'd not even given him a countdown, and he'd almost gotten cut in half because he wasn't prepared.
Fortunately, there was someone else to direct his irritation towards.
"No!" the other occupant in the room, a man who looked somewhere between middle-aged and elderly sped forward, "No, please, we need to get out."
A larger tremor consumed the room, dislodging some large bits of ceiling behind the regulars. Instinctively, they both moved to Siena and Marcus, fear evident in their wide eyes.
'We don't have time to argue.' The words were like gunfire. A sharp crack that made itself noticeable despite the chaos. God, she was so tired. Before she had fully registered the number of people, Siena had set the next part of her plan into motion, her blood pounding in her ears, some distant part of her shrieking for rest. Color bled once more into her eyes, another round of fear-laced calm.
The tremor struck, and the brunette held back her grimace, held back the flinch. She wasn't done yet, and there wouldn't be enough time for a real transmission. She'd accepted that earlier, had picked her names in a distinct order. Two teleporters, one for spatial awareness, one for remote teleportation. The limits of both were reduced, but it would be enough.
It had to be enough.
"Just...stay still for a second...please..." She used her hands as a method of focus, making sure she had Marcus and both survivors in view. They'd have to land in the same place--a strange sense that didn't normally exist seemed to provide an instinctive knowledge of yes and no when she thought of places to put them. It took only an instant, but the ordeal felt much longer, like the last stretch of a marathon. Near...the truck? Yes, said that bizarre instinct she was borrowing.
Siena inhaled, braced herself for the exhaustion that would siege her, and as she released, sent the survivors in view out of the building like a soft breeze.
"Alright, just promise you'll give me some sort of coun-" Marcus started, standing at attention.
Outside, the two survivors and Marcus hit the ground hard, garnering the attention of some shocked bystanders. The woman looked as if she was going to throw up but stood shakily, giving a passing glance to Marcus. Ultimately, she decided to ignore the teen, opting instead to help the man up by the arm and limp silently towards the evacuation point.
"-tdOWN!"
Marcus finished his sentence in midair, hitting the rocky surface of the ground hard - which would have knocked the air out of him if he hadn't been in the middle of talking.
God he hated teleportation.
He rolled over to his back, taking a second to catch his breath and look at the sky. And then pull the particularly sharp rock out from under his spine. Finally, after what seemed like minutes to him, but was only a few seconds in the real world, he sat up, shaking the confusion from his head.
"Transmit. Alright Siena, we're outside, all accounted for. Bring yourself up and we'll start heading out. Over."
The name slipped away like smoke, pushing away from her fingers--not that Siena had any reason to try and keep her hold. She knew from the start that it wouldn't last. Stumbling, the brunette felt her legs moving in an attempt to keep her standing. If she sat, if she stopped, she might not have the willpower to get back on her feet and start moving again. So she walked. One heavy pace after another--her footsteps didn't sound as heavy as they felt...perhaps she should have just sat down--until her cuff came to life with voice again.
All accounted for. That was good.
"Transmit."
A pause as Siena realized she didn't know what she was going to say.
"Lost the teleporter faster than I expected. I don't know if it's safe here to stop and try to get another." Only a partial lie. Truth be told, Siena doubted that she could take a name that would bring her safely out the building and into a familiar space--not one that would get her out in time, based on the building's condition. Thankfully, nobody was around to see the cracks on her usual mask forming even as she spoke. "I'll move somewhere more stable and be out soon. Don't let anyone try coming into the building. Over."
"What!? What do you mean you lost the teleporter!?" Marcus shouted from his position on the surface. Although, the fact that he'd forgotten to transmit meant that he was shouting at nothing, save for a few nearby survivors who might have heard him. Siena's words brought an equal amount of panic and confused frustration to him, a set of emotions that took more than a few moments to subside.
It was fine - she'd managed to herself in there to rescue him. She could certainly get herself back out just as easily. After all, that was her power; she could do anything.
"Transmit. Alright...just...be careful down there, Siena. We're not going to leave without you, so stay safe and get back out as soon as you can. Over."
She kept moving like a clockwork soldier, the images on her phone's screen cutting to darkness in the idle moments before she tried another name to make a getaway. She just...needed some time to recover. Forcefully shoving the weariness from her mind, Siena did the only other thing she knew she could do.
"Is there anyone still here?"
A silence followed before distant footsteps pattered towards Siena's location. "Yeah? You there?"
Blue eyes peeked from around the corner, narrowing as they caught sight of Siena. A dust-covered woman stepped out and looked the Arbiter up and down.
"How did you get in here?"
Another person trapped in the building? A mixture of relief that there was someone else alive and mild concern. A teleport that could bring her safely out of the building wasn't too difficult, but one that could bring more than that was questionably safe at best. And that aside...was it really important to know how someone was in the building? The Arbiter felt her mind zero in on the white mark--maybe it was a fair enough question. For all the woman knew, Siena could have been one of the ones that brought the building down to begin with.
"Not the way that I can get us out," the girl claimed. "I teleported, but I don't think I can get both of us safely that way." Or either of them, if she wanted to be completely honest. She kept her grip on her phone. Lifeline, she reminded herself. "Were there others with you?"
At the mention of others the woman looked away. "I've been looking around. Most of the people I've found are...dead. But there was a room with I think three inside. I've dug two of 'em out."
She sighed, obviously exhausted after being trapped in unstable darkness for an hour.
"There's no way they're walking out on their own two feet. Not to mention the last one still under all that crap. I'll take you to 'em."
Her words proved true as she led Siena down a smaller hallway. The small suite's walls had been thoroughly crushed, creating a mound within the mound. A man and woman, both with distorted legs, lay near the entrance, breathing faintly.
Siena followed after the woman, grateful for the moment of reprieve as she felt the muscles in her face pull her lips into a tight, uncomfortable frown. Three others on top of the woman and--
"Oh...my god..." Compared to the previous survivors, the group here was in significantly worse shape. A single look was all it took for Siena to understand that the woman was right--nobody in the room was going to be walking out of the building on their own. The heroic names she'd taken since the disaster started left her with a sense of discomfort. A hard, gripping sensation at her chest that Siena struggled to identify as an actual emotion. 'There's no way I can teleport all these people out.' But they couldn't walk, and what the hell was she supposed to do?
An eerie silence greeted the unspoken question. She didn't know. Her thumb tapped her phone screen until it lit up, and Siena kept trying to be brave despite the horror that settled in. She didn't know. The countless experiences from the literature she took her power from didn't compare to the reality. A careful breath as she tried to prioritize--the feeling of warm skin beneath her fingers and no pulse--what had to be done first. If everyone was in close proximity with each other, then maybe...
Once more. The purple light flickered to life, its luminescence duller than before, as though trying to reflect how drained the Arbiter was. She ignored it as the letters crept from the screen. Tired. She was unbelievably tired, but that didn't stop her mind from trying to work out a plan. "I'll try to bring her out." Her movements felt heavy and sluggish, as though trying to swim through thick cream, but the mage didn't let herself falter as she refocused herself and sank once more into the rubble.
A younger man was unearthed, his legs broken from the concrete's impact in the same fashion as the other two. A groggy moan escaped his lips but he said nothing otherwise.
"Okay," the woman nodded as soon as the rescued was set down safely, "What do we do now?"
"We...ugh..." A wave of nausea that she hadn't felt in a long time. No, she was fine. Siena forced herself to focus, took a deep breath. "S-Sorry. Let me see..." Her eyes gazed over the group. Only one person that was in any condition to really walk, which meant phasing everyone out wasn't a feasible option. Most forms of teleportation wouldn't be a good option either in their current state, and the strain it would enact might be too much. A grisly image of bringing only part of the rescues with her nixed the idea immediately.
But...didn't she know another way?
"I can make a doorway. They won't have to walk through it, but it'll probably aggravate their injuries when we land." Which was better than dying, admittedly, but Siena kept that to herself. "I will do my best to keep things stable, but I don't think I can completely prevent it."
"That's..." the woman frowned but her hesitation stopped as more rumbling filled the air, "I can't speak for these guys but we've got no other choice. Do it fast."
Another rumble as Siena nodded, pushing the strangely muted sense of fear down her throat as she quickly split the attention of her phone apart, two sources making themselves available at once. The light returned, flickering a few times before holding steady in a dim, faded sense as her marks peeled themselves from the so-called "pages" before her, a dark color pooling in each iris until it seemed to flood, replacing the grey.
She couldn't quite breathe.
"Okay..." True to Siena's word, a door did seem to cut itself into the earth beneath the group. "We're getting out of here." Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, twisted it, and all at once the door gave way, dropping the group into what should have been nothing but ground...if Door hadn't been a better name than all that.
When the daylight breached Siena's attention, she gasped, tried her best to use the last vestiges of her strength to slow their brief descent, but the name slipped through her fingers before she could muster the focus to utilize it fully. The most she managed was a small, quick burst of air that did little to slow the speed at which they landed. She hit the floor, her shoulder hitting the ground, but somewhere between the exhaustion and the surprise, the Arbiter felt numbed to the sensation.
No sooner had Siena landed than Marcus had rushed over to her - her and the four other people that she had apparently brought with her. They all looked pretty bad - most of the survivors with her had their legs completely smashed and mangled. Something that probably wasn't life threatening, but it was hard to tell how many internal injuries they'd suffered. He was no doctor, so there was no way for him to help with that; all he could do was making sure they were alive for now.
The shallow, but still visible breaths indicated they were, including Siena; a fact that caused him to release his own held breath. He ran his fingers through his hair once, before extending an arm down to hers.
"C'mon kiddo. Let's get you up; you did good in there."
'Get up.' But she was so tired. 'You think you have any right to complain?' No, she didn't. Even as the pain settled in over her shoulder as a blunt ache, Siena willed herself to try and push herself up. Tired, bitter, frustrated, guilty, so tired. She set her gaze on Marcus's extended arm for a moment, the fog unwilling to lift, the meaning of the gesture escaping her for longer than it should have. A quiet, longing voice chimed in.
Take his hand. You need the help.
But it was drowned out by a multitude of other voices. She had to be strong. She didn't need help, didn't want help, didn't...didn't deserve it. Pushing herself to a sitting position, the brunette glanced up at her roommate. "I'm fine." Not really. With a sharp exhalation of effort, the Arbiter managed to push herself to her feet, feeling unsteady before she'd even straightened. Immediately, her focus went back to the building. She couldn't make it back in, she knew that for a fact. But...she still had to do something, didn't she?
"How many people do you think are still in there...?"
Marcus sighed, dropping his hand and looking back to where he'd originally entered. The destroyed hallway wasn't even visible anymore - just another section of rubble in a landscape of the stuff. With how big this place had been originally, and considering the fact that it had originally been a condo...how many people were still trapped down there?
Too many.
But he said nothing, a deafening silence that probably answered the question more than he would have liked.
"...I thought so too." Her eyes lingered over the building, acknowledging that there was no way in for any normal person. A hollow fatigue seemed to fill Siena at the thought, but she felt her feet moving before her mind could catch up. She could still do something, even if she couldn't get in. She had to.
"Siena." Marcus said, planting a firm grasp on her shoulder. "We've done enough. Any more and you're going to start hurting yourself."
Don't touch.
"I'm fine with that." The mask didn't hold in place, chipped away until it was dangerously close to crumbling. No, not really fine with it, but she deserved it, right? "If that's all, please. Let go."
"No." Marcus said sternly, refusing to relinquish his grasp. "Exactly how do you think you're going to be able to help any more in your state? If you go down there, you're not going to come back up." Even from what he could see, the poor girl was exhausted. If she used her powers anymore, she'd probably drop; and if that happened in the basement of a collapsing building...he wasn't going to allow it.
"Do you think anyone would really care?" A quiet question that Siena knew the answer to already. "I can go, and I can probably help a few more people before the building goes down. If I happen not to be one of the ones that comes out, then it's just one more--" the word "monster" tried to escape her, but the filter clamped down, changed the meaning before it could leave her lips. "--subnatural that happened to die in the process. Nobody would care."
A pause as she took a breath. Calmed the sudden, violent surge of emotion that threatened to break free, then released them as a quiet exhalation.
