#yeah arthur call that fully grown man your dog

[no-tengo-ojos]

Never forget that Malevolent s4 gave us dom Arthur and petty bitch John. Truly the divas of all time

[rubysunnday]

Wait For Me

3rd September, 1939. 

That date would be stuck in your mind for years to come. 

The meanest dog you'll ever meet

You’d both been expecting it, you and Finn. Neither one of you was oblivious to the constant news reports on Nazi Germany and its rise. A naive part of you had hoped that maybe it would all die down and nothing would become of it. 

You’d only just been old enough to vaguely remember the First World War. The memories were vague and hazy. Bombs. Searchlights. Telegrams. The MIA on your brother. Your father. 

He ain't the hound dog in the street

He bares some teeth and tears some skin

Many families had lost husbands and sons in the war, yet many more had lost mothers too - lost to the pain of losing their lovers, their children. Your mother hadn’t made it past the five year anniversary. 

Your aunt took you in. That relationship was a rocky one from the beginning, the two of you often fighting and yelling at one another. By the time you’d turned eighteen, you’d grown estranged from your only serving family member, for many reasons. 

But brother, that's the worst of him

That’s when Finn had walked into your life. Well, knocked into your life. 

Neither one of you could agree on who’s fault it was. You insisted that he hadn’t been paying attention, too busy trying to show off to John and Arthur who were walking behind him. He insisted that you’d been walking backwards, to absorbed in looking around the market to see him.

The dog you really got to dread 

Is the one that howls inside your head

No matter who’s fault it was, you both ended up bumping into each other. Finn had caught you before you’d fallen onto the ground, his arms snaking around your waist and holding you against him. 

Small Heath wasn’t a big community. You’d known of Finn for a while and known of the Shelby’s for even longer. The two of you had sat next to each other in school until he’d dropped out. 

It's him whose howling drives men mad

 And a mind to its undoing

“Hi,” you said, looking up at Finn.

“Hi,” Finn replied, a dopey smile on his face. “Falling for me again, y/l/n?”

Wait for me, I'm comin'

“Never, Shelby,” you said, smacking his arm to tell him to let you go. “John, Arthur.”

“Morning, y/n,” Arthur said, tipping his hat to you. 

“Morning,” John added, winking. 

You rolled your eyes. “Never change, John.”

“Oh, I don’t plan on it,” John replied and you shook your head, 

You bent down to pick up your basket but Finn beat you too it, your hands brushing for a second. 

“I got it,” Finn said, putting everything back in. 

“I am capable, Finn.”

Wait, I'm comin' with you

Finn looked up at you, giving you his infamous smile, his eyes sparkling. “Never said you weren’t.”

You took the basket back from him, smiling a little. “I should go,” you said, nodding to the road where your aunt’s house was. 

Wait for me, I'm comin' too, I'm comin' too

“See you around,” Finn replied, walking backwards after his brothers as you nodded.

“Yeah, see you around Shelby.”

Show the way so we can see

Show the way the world could be

After that, you saw Finn every time you went to the market. He later admitted to you that the only reason he had been there was to see you. 

Finn followed you around as you did the weekly shop for your aunt, helping you to carry the items back to the house and keeping you company as you put them away. 

If you can do it, so can she

If she can do it, so can we

Your aunt didn’t approve of him or any of the Shelby’s. That was another thing you fell out about. 

The day before you turned nineteen, your aunt fell seriously ill. Despite your rocky relationship, you were worried. You went with her to the hospital, sitting with her through the time she was there. 

Somehow, the Shelby’s found out about your aunt because a day later, Finn and John appeared in the hospital canteen, the former bearing some flowers. 

Show the way so we believe

We will follow where you lead

We will follow with you

Show the way

“We heard about your aunt,” Finn had said upon you spotting them. He held out the flowers. “We got these for her.”

“We?” John muttered, to quiet for you to hear, but Finn smacked his stomach anyway, telling him to shut up. 

“Thank you,” you replied, accepting the bouquet. 

“How is she?” John asked, noticing Finn’s lack of attention as you brushed hands taking the flowers. 

“Not good. The doctors say she probably won’t be here by the end of the week.” 