"I was too weak to keep the cars from crushing anyone, I can at least keep a few people from a building."
Marcus nearly reeled at the statement, so taken aback he was. Is this honestly what Siena felt? Underneath that rich, peppy exterior? Or was she just feeling everything from the Evacuation incident do strongly right now? They'd all made mistakes...but none of them deserved to die for it.
Still...in her position, would he be any different?
"Siena. If you think I'm going to let another one of us die, you are out of your mind. I'm your roommate. Your friend. And I'm not going to allow you to kill yourself." his voice was growing lower; angrier almost. After everything...she just wanted to give up? Absolutely not.
"You think my plan is to go in and di--" Whoa, calm down, Siena. That's not you. And she stepped back from the sudden flash of frustration. Not her. Not her. Little Harker--not her. "I don't have time for this argument." Clearly Marcus wasn't going to let her go, but at what point was it a matter of him allowing her to do anything?
She tapped the screen of her phone to life, eyes darting toward it, a flicker of purple daring to rise before sinking again as she tore the first source aside with a swipe. There were better ways to get in.
Marcus's eyes widened in surprise when Siena brought out the phone again. She was really going to do it, wasn't she? It didn't matter if she wasn't planning on dying - it was what would happen, regardless of her plans. Even with him standing here begging her not to do it.
His eyes flicked from phone screen to the back of Siena's head. The familiar glow of the phone, similar to what she'd done down below in the hallway. That was it - the one thing standing between Siena and certain death. If she didn't have her phone...
Fine.
'It should be fine if I use--'
With his hand on her shoulder, Siena's body froze in place - sparking at the edges and flickering like an old, corrupted computer screen. He wasn't happy with the outcome, the things he had to do to protect his friends. Even from themselves.
With hand locked in place, the phone was relatively easy to pry from her grasp. Fortunately for him (or her, depending on how one wanted to look at the situation) the phone had an easily accessible battery - one of those ones that could be easily replaced. He snapped the back off, prying out the battery, before locking the protective cover back on.
"Sorry." he muttered, though he knew she wouldn't be able to hear him. Slipping the phone awkwardly back into her hand, he gave the battery one long look. A look of contemplation, regret, some guilt; of so many different emotions, before turning and throwing it as hard as he could somewhere into the landscape of rocks and debris.
'--another gho...?'
The screen was dark where it had been luminous before. The words were gone. Confusion ripped to the forefront. How? She tapped the screen, as though oblivious to her surroundings. Nothing. She tapped it again. Nothing. Her fingers pressed at the power button, at the volume, at anything that might get the phone to react, and she was rewarded with the same void.
Every emotion was suddenly quieted, a silent fanfare for the flood of mind-numbing panic came to drown her. No, no, no. No, bad, no. No. Grey eyes darted from screen to surroundings. What happened? What the fuck happened? What little was left of the brave mask Siena had tried to piece together came crumbled into dust as her mind tried to process the reality. No phone. No phone, no reader, no books, no...no sources. Another thrill of panic as the grey eyes snapped toward her roommate. How? He didn't have the power to do something like that, did he? She tried to reason it out, but fear clogged her senses, stopped every rational thought.
"Wh-What did you do?!" None of that calm, none of the frustration, nothing but a sense of horror that threatened to gut her. There were people there, and she had no sources. What did he do?!
"Relax." Marcus said, his tone more frustrated than anything. He shouldn’t have to resort to using his powers on his friends to keep them from killing themselves. It seemed like common sense to him, at least.
"I chucked your battery. Should be easy enough to get another when we get back to USARILN."
"Y-You wh-what?" It felt as though the ground was about to give way under her, the steady, solid voice of the brave little soldier replaced by the terrified child that she'd managed to hide behind all those names, all the masks that took the form of printed letters pressed into her neck. No battery. Her heart skipped a few beats before breaking into a full gallop, her hearing filled with nothing but the sound of her own blood rushing through her ears. "No, nonono, no, I can't be here without...no, nono..."
Siena tore her eyes away from her roommate, from her phone. Her grip tightening until her knuckles turned white on the device. The comfort that it usually provided did not rise as she tried to scan the field in vain for a glimpse of the lost battery. The longer that she went without the comfort, the harder the fear squeezed, until it was crushing her in a vice grip, refusing to let her breathe. Can't breathe. "No, nono, Icanfindone." The words were little more than a quiet, chanted whisper that Siena didn't seem to hear herself saying. No sources, no stability, you shouldn't be out here.
The frustration in Marcus's face was starting to be coated with a light dusting of confusion. He'd thrown a battery; it wasn't like it'd be hard to fix when they got back. Hell, he'd even been nice enough to not throw the phone, because it was probably her own one from home. Lots of personal effects on those kind of things, and he wasn't a total asshole.
At least...not usually. Today seemed to be a beginning of something terrible for him.
"You're seriously that determined to go down there and get crushed to death?" Marcus said in disbelief, crossing his arms where he stood.
What?
Her attention was wrenched back to her roommate, focus yanked back into one point with such sudden force from its scattered locations that Siena couldn't help but feel a brief moment of surprise surface for an instant. 'He doesn't understand,' said the rational voice that normally won. 'You don't tell anyone, how is he supposed to know?'
She didn't quite hear that reasonable voice.
"I need a source." The words were muffled beyond the deafening roar of panic, and her voice rose to match the pace of her heart. "I never went outside before I got this mark, I never go out without one." Words spilled from her mouth before she could stop them, broken up with hyperventilation that she tried desperately to control. Somewhere in the back of her head there was a disappointed tsk at the behavior, as though giving in to panic was unsightly, and still she felt her hand shake, felt the nausea and dizziness try to strike her down while her heart still galloped.
"So what?" Marcus said, his voice growing a bit more unsure. He was fully aware that there was a key component of this that he wasn't aware of - something he'd either forgotten or just not been told entirely, and the whole situation was beginning to become a jumbled mess in his head. He was already fairly confused as to how her power even worked, but he'd managed to figure out enough to stop her. This was something else entirely though.
"You can't last for a few hours without a power on you...? he asked, more questions already springing into his mind.
"It's n-not like th-tha...hahh..." Panic, breathe. Breathe. The mental demands to calm herself worked about as well as trying to punch the ocean. A few shaky breaths, a cautious step back. No sources. No phone, no names, no masks, no Maya. Everything felt wrong, no, worse than wrong. She would have felt safer precariously balanced on one leg on a cliff side than she did at that moment. She felt her legs stagger faintly to try and balance her against the nausea. Part of her wanted to curl up and cry, the other part demanded that she bolt for some form of safety. Siena couldn't find the strength to do either course of action. Can't breathe. Can'tbreathecan'tbreathecan'tbreathe.
Now Marcus was sure there was more he was missing here. Siena was having a full scale panic attack, simply because he'd taken away her access to her powers. Sure, he felt a little uneasy without his backups, especially when using his latest power, but this was way more intense than even that.
"Woah, now!" He surged forward slightly as she stumbled, ready to at least try and catch her if she fell, but she managed to stay on her own two feet. "Jesus Siena, take a deep breath. Slowly. Relax for a second. If you're concerned with being vulnerable, then you can crawl into the front of the truck - nobody is going to touch you there."
Or else.
If any emotion could have overridden the foreboding sense of doom quickly piling onto Siena's shoulders, it might have been frustration, maybe anger. Relax? Even as the girl's breath caught in her throat, she knew that wasn't going to happen. The means to control rampant, violent emotions was long gone, and though her fingers were still pressed tight against the power button of her phone, the brunette knew nothing would come of it. She knew that calming down would have been preferable, but how was she supposed to do that? She felt her muscles tense. Can't breathe.
She tried to say something. Nothing came from her throat, though she tried to say it. I'm trying. Nothing there, so she shut her mouth after two attempts.
Can't breathe.
Maybe he was right, maybe it was safer, safer in the truck. Where she would be alone. every, violent, rampaging emotion that she no longer had control over. Without her safety net. Another surge of fear rose like bile. She felt herself shake her head briefly, stopped herself and felt a tremble seize her core. Can't breathe. Alone with herself or out with no sources, no good options. Nowhere safe. No way to feel as though she could tear herself away at a moment's notice with a flicker of light and another blanket of emotion to smother the flames. Siena took a shuddering breath, tried to count to ten, but couldn't hold it in that long.
She managed, with more effort than it should have taken, a barely audible phrase.
"Won't help."
No, apparently not. Not long after, a second statement. Marcus was trapped in the building. For a moment, the Arbiter felt her mind go blank as it tried to sort the surge of emotion that rose to meet the thought. Anger, fear, frustration, hesitation, guilt, remorse, fear, what the hell was she supposed to make of that?
"Transmit. I can get to him if needed, but I need a general location." Hearing her voice out loud, Siena couldn't help but grimace faintly. It wasn't the fact that she couldn't keep the worn tone out of the words, it was the fact that they were painfully calm--no. That wasn't quite the word she was looking for. Distant was better. As though she'd had to put herself at a mental arm's length from the situation to keep herself from letting control escape from her again. "Marcus, you need to stay in a small radius, but if you can find any survivors nearby, then bring them with you."
Her mind went back to the child she couldn't save, and Siena felt her heart try to tear itself a little further away. There was no time to stop and grieve.
"I'm going to need a clear space nearby too. Over."
More rumbling punctuated the end of the sentence. Time was running out.
"Hello!? Anybody else in here?" Marcus shouted in response to Siena's remark about survivors. There was a long moment of silence before he went back to the cuff. "Transmit. Alright; I'm not seeing anything else in this place. Looks like I'm near a stair-"
Something stopped him midsentence. Had he actually heard something, or had he just been imagining things? He strained his ears to listen, only being rewarded with more silence.
"Hello!?" he shouted again, allowing the silence to echo some more.
There it was, a barely audible cry, somewhere close.
"Hang on, I think I've got more survivors." he said, briskly walking down the ruined halls after a slightly delayed. "Over."
"Hello!? Anybody here? Evacuation team; looking for survivors!"
"In here!"
The voice was faint, but he heard it. Another destroyed apartment room - 203 if the slightly askew wall plate was anything to go by.
"Transmit. Siena, I'm near room 203. Plenty of space in the hallway, sounds like there's survivors nearby. Over."
"Is someone out there?" a female voice from behind the door shouted.
"Evacuation team!"
Of one..
"Here to get you the hell out of this place!"
"Oh, thank god! We didn't know if it was safe to move."
"I mean...it's as safe as it's gonna get..." Marcus uneasily stammered. The brave heroics and keen leadership had gone right out the window when he'd found himself entombed. Right now, he probably wasn't inspiring any confidence - he wasn't a hero anymore, he was a little trapped boy.
A sense of anxiety gripped at Siena's chest for a moment before fading back into that cool, calculating mindset that the girl relied on to carry her through. 'Deep breaths, Siena. That's it...you want to be thinking straight when things happen.' She felt the last of Kitty's influence slip away, but was already moving on to her next mark. Faster, her mind demanded as she pulled at the name, letting the influence take over.
One jump is all you get.
God, she was so tired.
A faint pink mist was all that was left where the Arbiter once stood outside the building as she plunged back in. 'Awfully chipper today, kid. Bounce back already?' The mist was all that preluded her presence before her feet hit the floor with little more than a faint tap, the slightly heavier breathing being the better indication of Siena's appearance. As usual, Bounce transported her with near pinpoint accuracy, leaving only a few short strides to reach Marcus, her eyes drifting to the door.
"They're inside?" No time wasted. No time to stop. "I need to move us out quickly if I--" A pause as her brow furrowed slightly. "We want to help anyone else."
"Yeah, inside. Careful with the door though; last time I opened one I got stuck down here." Marcus said, jumping only slightly when Siena spoke. She could teleport - right; he was more than familiar with that little ability of hers.
"You got a plan?"
A brief nod.
"I'll bring you through with me. By then I should be able to pull an adequate name to move any survivors out safely." Thoughts of the building crumbling around them before she could manage it tried to pierce through the calm, so instead fo dwelling, Siena sent her gaze downward, the purple light coming to life. "I suggest grabbing my shoulder or my arm. There's very little margin for error here."
As soon as Siena mentioned holding onto her, Marcus's slightly-shaky hand clamped down firmly on her shoulder. There were too many variables freaking him out, first and foremost being that he still didn't have a super clear idea of how Siena's power worked. Apparently she could do anything, and long as she had some sort of literature to pull from? His mind raced back to that very first combat day. The clearest explanation he'd gotten.
Still, every time they came into contact with each other, it usually ended poorly for him. He didn't need to get his torso deleted by a piece of wall when they teleported.
"Alright. Ready." he said, the slightest traces of fear in his voice. Any mistakes now, and it would be far worse than a dry cleaning bill.
Hand on her shoulder. Good. The name started to pull from its source, letters peeling from the screen. Siena didn't let her eyes falter. There were a few things that could go wrong...but based on calculations, based on experience, the plan would work… she hoped.
"Don't trip."
She felt the more powerful version of her mark take its place, felt an overwhelming sense of frustration and barely managed to curb it long enough to take a few rapid steps forward. A stronger version of Shadowcat, too strong to hold for as long as that dull, pathetic version that didn't know how to handle herself, but just right for the next phase of the plan, assuming nothing went wrong. The intangibility spread through her, to Marcus, and she pushed forward, through the door at fast enough clip to ensure the name wouldn't slip from her too soon.
"Don't...? A confused statement Marcus barely got out before Siena started to run. He dug his hand harder into her shoulder, probably uncomfortably so, and gave himself a burst of speed to keep up. No mistakes. Please god, no mistakes.
Siena was running. Don't let go.
The door was coming to meet them. His hand was slipping.
Siena disappeared through the door. She was going too fast..
His face went through the door. Couldn't hold on..
They were mostly through. He faltered..
His hand slipped off Siena's shoulder, and he stumbled into the room, only barely managing to keep his balance. There was something wrong. The arm that hadn't been holding Siena felt cold...colder than before. His heart skipped a beat, his face went numb, and it took a full second before he forced himself to look. It was bad, he knew it. He'd have to rewind. He'd lose his arm if he didn't rewin-
His sleeve fluttered freely, the back part of it sheared cleanly off, leaving the front to flap annoyingly. His arm was fine. He was fine.
The two civilians gaped at the entrance, eyes staring at the teenagers before settling on their white marks. The woman who had called out blinked and her expression immediately soured.
"You said evacuation team," she grimaced.
"We can leave if you'd prefer." Marcus said, his voice shaking uncontrollably. That had almost gone terribly wrong. As wrong as it probably could have. And he wasn't sure whether to be scared, cry, or just be absolutely pissed. She'd not even given him a countdown, and he'd almost gotten cut in half because he wasn't prepared.
Fortunately, there was someone else to direct his irritation towards.
"No!" the other occupant in the room, a man who looked somewhere between middle-aged and elderly sped forward, "No, please, we need to get out."
A larger tremor consumed the room, dislodging some large bits of ceiling behind the regulars. Instinctively, they both moved to Siena and Marcus, fear evident in their wide eyes.
'We don't have time to argue.' The words were like gunfire. A sharp crack that made itself noticeable despite the chaos. God, she was so tired. Before she had fully registered the number of people, Siena had set the next part of her plan into motion, her blood pounding in her ears, some distant part of her shrieking for rest. Color bled once more into her eyes, another round of fear-laced calm.
The tremor struck, and the brunette held back her grimace, held back the flinch. She wasn't done yet, and there wouldn't be enough time for a real transmission. She'd accepted that earlier, had picked her names in a distinct order. Two teleporters, one for spatial awareness, one for remote teleportation. The limits of both were reduced, but it would be enough.
It had to be enough.
"Just...stay still for a second...please..." She used her hands as a method of focus, making sure she had Marcus and both survivors in view. They'd have to land in the same place--a strange sense that didn't normally exist seemed to provide an instinctive knowledge of yes and no when she thought of places to put them. It took only an instant, but the ordeal felt much longer, like the last stretch of a marathon. Near...the truck? Yes, said that bizarre instinct she was borrowing.
Siena inhaled, braced herself for the exhaustion that would siege her, and as she released, sent the survivors in view out of the building like a soft breeze.
"Alright, just promise you'll give me some sort of coun-" Marcus started, standing at attention.
Outside, the two survivors and Marcus hit the ground hard, garnering the attention of some shocked bystanders. The woman looked as if she was going to throw up but stood shakily, giving a passing glance to Marcus. Ultimately, she decided to ignore the teen, opting instead to help the man up by the arm and limp silently towards the evacuation point.
"-tdOWN!"
Marcus finished his sentence in midair, hitting the rocky surface of the ground hard - which would have knocked the air out of him if he hadn't been in the middle of talking.
God he hated teleportation.
He rolled over to his back, taking a second to catch his breath and look at the sky. And then pull the particularly sharp rock out from under his spine. Finally, after what seemed like minutes to him, but was only a few seconds in the real world, he sat up, shaking the confusion from his head.
"Transmit. Alright Siena, we're outside, all accounted for. Bring yourself up and we'll start heading out. Over."
The name slipped away like smoke, pushing away from her fingers--not that Siena had any reason to try and keep her hold. She knew from the start that it wouldn't last. Stumbling, the brunette felt her legs moving in an attempt to keep her standing. If she sat, if she stopped, she might not have the willpower to get back on her feet and start moving again. So she walked. One heavy pace after another--her footsteps didn't sound as heavy as they felt...perhaps she should have just sat down--until her cuff came to life with voice again.
All accounted for. That was good.
"Transmit."
A pause as Siena realized she didn't know what she was going to say.
"Lost the teleporter faster than I expected. I don't know if it's safe here to stop and try to get another." Only a partial lie. Truth be told, Siena doubted that she could take a name that would bring her safely out the building and into a familiar space--not one that would get her out in time, based on the building's condition. Thankfully, nobody was around to see the cracks on her usual mask forming even as she spoke. "I'll move somewhere more stable and be out soon. Don't let anyone try coming into the building. Over."
"What!? What do you mean you lost the teleporter!?" Marcus shouted from his position on the surface. Although, the fact that he'd forgotten to transmit meant that he was shouting at nothing, save for a few nearby survivors who might have heard him. Siena's words brought an equal amount of panic and confused frustration to him, a set of emotions that took more than a few moments to subside.
It was fine - she'd managed to herself in there to rescue him. She could certainly get herself back out just as easily. After all, that was her power; she could do anything.
"Transmit. Alright...just...be careful down there, Siena. We're not going to leave without you, so stay safe and get back out as soon as you can. Over."
She kept moving like a clockwork soldier, the images on her phone's screen cutting to darkness in the idle moments before she tried another name to make a getaway. She just...needed some time to recover. Forcefully shoving the weariness from her mind, Siena did the only other thing she knew she could do.
"Is there anyone still here?"
A silence followed before distant footsteps pattered towards Siena's location. "Yeah? You there?"
Blue eyes peeked from around the corner, narrowing as they caught sight of Siena. A dust-covered woman stepped out and looked the Arbiter up and down.
"How did you get in here?"
Another person trapped in the building? A mixture of relief that there was someone else alive and mild concern. A teleport that could bring her safely out of the building wasn't too difficult, but one that could bring more than that was questionably safe at best. And that aside...was it really important to know how someone was in the building? The Arbiter felt her mind zero in on the white mark--maybe it was a fair enough question. For all the woman knew, Siena could have been one of the ones that brought the building down to begin with.
"Not the way that I can get us out," the girl claimed. "I teleported, but I don't think I can get both of us safely that way." Or either of them, if she wanted to be completely honest. She kept her grip on her phone. Lifeline, she reminded herself. "Were there others with you?"
At the mention of others the woman looked away. "I've been looking around. Most of the people I've found are...dead. But there was a room with I think three inside. I've dug two of 'em out."
She sighed, obviously exhausted after being trapped in unstable darkness for an hour.
"There's no way they're walking out on their own two feet. Not to mention the last one still under all that crap. I'll take you to 'em."
Her words proved true as she led Siena down a smaller hallway. The small suite's walls had been thoroughly crushed, creating a mound within the mound. A man and woman, both with distorted legs, lay near the entrance, breathing faintly.
Siena followed after the woman, grateful for the moment of reprieve as she felt the muscles in her face pull her lips into a tight, uncomfortable frown. Three others on top of the woman and--
"Oh...my god..." Compared to the previous survivors, the group here was in significantly worse shape. A single look was all it took for Siena to understand that the woman was right--nobody in the room was going to be walking out of the building on their own. The heroic names she'd taken since the disaster started left her with a sense of discomfort. A hard, gripping sensation at her chest that Siena struggled to identify as an actual emotion. 'There's no way I can teleport all these people out.' But they couldn't walk, and what the hell was she supposed to do?
An eerie silence greeted the unspoken question. She didn't know. Her thumb tapped her phone screen until it lit up, and Siena kept trying to be brave despite the horror that settled in. She didn't know. The countless experiences from the literature she took her power from didn't compare to the reality. A careful breath as she tried to prioritize--the feeling of warm skin beneath her fingers and no pulse--what had to be done first. If everyone was in close proximity with each other, then maybe...
Once more. The purple light flickered to life, its luminescence duller than before, as though trying to reflect how drained the Arbiter was. She ignored it as the letters crept from the screen. Tired. She was unbelievably tired, but that didn't stop her mind from trying to work out a plan. "I'll try to bring her out." Her movements felt heavy and sluggish, as though trying to swim through thick cream, but the mage didn't let herself falter as she refocused herself and sank once more into the rubble.
A younger man was unearthed, his legs broken from the concrete's impact in the same fashion as the other two. A groggy moan escaped his lips but he said nothing otherwise.
"Okay," the woman nodded as soon as the rescued was set down safely, "What do we do now?"
"We...ugh..." A wave of nausea that she hadn't felt in a long time. No, she was fine. Siena forced herself to focus, took a deep breath. "S-Sorry. Let me see..." Her eyes gazed over the group. Only one person that was in any condition to really walk, which meant phasing everyone out wasn't a feasible option. Most forms of teleportation wouldn't be a good option either in their current state, and the strain it would enact might be too much. A grisly image of bringing only part of the rescues with her nixed the idea immediately.
But...didn't she know another way?
"I can make a doorway. They won't have to walk through it, but it'll probably aggravate their injuries when we land." Which was better than dying, admittedly, but Siena kept that to herself. "I will do my best to keep things stable, but I don't think I can completely prevent it."
"That's..." the woman frowned but her hesitation stopped as more rumbling filled the air, "I can't speak for these guys but we've got no other choice. Do it fast."
Another rumble as Siena nodded, pushing the strangely muted sense of fear down her throat as she quickly split the attention of her phone apart, two sources making themselves available at once. The light returned, flickering a few times before holding steady in a dim, faded sense as her marks peeled themselves from the so-called "pages" before her, a dark color pooling in each iris until it seemed to flood, replacing the grey.
She couldn't quite breathe.
"Okay..." True to Siena's word, a door did seem to cut itself into the earth beneath the group. "We're getting out of here." Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, twisted it, and all at once the door gave way, dropping the group into what should have been nothing but ground...if Door hadn't been a better name than all that.
When the daylight breached Siena's attention, she gasped, tried her best to use the last vestiges of her strength to slow their brief descent, but the name slipped through her fingers before she could muster the focus to utilize it fully. The most she managed was a small, quick burst of air that did little to slow the speed at which they landed. She hit the floor, her shoulder hitting the ground, but somewhere between the exhaustion and the surprise, the Arbiter felt numbed to the sensation.
No sooner had Siena landed than Marcus had rushed over to her - her and the four other people that she had apparently brought with her. They all looked pretty bad - most of the survivors with her had their legs completely smashed and mangled. Something that probably wasn't life threatening, but it was hard to tell how many internal injuries they'd suffered. He was no doctor, so there was no way for him to help with that; all he could do was making sure they were alive for now.
The shallow, but still visible breaths indicated they were, including Siena; a fact that caused him to release his own held breath. He ran his fingers through his hair once, before extending an arm down to hers.
"C'mon kiddo. Let's get you up; you did good in there."