“I’m sorry,” Finn said, suddenly discovering his voice again.

Think they'll make it?

“Yeah. We never really got along but, still, she’s the only family I’ve got left.” You paused. “I don’t really know what I’ll do once she’s gone.”

“We can help if you need us to,” Finn said suddenly, ignoring his brother’s stutter of surprise. 

I don't know

You looked at him, slightly surprised. “Thanks, Finn.” Finn blushed slightly as you hugged him, to busy trying to commit the smell of your perfume to memory to notice that you also hugged a very bemused and confused John. 

“I should probably go check on her,” you said quietly, picking up your bag and coat. “Thanks again.”

Hades, you let them go

Finn waved at you as you left the canteen, a smile on his face.

John smacked his brother on the arm. “What the hell was that?” 

Finn frowned. “What do you mean?” 

I let them try

“That!” John exclaimed, gesturing to where you'd been sitting.

“Oh, I was being nice,” Finn replied, pulling his coat closer.

“Since when?!”

Finn shrugged. “She’s nice.”

John rolled his eyes. “Ahuh,” he said, unconvinced by his brothers explanation but not wanting to jump any further down the rabbit hole. 

And how 'bout you and I? 

Are we gonna try again?

Your aunt passed away three days after Finn gave you the flowers. 

It's time for spring.

 We'll try again next fall

You'd stepped outside for a cigarette, needing some air, when you’d spotted Tommy Shelby and Polly Grey walking into the hospital.

“Hey, Mr Shelby,” you called, nodding at him.

“Good morning, y/n,” Tommy replied, walking towards you. “Haven’t seen you and Finn together for a while.”

You nodded to the hospital behind you. “Been stuck here. My aunt was admitted last week, she passed away this morning.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Polly said, joining her nephew.

“Nah, don't be. We weren't that close. But she was the only family I’ve got left...had left.” 

Polly smiled sympathetically. “You know where we are if you need us.” 

You nodded, bidding the both farewell. 

Wait for me?

The doctor informed you that your aunt’s funeral had been fully paid already and that there was nothing to worry about. You’d frowned, confused, but let it slide, happy not to have to part with any money.

It wasn’t until you’d gotten home from the hospital that you realised that Tommy Shelby and Polly Grey had been the ones to pay for the funeral. 

I will

Despite knowing Finn Shelby for ten years, you’d never been to number 6 Watery Lane. You’d been to the Garrison plenty of times with your friends, often getting drunk inside - you and John had sworn to each other to never mention the time you’d passed out on him - but you’d never ventured down to the house where the Shelby’s lived.

Wait for me, I'm comin'

Wait, I'm comin' with you

Wait for me, I'm comin' too

I'm comin' too

Finn had visibly lit up when he’d spotted you amongst the gamblers, weaving his way through the crowd and grabbing your hand. He’d dragged you into the safety of John’s office, shutting the door behind him. 

“Hey, y/l//n-”

“You didn’t have to do that, by the way,” you said, cutting him off.

Finn faltered. “Do what?”

Who are you?

Who do you think you are?

Who are you?

“Get Tommy and Polly to pay for my aunt’s funeral.”

“I didn’t,” Finn replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Shelby, I’ve known you for ten years, now, so I also know when you’re lying.”

Finn sighed. “Fine. I did, maybe, do that.”

You crossed your arms, not at all surprised or angry. “Why?”

“Because I care about you,” Finn admitted quietly. “Didn’t think you should have to pay for the funeral of someone you didn’t care about.”

You smiled. “Thank you, Finn, truly.” 

Finn nodded, trying his best not to blush. “No problem.” 

Who are you to lead her?

Who are you to lead them?

Who are you to think that you can hold your head up higher than your fellow man?

You and Finn became better friends after your aunt’s death and the Shelby’s soon began seeing more of you, your presence at 6 Watery Lane soon became normal. Neither one of you was prepared to acknowledge the blossoming romance between the two of you despite nearly all of Small Heath seeing it.

Everything had been fine and almost perfect.

You got a lonesome road to walk

And it ain't along the railroad track

And it ain't along the black-top tar

Until you lost your job and your house. 