'Get up.' But she was so tired. 'You think you have any right to complain?' No, she didn't. Even as the pain settled in over her shoulder as a blunt ache, Siena willed herself to try and push herself up. Tired, bitter, frustrated, guilty, so tired. She set her gaze on Marcus's extended arm for a moment, the fog unwilling to lift, the meaning of the gesture escaping her for longer than it should have. A quiet, longing voice chimed in.
Take his hand. You need the help.
But it was drowned out by a multitude of other voices. She had to be strong. She didn't need help, didn't want help, didn't...didn't deserve it. Pushing herself to a sitting position, the brunette glanced up at her roommate. "I'm fine." Not really. With a sharp exhalation of effort, the Arbiter managed to push herself to her feet, feeling unsteady before she'd even straightened. Immediately, her focus went back to the building. She couldn't make it back in, she knew that for a fact. But...she still had to do something, didn't she?
"How many people do you think are still in there...?"
Marcus sighed, dropping his hand and looking back to where he'd originally entered. The destroyed hallway wasn't even visible anymore - just another section of rubble in a landscape of the stuff. With how big this place had been originally, and considering the fact that it had originally been a condo...how many people were still trapped down there?
Too many.
But he said nothing, a deafening silence that probably answered the question more than he would have liked.
"...I thought so too." Her eyes lingered over the building, acknowledging that there was no way in for any normal person. A hollow fatigue seemed to fill Siena at the thought, but she felt her feet moving before her mind could catch up. She could still do something, even if she couldn't get in. She had to.
"Siena." Marcus said, planting a firm grasp on her shoulder. "We've done enough. Any more and you're going to start hurting yourself."
Don't touch.
"I'm fine with that." The mask didn't hold in place, chipped away until it was dangerously close to crumbling. No, not really fine with it, but she deserved it, right? "If that's all, please. Let go."
"No." Marcus said sternly, refusing to relinquish his grasp. "Exactly how do you think you're going to be able to help any more in your state? If you go down there, you're not going to come back up." Even from what he could see, the poor girl was exhausted. If she used her powers anymore, she'd probably drop; and if that happened in the basement of a collapsing building...he wasn't going to allow it.
"Do you think anyone would really care?" A quiet question that Siena knew the answer to already. "I can go, and I can probably help a few more people before the building goes down. If I happen not to be one of the ones that comes out, then it's just one more--" the word "monster" tried to escape her, but the filter clamped down, changed the meaning before it could leave her lips. "--subnatural that happened to die in the process. Nobody would care."
A pause as she took a breath. Calmed the sudden, violent surge of emotion that threatened to break free, then released them as a quiet exhalation.
"I was too weak to keep the cars from crushing anyone, I can at least keep a few people from a building."
Marcus nearly reeled at the statement, so taken aback he was. Is this honestly what Siena felt? Underneath that rich, peppy exterior? Or was she just feeling everything from the Evacuation incident do strongly right now? They'd all made mistakes...but none of them deserved to die for it.
Still...in her position, would he be any different?
"Siena. If you think I'm going to let another one of us die, you are out of your mind. I'm your roommate. Your friend. And I'm not going to allow you to kill yourself." his voice was growing lower; angrier almost. After everything...she just wanted to give up? Absolutely not.
"You think my plan is to go in and di--" Whoa, calm down, Siena. That's not you. And she stepped back from the sudden flash of frustration. Not her. Not her. Little Harker--not her. "I don't have time for this argument." Clearly Marcus wasn't going to let her go, but at what point was it a matter of him allowing her to do anything?
She tapped the screen of her phone to life, eyes darting toward it, a flicker of purple daring to rise before sinking again as she tore the first source aside with a swipe. There were better ways to get in.
Marcus's eyes widened in surprise when Siena brought out the phone again. She was really going to do it, wasn't she? It didn't matter if she wasn't planning on dying - it was what would happen, regardless of her plans. Even with him standing here begging her not to do it.
His eyes flicked from phone screen to the back of Siena's head. The familiar glow of the phone, similar to what she'd done down below in the hallway. That was it - the one thing standing between Siena and certain death. If she didn't have her phone...
Fine.
'It should be fine if I use--'
With his hand on her shoulder, Siena's body froze in place - sparking at the edges and flickering like an old, corrupted computer screen. He wasn't happy with the outcome, the things he had to do to protect his friends. Even from themselves.
With hand locked in place, the phone was relatively easy to pry from her grasp. Fortunately for him (or her, depending on how one wanted to look at the situation) the phone had an easily accessible battery - one of those ones that could be easily replaced. He snapped the back off, prying out the battery, before locking the protective cover back on.
"Sorry." he muttered, though he knew she wouldn't be able to hear him. Slipping the phone awkwardly back into her hand, he gave the battery one long look. A look of contemplation, regret, some guilt; of so many different emotions, before turning and throwing it as hard as he could somewhere into the landscape of rocks and debris.
'--another gho...?'
The screen was dark where it had been luminous before. The words were gone. Confusion ripped to the forefront. How? She tapped the screen, as though oblivious to her surroundings. Nothing. She tapped it again. Nothing. Her fingers pressed at the power button, at the volume, at anything that might get the phone to react, and she was rewarded with the same void.
Every emotion was suddenly quieted, a silent fanfare for the flood of mind-numbing panic came to drown her. No, no, no. No, bad, no. No. Grey eyes darted from screen to surroundings. What happened? What the fuck happened? What little was left of the brave mask Siena had tried to piece together came crumbled into dust as her mind tried to process the reality. No phone. No phone, no reader, no books, no...no sources. Another thrill of panic as the grey eyes snapped toward her roommate. How? He didn't have the power to do something like that, did he? She tried to reason it out, but fear clogged her senses, stopped every rational thought.
"Wh-What did you do?!" None of that calm, none of the frustration, nothing but a sense of horror that threatened to gut her. There were people there, and she had no sources. What did he do?!
"Relax." Marcus said, his tone more frustrated than anything. He shouldn’t have to resort to using his powers on his friends to keep them from killing themselves. It seemed like common sense to him, at least.
"I chucked your battery. Should be easy enough to get another when we get back to USARILN."
"Y-You wh-what?" It felt as though the ground was about to give way under her, the steady, solid voice of the brave little soldier replaced by the terrified child that she'd managed to hide behind all those names, all the masks that took the form of printed letters pressed into her neck. No battery. Her heart skipped a few beats before breaking into a full gallop, her hearing filled with nothing but the sound of her own blood rushing through her ears. "No, nonono, no, I can't be here without...no, nono..."
Siena tore her eyes away from her roommate, from her phone. Her grip tightening until her knuckles turned white on the device. The comfort that it usually provided did not rise as she tried to scan the field in vain for a glimpse of the lost battery. The longer that she went without the comfort, the harder the fear squeezed, until it was crushing her in a vice grip, refusing to let her breathe. Can't breathe. "No, nono, Icanfindone." The words were little more than a quiet, chanted whisper that Siena didn't seem to hear herself saying. No sources, no stability, you shouldn't be out here.
The frustration in Marcus's face was starting to be coated with a light dusting of confusion. He'd thrown a battery; it wasn't like it'd be hard to fix when they got back. Hell, he'd even been nice enough to not throw the phone, because it was probably her own one from home. Lots of personal effects on those kind of things, and he wasn't a total asshole.
At least...not usually. Today seemed to be a beginning of something terrible for him.
"You're seriously that determined to go down there and get crushed to death?" Marcus said in disbelief, crossing his arms where he stood.
What?
Her attention was wrenched back to her roommate, focus yanked back into one point with such sudden force from its scattered locations that Siena couldn't help but feel a brief moment of surprise surface for an instant. 'He doesn't understand,' said the rational voice that normally won. 'You don't tell anyone, how is he supposed to know?'
She didn't quite hear that reasonable voice.
"I need a source." The words were muffled beyond the deafening roar of panic, and her voice rose to match the pace of her heart. "I never went outside before I got this mark, I never go out without one." Words spilled from her mouth before she could stop them, broken up with hyperventilation that she tried desperately to control. Somewhere in the back of her head there was a disappointed tsk at the behavior, as though giving in to panic was unsightly, and still she felt her hand shake, felt the nausea and dizziness try to strike her down while her heart still galloped.
"So what?" Marcus said, his voice growing a bit more unsure. He was fully aware that there was a key component of this that he wasn't aware of - something he'd either forgotten or just not been told entirely, and the whole situation was beginning to become a jumbled mess in his head. He was already fairly confused as to how her power even worked, but he'd managed to figure out enough to stop her. This was something else entirely though.
"You can't last for a few hours without a power on you...? he asked, more questions already springing into his mind.
"It's n-not like th-tha...hahh..." Panic, breathe. Breathe. The mental demands to calm herself worked about as well as trying to punch the ocean. A few shaky breaths, a cautious step back. No sources. No phone, no names, no masks, no Maya. Everything felt wrong, no, worse than wrong. She would have felt safer precariously balanced on one leg on a cliff side than she did at that moment. She felt her legs stagger faintly to try and balance her against the nausea. Part of her wanted to curl up and cry, the other part demanded that she bolt for some form of safety. Siena couldn't find the strength to do either course of action. Can't breathe. Can'tbreathecan'tbreathecan'tbreathe.
Now Marcus was sure there was more he was missing here. Siena was having a full scale panic attack, simply because he'd taken away her access to her powers. Sure, he felt a little uneasy without his backups, especially when using his latest power, but this was way more intense than even that.
"Woah, now!" He surged forward slightly as she stumbled, ready to at least try and catch her if she fell, but she managed to stay on her own two feet. "Jesus Siena, take a deep breath. Slowly. Relax for a second. If you're concerned with being vulnerable, then you can crawl into the front of the truck - nobody is going to touch you there."
Or else.
If any emotion could have overridden the foreboding sense of doom quickly piling onto Siena's shoulders, it might have been frustration, maybe anger. Relax? Even as the girl's breath caught in her throat, she knew that wasn't going to happen. The means to control rampant, violent emotions was long gone, and though her fingers were still pressed tight against the power button of her phone, the brunette knew nothing would come of it. She knew that calming down would have been preferable, but how was she supposed to do that? She felt her muscles tense. Can't breathe.
She tried to say something. Nothing came from her throat, though she tried to say it. I'm trying. Nothing there, so she shut her mouth after two attempts.
Can't breathe.
Maybe he was right, maybe it was safer, safer in the truck. Where she would be alone. every, violent, rampaging emotion that she no longer had control over. Without her safety net. Another surge of fear rose like bile. She felt herself shake her head briefly, stopped herself and felt a tremble seize her core. Can't breathe. Alone with herself or out with no sources, no good options. Nowhere safe. No way to feel as though she could tear herself away at a moment's notice with a flicker of light and another blanket of emotion to smother the flames. Siena took a shuddering breath, tried to count to ten, but couldn't hold it in that long.
She managed, with more effort than it should have taken, a barely audible phrase.
"Won't help."
The crowd refused to disperse. It only seemed to gather with more fervor, bystanders clambering up the mounds as shouts varying between excitement and desperation reached the ears of others. News of a healer. The throng enveloped the short blonde girl in no time, obscuring her from sight. Excavation efforts slowed and Tony looked up from his private tragedy to frown.
"What the fuck?" he murmured, "They're all getting in the way."
Golden eyes grew wide as people began crowding around the small blonde teenager. She didn't expect that her last healing act would create so much uproar. It had been an act of good faith and in a way, repentance for the deaths she had caused earlier. She didn't really think that the people around her would care to pay attention to an X marked mage. People...Regulars are selfish. They will only care about themselves, their injuries, their pain. By showing them that you can heal, you damned yourself.
But I damned them first, came Lily's meeker voice in her head, contrasting with the stronger, callous voice.
"Hey! What are you waiting for? Heal us," a male voice in the crowd demanded.
The Aberration turned her eyes towards the man who had called out. She was tired. She didn't want to argue. And most of all, she wanted to make up for the lives she took-if she could even make up for that. And if she'd die this day trying to save people she should have tried protecting in the first place, then she would. She was a healer. There was no excuse for what she did earlier, stigma or no stigma. The black thread that signaled her turning on her power materialized on her wrist. It's other end wrapped itself around the demanding man's wrist and instantaneously transferred his sprained ankle to her. She stumbled and tried to shift her weight to her uninjured foot.
One after the other, she healed--or more accurately, took onto herself the injuries of the people that collected around her. Small injuries...sprains, cuts, bruise... But as she took them one after the other, she grew exhausted and had to sit down on the ground, completely hidden in the middle of the throng.
Emma’s attention was taken by the mill of the developing crowd. She turned suddenly, noting the apparent absence of Lily, quickly piecing together what was happening before her in her head.
”Shit.” Emma muttered under her breath. What was Lily thinking, healing without her, taking the wounds for herself? A sharp sigh escape Emma’s lips before she got up, giving a small glance towards Tony before approaching the edge of the crowd. Any attempt to spot Lily was to no avail- the people were clamoring for healing without regard towards the healer, of course. They all had their own tragedy to deal with, but Emma couldn’t let them corner Lily.
Emma stood up on the tips of her toes, cupping a hand around her mouth, ”Lily! Are you alright?!” she shouted, trying to be heard over the mob of people surrounding the healer.
Taking a deep breath, Lily took on a bigger injury--a large gash on a pregnant woman's arm. The pain and the demands of the growing crowd made it impossible for her to hear Emma calling out to her. As soon as the wound opened up on her arm and completely healed the woman, the crowd erupted in a raucous cheer, both encouraging and at the same time offending to the small girl's ears.
What sort of gratification are you getting from this 'Good Samaritan' act? Are these people really worth it? Give the injuries back. Kill them. Maim them. Make them regret ever demanding healing from you. The words in her head were becoming harsh again.
I don't really care anymore, came Lily's own meek voice in her head.
While the people demanded for more healing, the pregnant woman she had just healed eyed her bleeding arm, a horrified look on her face. She reached up, uncoiled the thin blue scarf that was around her neck and kneeled in front of the injured Aberration. "You're hurt. You heal by taking on the injuries of others," she said simply, offering her hand to the mage.
Lily, not expecting a Regular to show her kindness, looked up. She didn't say anything but nodded.
"Then stop. You can't take them all. What's your name?" the woman spoke gently.
Golden eyes met blue ones and a few seconds passed before Lily spoke her name just loud enough for the woman to hear. "Lily."
"Lily. That's a pretty name. My name is Trina. Thank you for taking my injuries. Will you let me try to help you stop that bleeding?" she asked just as gently, extending her hand a little closer to the healer.
Lily's eyes darted towards the growing crowd before she turned her attention back to Trina and finally laid her arm on her outstretched hand. Around them, people were shouting angry words about why the healing stopped. But two men who were healed earlier stood between Trina, Lily and the crowd. They extended their arms out to keep the crowd away as though bodyguards guarding a celebrity. Of course, they were no questions asked that they were there to protect their pregnant companion and not the mage.
"Back off everyone! Can't you see she's hurt?" Trina shouted, her hands adeptly trying the scarf securely and tightly around Lily's arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Just because you were healed doesn't mean that that Subnatural should stop healing the rest of us," another male voice demanded. "Look at how many still need help!"
True to his word, a myriad of civilians were still bleeding from a range of wounds. Though many of them had walked themselves up to the mound, there were many who were being helped up by bystanders or family desperate to get their loved ones healed.
"Jordan, it's plain to see that she's hurt....if my husband was here right now, he'd smack you for talking back to me. Shut up and help me get this girl up. She's hurt and can't take any more of anybody's injuries if she can't be healed herself..." she paused and then turned back towards Lily. "How do you...?
"Transfer," Lily muttered a single word as though it was enough explanation for the Regular. Trina was about to ask more questions but the impatient crowd pushed towards them and made her stumble forward. "Hey!" she called out angrily.
"We need to be healed too! Give her to us!"
Emma gritted her teeth. No sign of Lily. This was bad and was only going to get worse as the crowd grew. She’d need to intervene- based on what she knew about Lily the girl was undoubtedly taking everyone’s injuries on herself. Emma had no choice but to try pushing through- she’d start by herself, but was ready to call on Determination if things got bad. She started trying to make her way in, pushing people gently aside if she had to, continuing to call out for the trapped healer.
Trina scowled. "Look at her! She's barely standing as it is."
"She wasn't so injured before. What if she can vanish those wounds and she's holding herself back to look like she can't take anymore?" a woman tightly grasping her bleeding son's arm pressed against the impromptu bodyguards, "I can't fix his head on my own. Give me that sub!"
The crowd surged forward, breaking the two men's stances and shoving them off their feet. Hands from all directions began grabbing at the healer, though the clear misdirection of attention allowed Emma to slip through to Lily easily enough.
Emma made it through the crowd, but the situation proved dire. The crowd was grabbing at Lily, demanding healing, demanding her help. They weren’t unjustified, but Emma had to stop this- it was far too dangerous. But she hesitated, unsure of the best way to handle the situation. If she threatened the crowd they would readily turn on her, but she if she didn’t do enough they wouldn’t be dissuaded from pressuring Lily. Her first concern was making sure Lily transferred her injuries off of herself, but there was little room for Determination.
Emma turned around, glancing back towards the edge of the crowd. Determination appeared where she was looking. ”Push through to me, but do it carefully! Don’t hurt anyone!” Emma called over the din of the crowd.
In the chaos, Lily let herself be grabbed, her dulled golden eyes staring blankly at the woman who tried to protect her and then at the rioting people as they demanded to be healed. The weight of what she had done earlier and the cutting words Kusari said to her pulled her mood down to its lowest point that she no longer cared if the strip of cloth Trina wrapped around her arm came off or when she felt a sharp pain ran up her leg when someone grabbed her sprained ankle. As the voices in her head argued and demanded and as the people continued trying to grab her, she caught sight of Emma. Good thing she's okay... was her first thought and then slowly turned her head when she heard her words.
The tulpa waded through the crowd at a painfully slow pace, staying true to its master's command. The sight of the shadow creature prompted a few civilians to back away, though not nearly enough to disperse the dangerous gathering.
Surely enough, Lily saw the shadowy figure of Emma's Tulpa walking at a snail's pace towards them. I have to transfer my...injuries...and maybe try to heal others to stop this...mess. But her thoughts were interrupted with the violent words of her stigma. Hurt them! Kill them! Do not heal them! NONE of them deserves your help!
Her thoughts turned dark. Or just let them tear me apart. No more confusion, no more violence, no more difficult life. No more trying to be good when I can't be. No more disappointing people I think of as friends and family. A small yelp of pain escaped her lips when someone grabbed her arm, the person's finger digging into the gash she took from Trina and making it bleed all over again. She stared at the crimson red fluid as it trickled down her arm.
Confusion.
Ernie's words echoed faintly in her head this time. Something about surviving, of being important. But as always, her stigma got in the way of clear thoughts. No one needs you. They all deserve to die. when they all die, you'll no longer be hurt.
Kusari was nearing the end of her rope. First people attack them for no reason when they were here to help, now they were close to trampling a girl like rabid dogs just for committing the sin of trying to take their pain away. They were selfish, only thinking of themselves, only being charitable and understanding when it was convenient for them.
Who the hell were they to treat them like this anyway? These regulars were objectively inferior to them, yet her and the others had slave collars slapped onto them and were treated like disposable weaponry. What gave them the right? The authority of the majority? The superiority of the authority? Her mind swirled with dark thoughts like a whirlpool of muddy water. She was sick and tired of all of this. She didn't move from where she stood in front of the truck. She just watched the crowd around Lily, waiting, hoping for them to give her an excuse to tear them apart.
Determination caught up to Emma, while Emma kept pushing towards Lily. She shot a glance back at her tulpa and then at Lily, ”Lily! You need to transfer your injuries, then we can worry about getting out of this crowd.” Emma sounded confident, but to her the words felt hollow. How the hell was she going to get Lily out of here? She had no plan and lacked the will to put her friend’s life over the mass of people… they didn’t deserve to get hurt for this, or worse yet die for this, did they? They just want healing, how could that be wrong in a situation like this?
Emma pushed the thoughts away. One thing at a time. Lily’s injuries first.
Whether or not Emma's words reached the healer, Determination remained uninjured, stock still by Emma's side despite the shoving from the crowd. There was no sign of the healer under all those grasping limbs now and though Lily failed to respond, the same couldn't be said for the handful of suddenly hostile civilians that caught Emma's declaration.
"So she can heal herself," a different woman narrowed her eyes, "Do you think we're just going to let you take her away?"
Kusari had begun to make her way to the middle of the crowd of vultures surrounding Lily. Their sense of entitlement was beginning to exceed even her jaded imagination. What little sympathy was shown was simply drowned out by those eager to get their share of the subnatural pie. Some of the crowd got out of her way after seeing her claws, some she just pushed, but she made it to the center all the same.
"I'm curious." Kusari said, now standing next to the woman that had threatened Emma and Lily. "Just what will you do if we try to take her away? She can't keep healing people after all, she will die."
"Didn't that girl just say she could transfer her injuries?" she glared, "That's why the shadow thing is here, right? I doubt she's going to let herself die like this."
"Well aren't you the expert." Kusari said with a condescending grin. "Perhaps you could explain to me how she can replenish her blood then. She can't get that back so easily after all." Kusari said, absentmindedly clicking her metallic claws against each other.
"That's not my problem. She's the one gladly taking these injuries."
Kusari felt disgusted from the pit of her stomach. They were perfectly willing to let this girl die in order to heal them. Pathetic... Disgusting... Human garbage. Kusari wanted to take this woman's head off, but she hadn't really given her a good reason to. "That's right. It's not your problem, not at all. She shouldn't be your solution either." Kusari turned towards Lily and reached down to pick her up. Those desperately grabbing at her let go upon seeing her approach. She lifted the girl into her arms, taking care not to cut her with her claws. "Hurry up and get rid of those wounds, it's pissing me off seeing them on you."
Though Lily was successfully unearthed the throng remained relentless, continuing to swarm the subnaturals like ravenous seagulls.
"What the fuck?" he murmured, "They're all getting in the way."
Golden eyes grew wide as people began crowding around the small blonde teenager. She didn't expect that her last healing act would create so much uproar. It had been an act of good faith and in a way, repentance for the deaths she had caused earlier. She didn't really think that the people around her would care to pay attention to an X marked mage. People...Regulars are selfish. They will only care about themselves, their injuries, their pain. By showing them that you can heal, you damned yourself.
But I damned them first, came Lily's meeker voice in her head, contrasting with the stronger, callous voice.
"Hey! What are you waiting for? Heal us," a male voice in the crowd demanded.
The Aberration turned her eyes towards the man who had called out. She was tired. She didn't want to argue. And most of all, she wanted to make up for the lives she took-if she could even make up for that. And if she'd die this day trying to save people she should have tried protecting in the first place, then she would. She was a healer. There was no excuse for what she did earlier, stigma or no stigma. The black thread that signaled her turning on her power materialized on her wrist. It's other end wrapped itself around the demanding man's wrist and instantaneously transferred his sprained ankle to her. She stumbled and tried to shift her weight to her uninjured foot.
One after the other, she healed--or more accurately, took onto herself the injuries of the people that collected around her. Small injuries...sprains, cuts, bruise... But as she took them one after the other, she grew exhausted and had to sit down on the ground, completely hidden in the middle of the throng.
Emma’s attention was taken by the mill of the developing crowd. She turned suddenly, noting the apparent absence of Lily, quickly piecing together what was happening before her in her head.
”Shit.” Emma muttered under her breath. What was Lily thinking, healing without her, taking the wounds for herself? A sharp sigh escape Emma’s lips before she got up, giving a small glance towards Tony before approaching the edge of the crowd. Any attempt to spot Lily was to no avail- the people were clamoring for healing without regard towards the healer, of course. They all had their own tragedy to deal with, but Emma couldn’t let them corner Lily.
Emma stood up on the tips of her toes, cupping a hand around her mouth, ”Lily! Are you alright?!” she shouted, trying to be heard over the mob of people surrounding the healer.
Taking a deep breath, Lily took on a bigger injury--a large gash on a pregnant woman's arm. The pain and the demands of the growing crowd made it impossible for her to hear Emma calling out to her. As soon as the wound opened up on her arm and completely healed the woman, the crowd erupted in a raucous cheer, both encouraging and at the same time offending to the small girl's ears.