Finn had become worried when you he’d turned up to your house one day only to find no one home. He’d gone to your work only to be told you’d been fired. He’d asked Tommy to send some Blinders out to look for you but other than that, there was nothing he could do.

It was only a week later that your turned up at the house, visibly exhausted. 

Typically, Finn hadn’t been there when you’d appeared. He’d gone off again to try and find you, not that he’d admit it. 

Arthur Shelby had ushered you in, immediately sitting you on the sofa in front of the fire and wrapping numerous blankets around you as you shivered. 

Finn had arrived back an hour later, all but throwing himself at you as he hugged you.

You've walked a hundred times before

I'll tell you where the real road lies:

Between your ears, behind your eyes

That is the path to Paradise

Likewise, the road to ruin

“What happened?” He asked, letting go of you.

“Turns out my aunt’s will wasn’t particular lovely to me,” you said quietly. “The only thing she left me was an old photo album. Everything else went to her nephew - in - law in Cornwall.”

“You went to Cornwall?”

You nodded. “Had to. His lawyer wanted to know why I was still living in the house when it wasn’t mine. Whole thing got messy and as a result I missed work for a week and ended up being fired.”

Finn sighed, putting an arm around your shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Wait for me, I'm comin'

Wait, I'm comin' with you

Wait for me, I'm comin' too

“Why do you keep saying that?” Finn asked softly.

“Because it is,” you answered. “Compared to the war, it is fine.” You leant your head on Finn’s shoulder and he rested his chin on your head. “Besides, I’ve got you.”

Finn felt his heart beat faster as your hair tickled his neck, the smell of your perfume making him smile. “Yeah, you have.”

Wait for me, I'm comin' too

Wait for me, I'm comin'

Wait, I'm comin' with you

You knew that Finn had said something to Tommy. 

But only because Tommy Shelby didn’t normally offer a secretary job out of the blue. 

“I’ve got a job for you, if you want it,” Tommy had said suddenly one Sunday afternoon as you drank tea in the living room. 

Wait, I'm comin'

Show her the way

You choked on the sip you’d taken, coughing much to Tommy’s amusement. “What?” You croaked.

“I’ve got a secretary job if you want it,” Tommy repeated. “Working for me, handling some very sensitive business.” Tommy gave you a knowing look and you nodded. 

“When?

“Tomorrow.”

I'm coming wait for me

I hear the walls repeating

That job quickly became your new normal. The Shelby’s soon became family and you felt at ease despite the horror stories that accompanied them. You also realised how you felt about Finn Shelby.

It’d been at one of the many races you’d attended when you’d admitted how you felt to Finn. You hadn’t planned on it. It’d been sudden and at an incredibly poor time but you’d still said it. 

“Finn,” you said as the horses turned into the final leg of the race.  “Yeah, y/n/n,” Finn replied, distracted by the race and the fact that John and Arthur were yelling next to him. 

“I love you.” 

The falling of our feet and

Finn’s head and shot to look at you, eyes wide, mouth open. He stammered, clearly torn. “I love you too,” he said, his eyes softening as you smiled. “God, I love you so much.”

He’d bent down and kissed you just as the horses crossed the finish line, the Blinders around you yelling in joy as they realised how much money they’d gotten. 

It sounds like drumming

Finn, never one to wait, had proposed six months later. 

“Marry me,” he said one night as the two of you laid on the sofa, warming your feet by the fire.

You turned your head to look at him, smiling. “Marry you?”

Finn nodded. “Marry me.”

You pressed your lips together, your smile growing. “Of course.” 

And we are not alone

It’d been the perfect wedding. Neither one of you were fussed about a big ceremony or reception, perfectly content with just the Shelby's. Both of you had wanted to elope but Polly and Ada had put their foot down, insisting on you both getting married properly.

Finn had cried when he saw Arthur walking you down the aisle. He’d lifted the veil off your face and you’d wiped away a tear from his cheek. Finn’s hand entwined with yours as Johnny Dogs began the ceremony and neither one of you let go until you got to Tommy’s house for the reception. 

Everything had been so perfect. 

I hear the rocks and stones

Until the 3rd of September 1939. 