What sort of gratification are you getting from this 'Good Samaritan' act? Are these people really worth it? Give the injuries back. Kill them. Maim them. Make them regret ever demanding healing from you. The words in her head were becoming harsh again.
I don't really care anymore, came Lily's own meek voice in her head.
While the people demanded for more healing, the pregnant woman she had just healed eyed her bleeding arm, a horrified look on her face. She reached up, uncoiled the thin blue scarf that was around her neck and kneeled in front of the injured Aberration. "You're hurt. You heal by taking on the injuries of others," she said simply, offering her hand to the mage.
Lily, not expecting a Regular to show her kindness, looked up. She didn't say anything but nodded.
"Then stop. You can't take them all. What's your name?" the woman spoke gently.
Golden eyes met blue ones and a few seconds passed before Lily spoke her name just loud enough for the woman to hear. "Lily."
"Lily. That's a pretty name. My name is Trina. Thank you for taking my injuries. Will you let me try to help you stop that bleeding?" she asked just as gently, extending her hand a little closer to the healer.
Lily's eyes darted towards the growing crowd before she turned her attention back to Trina and finally laid her arm on her outstretched hand. Around them, people were shouting angry words about why the healing stopped. But two men who were healed earlier stood between Trina, Lily and the crowd. They extended their arms out to keep the crowd away as though bodyguards guarding a celebrity. Of course, they were no questions asked that they were there to protect their pregnant companion and not the mage.
"Back off everyone! Can't you see she's hurt?" Trina shouted, her hands adeptly trying the scarf securely and tightly around Lily's arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Just because you were healed doesn't mean that that Subnatural should stop healing the rest of us," another male voice demanded. "Look at how many still need help!"
True to his word, a myriad of civilians were still bleeding from a range of wounds. Though many of them had walked themselves up to the mound, there were many who were being helped up by bystanders or family desperate to get their loved ones healed.
"Jordan, it's plain to see that she's hurt....if my husband was here right now, he'd smack you for talking back to me. Shut up and help me get this girl up. She's hurt and can't take any more of anybody's injuries if she can't be healed herself..." she paused and then turned back towards Lily. "How do you...?
"Transfer," Lily muttered a single word as though it was enough explanation for the Regular. Trina was about to ask more questions but the impatient crowd pushed towards them and made her stumble forward. "Hey!" she called out angrily.
"We need to be healed too! Give her to us!"
Emma gritted her teeth. No sign of Lily. This was bad and was only going to get worse as the crowd grew. She’d need to intervene- based on what she knew about Lily the girl was undoubtedly taking everyone’s injuries on herself. Emma had no choice but to try pushing through- she’d start by herself, but was ready to call on Determination if things got bad. She started trying to make her way in, pushing people gently aside if she had to, continuing to call out for the trapped healer.
Trina scowled. "Look at her! She's barely standing as it is."
"She wasn't so injured before. What if she can vanish those wounds and she's holding herself back to look like she can't take anymore?" a woman tightly grasping her bleeding son's arm pressed against the impromptu bodyguards, "I can't fix his head on my own. Give me that sub!"
The crowd surged forward, breaking the two men's stances and shoving them off their feet. Hands from all directions began grabbing at the healer, though the clear misdirection of attention allowed Emma to slip through to Lily easily enough.
Emma made it through the crowd, but the situation proved dire. The crowd was grabbing at Lily, demanding healing, demanding her help. They weren’t unjustified, but Emma had to stop this- it was far too dangerous. But she hesitated, unsure of the best way to handle the situation. If she threatened the crowd they would readily turn on her, but she if she didn’t do enough they wouldn’t be dissuaded from pressuring Lily. Her first concern was making sure Lily transferred her injuries off of herself, but there was little room for Determination.
Emma turned around, glancing back towards the edge of the crowd. Determination appeared where she was looking. ”Push through to me, but do it carefully! Don’t hurt anyone!” Emma called over the din of the crowd.
In the chaos, Lily let herself be grabbed, her dulled golden eyes staring blankly at the woman who tried to protect her and then at the rioting people as they demanded to be healed. The weight of what she had done earlier and the cutting words Kusari said to her pulled her mood down to its lowest point that she no longer cared if the strip of cloth Trina wrapped around her arm came off or when she felt a sharp pain ran up her leg when someone grabbed her sprained ankle. As the voices in her head argued and demanded and as the people continued trying to grab her, she caught sight of Emma. Good thing she's okay... was her first thought and then slowly turned her head when she heard her words.
The tulpa waded through the crowd at a painfully slow pace, staying true to its master's command. The sight of the shadow creature prompted a few civilians to back away, though not nearly enough to disperse the dangerous gathering.
Surely enough, Lily saw the shadowy figure of Emma's Tulpa walking at a snail's pace towards them. I have to transfer my...injuries...and maybe try to heal others to stop this...mess. But her thoughts were interrupted with the violent words of her stigma. Hurt them! Kill them! Do not heal them! NONE of them deserves your help!
Her thoughts turned dark. Or just let them tear me apart. No more confusion, no more violence, no more difficult life. No more trying to be good when I can't be. No more disappointing people I think of as friends and family. A small yelp of pain escaped her lips when someone grabbed her arm, the person's finger digging into the gash she took from Trina and making it bleed all over again. She stared at the crimson red fluid as it trickled down her arm.
Confusion.
Ernie's words echoed faintly in her head this time. Something about surviving, of being important. But as always, her stigma got in the way of clear thoughts. No one needs you. They all deserve to die. when they all die, you'll no longer be hurt.
Kusari was nearing the end of her rope. First people attack them for no reason when they were here to help, now they were close to trampling a girl like rabid dogs just for committing the sin of trying to take their pain away. They were selfish, only thinking of themselves, only being charitable and understanding when it was convenient for them.
Who the hell were they to treat them like this anyway? These regulars were objectively inferior to them, yet her and the others had slave collars slapped onto them and were treated like disposable weaponry. What gave them the right? The authority of the majority? The superiority of the authority? Her mind swirled with dark thoughts like a whirlpool of muddy water. She was sick and tired of all of this. She didn't move from where she stood in front of the truck. She just watched the crowd around Lily, waiting, hoping for them to give her an excuse to tear them apart.
Determination caught up to Emma, while Emma kept pushing towards Lily. She shot a glance back at her tulpa and then at Lily, ”Lily! You need to transfer your injuries, then we can worry about getting out of this crowd.” Emma sounded confident, but to her the words felt hollow. How the hell was she going to get Lily out of here? She had no plan and lacked the will to put her friend’s life over the mass of people… they didn’t deserve to get hurt for this, or worse yet die for this, did they? They just want healing, how could that be wrong in a situation like this?
Emma pushed the thoughts away. One thing at a time. Lily’s injuries first.
Whether or not Emma's words reached the healer, Determination remained uninjured, stock still by Emma's side despite the shoving from the crowd. There was no sign of the healer under all those grasping limbs now and though Lily failed to respond, the same couldn't be said for the handful of suddenly hostile civilians that caught Emma's declaration.
"So she can heal herself," a different woman narrowed her eyes, "Do you think we're just going to let you take her away?"
Kusari had begun to make her way to the middle of the crowd of vultures surrounding Lily. Their sense of entitlement was beginning to exceed even her jaded imagination. What little sympathy was shown was simply drowned out by those eager to get their share of the subnatural pie. Some of the crowd got out of her way after seeing her claws, some she just pushed, but she made it to the center all the same.
"I'm curious." Kusari said, now standing next to the woman that had threatened Emma and Lily. "Just what will you do if we try to take her away? She can't keep healing people after all, she will die."
"Didn't that girl just say she could transfer her injuries?" she glared, "That's why the shadow thing is here, right? I doubt she's going to let herself die like this."
"Well aren't you the expert." Kusari said with a condescending grin. "Perhaps you could explain to me how she can replenish her blood then. She can't get that back so easily after all." Kusari said, absentmindedly clicking her metallic claws against each other.
"That's not my problem. She's the one gladly taking these injuries."
Kusari felt disgusted from the pit of her stomach. They were perfectly willing to let this girl die in order to heal them. Pathetic... Disgusting... Human garbage. Kusari wanted to take this woman's head off, but she hadn't really given her a good reason to. "That's right. It's not your problem, not at all. She shouldn't be your solution either." Kusari turned towards Lily and reached down to pick her up. Those desperately grabbing at her let go upon seeing her approach. She lifted the girl into her arms, taking care not to cut her with her claws. "Hurry up and get rid of those wounds, it's pissing me off seeing them on you."
Though Lily was successfully unearthed the throng remained relentless, continuing to swarm the subnaturals like ravenous seagulls.
Angélique had been listening with intent at her cuff's voice blaring into life as Siena and Marcus exchanged words concerning their rescue plan. With Siena’s powers, those people, Marcus included, were in safe hands now. She did however got worried when Siena apparently did not come back, deciding to save a few more people inside the ruined condo before heading out herself. Unfortunately, she was blind to what was happening all around her, as her eyes would not open, fearing the burning rays of the light. She did hear the crowd getting rowdy over Lilianna, but some sort of fear mixed with exhaustion pinned Angel on her sitting spot. If Lily was getting mobbed from this crowd, the obsidian-haired Aberration feared she would repeat what happened earlier, make it worse even. And anyway, it’s not like she was going to be able to move anytime soon, in her current condition. The least she could do was hoping that Kusari heard her words earlier and protect Lily.
For now, all that she could do was rest and try gaining what little bit of strength she would need for later. But there was so much to do; so many possibilities with her voice, even more now that she managed to find a good use to her power along with Sophia’s. It may not be much, but with Grant helping with the digging, they actually made quite a good excavation team. Even though Angel was exhausted, physically and mentally, and starting a headache, she was willing to put a maximum of effort to finish things up here and join the rest of the class, or at least send the others to help those fighting the monsters. Worry only grew the more time they spent here instead of helping their friends.
“Sophia…” Angélique called out, her magical whispers reaching out to the girl’s ears, as the young woman did not know whether Sophia was still next to her, her eyes shielded by her hand. “You alright? Think you can find more survivors to dig out?”
Though Sophia tried to pay attention to the conversation being held through the cuffs while looking out for survivors, she ended up tuning out most of what was going on in the end. It had worried her to hear that Marcus was actually stuck under the rubble, but once she knew that Siena was going to get him out she made herself focus on other things. Siena had seemed nice when she had met her, Siena wouldn't leave a classmate to dig themselves out.
It wasn't that pointing out survivors was hard work, not with Angel doing the real pinpointing and with Grant digging. But she still wasn't feeling back to normal, and all the prone bodies around her overwhelmed her and took her attention away from other things. One by one she watched as people were slowly unearthed from the rubble, remaining seated most of the time except for times when she walked from pile to pile to get a better angle.
Her power could only remain on for ten minutes though, so it was too soon that she had to stop. It was only then that she realized how the general noise volume of the area had risen, noting with dismay the crowd that had formed nearby. What was going on over there? She soon found out when Emma went to call out to Lily, but as much as Sophia longed to help her friend some way, she knew she couldn't. I hope Emma can handle it. Trying again to turn on her power to no avail, she sat there for a while, watching Grant finish unearthing the person she had pointed out before her power had run out.
I should go tell him I can't point out anymore. It was then, though, that Angélique's voice reached out to her. Looking back at the Aberration some feet away, she frowned. Sophia had noticed how exhausted her classmate looked, but now... there was something more wrong than blood loss. Looking at the hand shielding her eyes, Sophia was reminded of how Angélique was always wearing shades. Walking over to Angélique, Sophia hesitated before sitting next to her. She didn't answer the question about whether she was alright, only responding to the second part. "Y-yeah I can..." she whispered, "So many." Most of them dead.
Then she made herself ask the same question that she had burst out at Angélique for asking, because Sophia at least had a good reason for asking this time. Because Angélique really didn't look right. "You... alright?"
“Oh yeah, this day couldn’t get any better.”
The fallen idol answered with a sarcasm-heavy tone, chuckling nervously as she realized just how pitiful she must be looking right now. Not that she had anything against Sophia’s question, or the girl herself, despite their recent bout, but her corroded patience leaked a cynic behavior unwillingly. How ironic, for Angel to be the one making sure everyone was alright, only to be asked in turn if she was the one feeling well. It sort of irked her to show this much signs of weakness, but at this point it was either struggling to keep awake or let go and black out. She didn’t want to burden and worry the others with another inanimate body, so she kept on fighting the fatigue.
“Nothing to be worried about. Just a bit exhausted from all this and getting a migraine now that the sun is starting to come out. It’s all good though. Whenever you’re ready, just tell me and I’ll try giving the location to Grant.”
Angélique's sarcasm was outwardly met with nothing but a blink and a slight grimace, though inside the reaction was different. ...payback for earlier? She's not going to forget what I said, is she? A new bout of anxiety was triggered, and now Sophia tensed. Okay, fine. If that was the answer that was the answer, but Angélique really, really didn't look good.
Just a migraine? Seemed like it was a pretty bad one, from the way she looked. Because of the sun... so maybe Angélique's eyes were a bit more sensitive. Knowing that it would still be a few more minutes before she could use her power again, Sophia eyed Angélique for a while longer. She looked the Aberration over from top to bottom slowly, taking in her clothes, posture, skin color... which wasn't particularly healthy.
She opened her mouth, hardened her voice slightly to try and get rid of that shaky feeling, and tilted her head to one side before speaking. "You look like you're going to faint." Hah. She would know, wouldn't she?
Angel grimaced in response to Sophia. Was it really that obvious she was struggling to stay awake? The raven-haired Aberration mentally cursed, letting silence settle in for a small moment before breaking it with a forced smile and straightened sitting posture.
"I suppose I could use a little nap. Didn't sleep much tonight with the party going and all." Angélique let out another nervous giggle, knowing well that excuse wasn't convincing at all, but she didn't want Sophia to worry about fainting while they were trying to help. "I got no time to be sleeping around though. You and I have the means to help now. Let's finish evacuating this place so we can help the others fight those monsters."
Unbeknownst to the blind Mage, there was no longer sight of giant creatures looming over the towering buildings of Washington, only a few large debris floating on their way towards the evacuation area.
Sophia decided to just leave it, for there was nothing she could really do even if Angélique was about to faint. "Right..." The party though, that seemed like it had happened so long ago. Had it really been last night that all the buildings had still been standing? That she attended the party only to end up not talking to anyone but Lily?
And the monsters. She hadn't entirely forgotten, no. There had been that sense of fear and urgency all the while she had been working, but now that Angélique mentioned them, Sophia remembered full force how soon the monsters could possible reach them. She hadn't felt the trembling from the ice monster for a while though... lifting her gaze to scan what destruction she could see from where she was, she frowned. None of them were in sight, when it should have been easy enough to spot at least the ice creature.
Twisting around to look behind her, her eyes widened at the sight of the chunks of debris floating in the distance. How did I miss that? She thought she could make out something large lying on top of one of the pieces, but she couldn't be sure. The pieces didn't seem to be heading towards them nor did they seem particularly threatening, which was good, but she turned to Angélique anyway. "I should be able to use my power anytime, but... there's also, uh, stuff in the sky?"
Angélique’s face shifted to something more serious when Sophia mentioned flying stuff towards them. Was that a new threat heading their way? As much as it displeased the singing Mage, she could not turn a blind eye to this new element. Her shielding hand moved up to her forehead, positioning itself much like one saluting their superior as Angel opened her eyes. Immediately, a surge of pain shot into her visual organs as their sensory nerves overloaded from the bright sunlight after being accustomed to the darkness. Angel’s face flinched, wincing in pain but she kept trying to spot what Sophia was talking about.
Flying debris of buildings. It seemed to have come from the place where the monsters were fighting before. Angel wasn’t sure what to make of this. The monsters weren’t there anymore, but no one from over there; Zoe, Allison, Brent, Ernest, Sander, Hazel nor Callan made contact and said the monsters were dealt with. This whole new situation surged a hint of anxiety into the fallen rockstar. What happened to the others?
“Whatever the f-… hell that is, let’s hope it’s on our side. We don’t have anyone to deal with sky rock throwers here.” She hissed through clenched teeth, her pain obvious in her eyes as they leaked tears from being subjected to this much light. Angel then remembered, on the morning news after the boys’ bar incident, that Kadabra had manifested himself to save the guys from being shot at. Maybe it was him floating in the sky? “Perhaps it’s Kadabra. Apparently he is in DC today.” Angélique suggested optimistically to Sophia, her eyes now shutting themselves and her hand returning over them while her other free hand wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Shifting her gaze back to the floating debris as Angélique spoke, Sophia nodded in agreement even though she knew the Aberration wasn't watching her. Hearing the way the girl next to her spoke though, she tore her gaze from the spectacle to look at Angélique. Let's say that she has extremely sensitive eyes, she thought. Just looking up into the sky hurts her eyes?
The fact that Kadabra was in DC was new to her, for she hadn't read any news earlier this morning or the previous night. She accepted it as a possible reason, and really hoping that it was Kadabra, nodded again. Then shifting her focus from the debris to thinking about the people she had yet to spot in the rubble, she cast an eye around the bleak area. She was about to tell Angélique that she was ready to start again, but when she looked at her for a second time, she decided on something different. "An...Angélique. I can tell Grant directly? If you'd like to keep your eyes closed? You don't..."
“No, don’t! Angel interrupted Sophia’s suggestion, not willing to hear any more of it. Whether it was because she didn’t want Sophia to be walking around in her condition or because she feared to be useless one more time, Angélique remained firm in helping Sophia, even if it meant causing herself more trouble to her sight. But if pain was the cost for helping not only the others more quickly, but to also save some lives and atone if only a bit for what she did earlier and even back to Montréal, then she was willing to carry that cross.
“Don’t worry about me, it’s just looking where you point and telling Grant to get his a-… butt over there and dig them out. Nothing too painful. It’s better than forcing you to stand and walk around in your condition.” The shades-less young woman tried to reassure the Arbiter girl, although her migraine was steadily becoming worse.
Sophia was surprised and perhaps a bit hurt at the speed at which Angélique rejected her suggestion. She's one of the proud type who need to be seen as top contributors to whatever is going on. Jaw clenching slightly, she gazed at the Aberration through slightly narrowed eyes. "Well, what about your con--"
Suddenly, Sophia broke off. A curious part of her wondered how long it would take to convince Angélique to back down if she tried, but in the end she pushed that thought away despite how much she wanted to find out. There wasn't enough time. This wasn't the place.
Whatever. It occurred to Sophia that she could just walk over by herself and Angélique would not be able to stop her, but strangely she decided against it. If Angélique wanted to work until she passed out, Sophia wouldn't stop her. Still, she made a mental note to keep a careful eye on the girl. "Fine." She switched on her power. "But don't blame me when you regret it later. Or pass out." A pause as she scanned her surroundings again. "Tell me if you change your mind."
“I’ll worry about passing out when I actually pass out, if it ever happens, don’t sweat it.” Angel replied with a hint of frustration.
God, that kid sure was persistent. She didn’t know if she was more annoyed by the attitude or was admiring the tenacity. A strong and defiant soul unwilling to be trampled. Thinking about it, Sophia sounded like a quieter version of the singer's younger self. They somewhat shared this trait of personality, Angélique figured. A faint smile creeped up on her face at this realization, softening her hardened features.
“Ready when you are.” Angel finally added, shielding her eyes upwards once more and slowly opening them. For now, her eyes would squint at Sophia’s direction to minimize the light input until a clear direction was given.
With her power on, Sophia wasn't able to see Angélique's smile, or else she might have wondered about it. Instead, she carefully began looking again for survivors. There were so many people who were not moving, probably outnumbering those that were actually conscious. Soon settling on one that possibly was alive, she raised an arm to point at another heap. It was obvious that Sophia had been trying her best to be as accurate as possible with her directions, though she rarely added any words unless the place was really hard to judge.
"This one's buried much farther down? So... you might want to tell..." She trailed off, assuming that Angélique understood what she meant. Might want to tell Grant that it isn't the wrong place, he'll just have to dig more.
As soon as Sophia raised her arm, Angel’s eyes fully opened to precisely know where the girl was pointing at. She flinched from the pain surging into her eyes, but she nonetheless tried to not let it overcome her senses as she acknowledged the Arbiter’s directions. Soon enough, Angélique let the flood of magical warmth take over her throat as she focused on one of her classmates, her whispering displaced from her lips to Grant's ears.
“Grant… Sophia managed to locate more potential survivors. They are buried deeper this time, so it might take more time to find them. I’ll have a voice marking you the location of the survivors.”
Shortly after her call, the ghostly-voiced Aberration projected her words over the location Sophia was pointing. Yells of a familiar voice shouting “Over here!” and “Help!” would serve as good enough guides for Grant and other available diggers to find those trapped people.
Angel soon found herself stumbling on the debris she was sitting on as her mind blacked out for a second. Her sluggish reflexes barely managed to catch herself onto another chunk of debris to steady herself and prevent her from falling down her seating place. Mental exhaustion quickly began to manifest itself once more as the Aberration abused of her abilities. Uneven breaths made it clearer she fighting a losing battle against fatigue.
Meanwhile, Grant was finishing up on digging out the person that Angel had pointed out to him. The task of crumbling the debris proved to be not too tiring, but it didn't leave him fatigue-free. Just as he thought that he was going to go back to doing nothing, a familiar misplaced voice sounded beside him to inform about several other buried survivors. So much for doing nothing.
Finishing up on his current dig, he continued onto the next, following the shouting voice. On his way, he slowed down his pace when he noticed Angel's stumble from what seemed to be a bout of fatigue. Conflict clashed in his mind, but ultimately, he said nothing and decided to continue on to his destination to dig out the survivors.
For now, all that she could do was rest and try gaining what little bit of strength she would need for later. But there was so much to do; so many possibilities with her voice, even more now that she managed to find a good use to her power along with Sophia’s. It may not be much, but with Grant helping with the digging, they actually made quite a good excavation team. Even though Angel was exhausted, physically and mentally, and starting a headache, she was willing to put a maximum of effort to finish things up here and join the rest of the class, or at least send the others to help those fighting the monsters. Worry only grew the more time they spent here instead of helping their friends.
“Sophia…” Angélique called out, her magical whispers reaching out to the girl’s ears, as the young woman did not know whether Sophia was still next to her, her eyes shielded by her hand. “You alright? Think you can find more survivors to dig out?”
Though Sophia tried to pay attention to the conversation being held through the cuffs while looking out for survivors, she ended up tuning out most of what was going on in the end. It had worried her to hear that Marcus was actually stuck under the rubble, but once she knew that Siena was going to get him out she made herself focus on other things. Siena had seemed nice when she had met her, Siena wouldn't leave a classmate to dig themselves out.
It wasn't that pointing out survivors was hard work, not with Angel doing the real pinpointing and with Grant digging. But she still wasn't feeling back to normal, and all the prone bodies around her overwhelmed her and took her attention away from other things. One by one she watched as people were slowly unearthed from the rubble, remaining seated most of the time except for times when she walked from pile to pile to get a better angle.
Her power could only remain on for ten minutes though, so it was too soon that she had to stop. It was only then that she realized how the general noise volume of the area had risen, noting with dismay the crowd that had formed nearby. What was going on over there? She soon found out when Emma went to call out to Lily, but as much as Sophia longed to help her friend some way, she knew she couldn't. I hope Emma can handle it. Trying again to turn on her power to no avail, she sat there for a while, watching Grant finish unearthing the person she had pointed out before her power had run out.
I should go tell him I can't point out anymore. It was then, though, that Angélique's voice reached out to her. Looking back at the Aberration some feet away, she frowned. Sophia had noticed how exhausted her classmate looked, but now... there was something more wrong than blood loss. Looking at the hand shielding her eyes, Sophia was reminded of how Angélique was always wearing shades. Walking over to Angélique, Sophia hesitated before sitting next to her. She didn't answer the question about whether she was alright, only responding to the second part. "Y-yeah I can..." she whispered, "So many." Most of them dead.
Then she made herself ask the same question that she had burst out at Angélique for asking, because Sophia at least had a good reason for asking this time. Because Angélique really didn't look right. "You... alright?"
“Oh yeah, this day couldn’t get any better.”
The fallen idol answered with a sarcasm-heavy tone, chuckling nervously as she realized just how pitiful she must be looking right now. Not that she had anything against Sophia’s question, or the girl herself, despite their recent bout, but her corroded patience leaked a cynic behavior unwillingly. How ironic, for Angel to be the one making sure everyone was alright, only to be asked in turn if she was the one feeling well. It sort of irked her to show this much signs of weakness, but at this point it was either struggling to keep awake or let go and black out. She didn’t want to burden and worry the others with another inanimate body, so she kept on fighting the fatigue.
“Nothing to be worried about. Just a bit exhausted from all this and getting a migraine now that the sun is starting to come out. It’s all good though. Whenever you’re ready, just tell me and I’ll try giving the location to Grant.”
Angélique's sarcasm was outwardly met with nothing but a blink and a slight grimace, though inside the reaction was different. ...payback for earlier? She's not going to forget what I said, is she? A new bout of anxiety was triggered, and now Sophia tensed. Okay, fine. If that was the answer that was the answer, but Angélique really, really didn't look good.
Just a migraine? Seemed like it was a pretty bad one, from the way she looked. Because of the sun... so maybe Angélique's eyes were a bit more sensitive. Knowing that it would still be a few more minutes before she could use her power again, Sophia eyed Angélique for a while longer. She looked the Aberration over from top to bottom slowly, taking in her clothes, posture, skin color... which wasn't particularly healthy.
She opened her mouth, hardened her voice slightly to try and get rid of that shaky feeling, and tilted her head to one side before speaking. "You look like you're going to faint." Hah. She would know, wouldn't she?
Angel grimaced in response to Sophia. Was it really that obvious she was struggling to stay awake? The raven-haired Aberration mentally cursed, letting silence settle in for a small moment before breaking it with a forced smile and straightened sitting posture.
"I suppose I could use a little nap. Didn't sleep much tonight with the party going and all." Angélique let out another nervous giggle, knowing well that excuse wasn't convincing at all, but she didn't want Sophia to worry about fainting while they were trying to help. "I got no time to be sleeping around though. You and I have the means to help now. Let's finish evacuating this place so we can help the others fight those monsters."
Unbeknownst to the blind Mage, there was no longer sight of giant creatures looming over the towering buildings of Washington, only a few large debris floating on their way towards the evacuation area.
Sophia decided to just leave it, for there was nothing she could really do even if Angélique was about to faint. "Right..." The party though, that seemed like it had happened so long ago. Had it really been last night that all the buildings had still been standing? That she attended the party only to end up not talking to anyone but Lily?
And the monsters. She hadn't entirely forgotten, no. There had been that sense of fear and urgency all the while she had been working, but now that Angélique mentioned them, Sophia remembered full force how soon the monsters could possible reach them. She hadn't felt the trembling from the ice monster for a while though... lifting her gaze to scan what destruction she could see from where she was, she frowned. None of them were in sight, when it should have been easy enough to spot at least the ice creature.
Twisting around to look behind her, her eyes widened at the sight of the chunks of debris floating in the distance. How did I miss that? She thought she could make out something large lying on top of one of the pieces, but she couldn't be sure. The pieces didn't seem to be heading towards them nor did they seem particularly threatening, which was good, but she turned to Angélique anyway. "I should be able to use my power anytime, but... there's also, uh, stuff in the sky?"
Angélique’s face shifted to something more serious when Sophia mentioned flying stuff towards them. Was that a new threat heading their way? As much as it displeased the singing Mage, she could not turn a blind eye to this new element. Her shielding hand moved up to her forehead, positioning itself much like one saluting their superior as Angel opened her eyes. Immediately, a surge of pain shot into her visual organs as their sensory nerves overloaded from the bright sunlight after being accustomed to the darkness. Angel’s face flinched, wincing in pain but she kept trying to spot what Sophia was talking about.
Flying debris of buildings. It seemed to have come from the place where the monsters were fighting before. Angel wasn’t sure what to make of this. The monsters weren’t there anymore, but no one from over there; Zoe, Allison, Brent, Ernest, Sander, Hazel nor Callan made contact and said the monsters were dealt with. This whole new situation surged a hint of anxiety into the fallen rockstar. What happened to the others?
“Whatever the f-… hell that is, let’s hope it’s on our side. We don’t have anyone to deal with sky rock throwers here.” She hissed through clenched teeth, her pain obvious in her eyes as they leaked tears from being subjected to this much light. Angel then remembered, on the morning news after the boys’ bar incident, that Kadabra had manifested himself to save the guys from being shot at. Maybe it was him floating in the sky? “Perhaps it’s Kadabra. Apparently he is in DC today.” Angélique suggested optimistically to Sophia, her eyes now shutting themselves and her hand returning over them while her other free hand wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Shifting her gaze back to the floating debris as Angélique spoke, Sophia nodded in agreement even though she knew the Aberration wasn't watching her. Hearing the way the girl next to her spoke though, she tore her gaze from the spectacle to look at Angélique. Let's say that she has extremely sensitive eyes, she thought. Just looking up into the sky hurts her eyes?
The fact that Kadabra was in DC was new to her, for she hadn't read any news earlier this morning or the previous night. She accepted it as a possible reason, and really hoping that it was Kadabra, nodded again. Then shifting her focus from the debris to thinking about the people she had yet to spot in the rubble, she cast an eye around the bleak area. She was about to tell Angélique that she was ready to start again, but when she looked at her for a second time, she decided on something different. "An...Angélique. I can tell Grant directly? If you'd like to keep your eyes closed? You don't..."
“No, don’t! Angel interrupted Sophia’s suggestion, not willing to hear any more of it. Whether it was because she didn’t want Sophia to be walking around in her condition or because she feared to be useless one more time, Angélique remained firm in helping Sophia, even if it meant causing herself more trouble to her sight. But if pain was the cost for helping not only the others more quickly, but to also save some lives and atone if only a bit for what she did earlier and even back to Montréal, then she was willing to carry that cross.
“Don’t worry about me, it’s just looking where you point and telling Grant to get his a-… butt over there and dig them out. Nothing too painful. It’s better than forcing you to stand and walk around in your condition.” The shades-less young woman tried to reassure the Arbiter girl, although her migraine was steadily becoming worse.
Sophia was surprised and perhaps a bit hurt at the speed at which Angélique rejected her suggestion. She's one of the proud type who need to be seen as top contributors to whatever is going on. Jaw clenching slightly, she gazed at the Aberration through slightly narrowed eyes. "Well, what about your con--"
Suddenly, Sophia broke off. A curious part of her wondered how long it would take to convince Angélique to back down if she tried, but in the end she pushed that thought away despite how much she wanted to find out. There wasn't enough time. This wasn't the place.
Whatever. It occurred to Sophia that she could just walk over by herself and Angélique would not be able to stop her, but strangely she decided against it. If Angélique wanted to work until she passed out, Sophia wouldn't stop her. Still, she made a mental note to keep a careful eye on the girl. "Fine." She switched on her power. "But don't blame me when you regret it later. Or pass out." A pause as she scanned her surroundings again. "Tell me if you change your mind."
“I’ll worry about passing out when I actually pass out, if it ever happens, don’t sweat it.” Angel replied with a hint of frustration.
God, that kid sure was persistent. She didn’t know if she was more annoyed by the attitude or was admiring the tenacity. A strong and defiant soul unwilling to be trampled. Thinking about it, Sophia sounded like a quieter version of the singer's younger self. They somewhat shared this trait of personality, Angélique figured. A faint smile creeped up on her face at this realization, softening her hardened features.
“Ready when you are.” Angel finally added, shielding her eyes upwards once more and slowly opening them. For now, her eyes would squint at Sophia’s direction to minimize the light input until a clear direction was given.
With her power on, Sophia wasn't able to see Angélique's smile, or else she might have wondered about it. Instead, she carefully began looking again for survivors. There were so many people who were not moving, probably outnumbering those that were actually conscious. Soon settling on one that possibly was alive, she raised an arm to point at another heap. It was obvious that Sophia had been trying her best to be as accurate as possible with her directions, though she rarely added any words unless the place was really hard to judge.
"This one's buried much farther down? So... you might want to tell..." She trailed off, assuming that Angélique understood what she meant. Might want to tell Grant that it isn't the wrong place, he'll just have to dig more.
As soon as Sophia raised her arm, Angel’s eyes fully opened to precisely know where the girl was pointing at. She flinched from the pain surging into her eyes, but she nonetheless tried to not let it overcome her senses as she acknowledged the Arbiter’s directions. Soon enough, Angélique let the flood of magical warmth take over her throat as she focused on one of her classmates, her whispering displaced from her lips to Grant's ears.
“Grant… Sophia managed to locate more potential survivors. They are buried deeper this time, so it might take more time to find them. I’ll have a voice marking you the location of the survivors.”
Shortly after her call, the ghostly-voiced Aberration projected her words over the location Sophia was pointing. Yells of a familiar voice shouting “Over here!” and “Help!” would serve as good enough guides for Grant and other available diggers to find those trapped people.
Angel soon found herself stumbling on the debris she was sitting on as her mind blacked out for a second. Her sluggish reflexes barely managed to catch herself onto another chunk of debris to steady herself and prevent her from falling down her seating place. Mental exhaustion quickly began to manifest itself once more as the Aberration abused of her abilities. Uneven breaths made it clearer she fighting a losing battle against fatigue.
Meanwhile, Grant was finishing up on digging out the person that Angel had pointed out to him. The task of crumbling the debris proved to be not too tiring, but it didn't leave him fatigue-free. Just as he thought that he was going to go back to doing nothing, a familiar misplaced voice sounded beside him to inform about several other buried survivors. So much for doing nothing.
Finishing up on his current dig, he continued onto the next, following the shouting voice. On his way, he slowed down his pace when he noticed Angel's stumble from what seemed to be a bout of fatigue. Conflict clashed in his mind, but ultimately, he said nothing and decided to continue on to his destination to dig out the survivors.
Eventually, things would seem to have settled down for the evacuation effort, or at least the whole ordeal seemed to have winded down to something more tolerable. Siena returned to the semi after managing to calm down, despite still being troubled by the whole situation. Marcus was quick to join her as he returned to his driver's seat, waiting for the others to be done with their tasks to drive them back to the evacuation point. Kusari brought Lilianna back to the truck's cargo hold and stood there in watch to prevent Regulars from entering the truck and grab at the Healer again, while Emma followed and stood there in case Lily needed to transfer injuries to Determination.
Meanwhile, the tired excavating trio of Angélique, Sophia and Grant kept going on their side of the devastated site. For as long as they could, the small team continued working the system they have made: Sophia would spot the survivors, Angel would guide Grant to the location of the trapped people, then Grant would use his chains to dig out the survivors,
It was evident, after a while, that exhaustion hung heavily in the air, both for the Regulars who kept on fighting against this monster that was the ruined condo to dig out their beloved ones and the Subnaturals who went through a stressful ordeal and used their power probably as much as never before.
After a while, the loud rumbling of a USARILN-marked vehicle heralded the arrival of a large squad. Rifles were pointed and orders were barked at the desperate civilians who were still swarming around the semi, asking incessantly about their healing needs now that they need there was a healer being held away from them. Again, the fear of actual firearms pointed in their face seemed to be far more effective than a handful of teenagers with white marks and X’s as the Regulars backed away from the truck, quickly following the soldiers’ directives.
The Subnaturals who were visibly able to walk were quickly brought back to the military vehicles at gunpoint, letting none of the kids have any leeway after hearing what had happened not too far away from this position. For those unable to walk, stretchers were prepared ahead of time as two guards were swiftly dispatched for each incapacitated guard and Subnatural, bringing them along their peers to the trucks.
Once everyone was inside the USARILN convoy, it quickly left the scene and headed to the evacuation point, much to the laments of the Regulars who were left to themselves with a promise of the military’s immediate action to their pleas.
Overhead, floating debris carrying Kadabra and the rest of the students that remained behind to fight were just about to reach the evacuation point. Everyone will soon be reunited after this disastrous attack.