You’d all been staying at Tommy’s house, all of you waiting for the dreaded news and no one wanting to be far away from anyone. 

You and Finn had been in the living room, hands entwined tightly, listening intently as the radio presenter announced that the government had declared war on Germany. 

One by one, the other Shelby’s had joined you, all listening, all terrified. 

When the day came for the men to go to war yet again, you and Finn pressed your foreheads together, hands entwined. 

“I’m going to miss you so much,” Finn whispered, closing his eyes to try and block out the sound of his crying family.

Echoing our song

“Me too,” you replied. “This is so much harder than it was before.”

Finn captured your lips in a kiss. “I’ll come back,” he said quietly, wiping away the tears falling down your face. “I promise.”

“I know you will, Finn,” you said, kissing him. “You all will.” You handed him a neatly folded photo and a handkerchief. “That’s the photo of me you took on the 15th July 1928, our first anniversary. That’s my handkerchief and I put my perfume on it so that I’m always with you. And when it fades, write to me and I’ll send you a fresh one.”

Finn tried his best not to cry as he engulfed you in a hug, holding you tight against him.

He sighed heavily as the train whistle blew. He kissed you one final time before he and his brothers clambered on board. Finn stuck his hand out the window and you grabbed it, pressing a kiss to his hand. The train slowly began to move and you walked along with him for as long as you could.

“Wait for me?” Finn called as your hands were ripped apart. 

“I will.”

I'm coming

[spotsuns]

redemption poem

when you get down on the ground the first thing you do is turn to your brother and smile. this isn’t a victory for you, and you have so much left to pay, but at least he is safe. you’ve always done it all for him; this is just the final act.

this is the part where the audience claps because you were brave, because you sacrificed yourself for his happiness. nobody will remember that you were your own child. nobody will remember what you lost.

they’ll see it as a victory; that at least one of you is not rotten. it’s a fair trade in the eyes of the people. you’re disposable.

the handcuffs they put on you feel like redemption and you don’t know why. you could have sworn you never did anything wrong to end up here—so why, then?

the water is all muddy. it’s all started to blend together. you’re just tired. you just want it to be over, that’s it. you’ve betrayed yourself. go directly to jail. do not pass go. do not collect two-hundred dollars.

you stare at your brother from the back of the police car until he’s too far away to see anymore. you become sharply aware of the fact that this is how it will be from now on. you try not to think about waking up to him in your arms in the forest; in your grandparents guest bed; in a tent in california; on a cliff; watching the arizona sunrise—

he’s shaking you awake, telling you to look at it, that it’s beautiful, and all you can do is agree. yeah. good call.

when you look out the window at it now it just hurts your one good eye. you better take it in for all it’s worth, though. who knows when you’ll see it next like this? whole, and not sliced up into slivers by the bars of your jail cell, spreading none of its warmth across your skin.

you feel like you’ve lost more than you had when you were walking in the scorching nevada desert with blisters on your skin. and it’s true. at least you had hope left, then.

this isn’t such a big story, one where there’s a light at the end, where you come out victorious and make it to the magicland. this one has you willingly heading into the dark cave and knowing it will be a long time before you find your way back home.

you’ll be in the sequel, maybe, where you’ll be reunited with all the old characters that helped you along the way. they’ll be older and wiser and they’ll have moved on without you, because that was a part of the story you weren’t in.

you hope your sacrifice helped people, at least. that maybe your absence did more good than harm. that you were the hero, somehow. it hurts too much to stomach if you weren’t.

fifteen years is what you get. they tell you you’re lucky that it’s ‘only’ fifteen years.

you just turned seventeen. you’ll have lived almost your entire lifetime over by the time you’re free again, you’ll be a fully-grown man, and so will daniel.

so will daniel.

suddenly, it hits you. you’re going to miss everything.

those talks between the glass won’t ever be enough. you are going to miss your brother growing up, and that hurts even worse than missing out on your own growing up, because that’s what all of this was for.

you threw your childhood away the second you took off with him in your arms. you expected to get to hang onto it. you didn’t. there’s no getting it back.

you don’t want to look back at him when the officers lead you away in handcuffs. it feels too painfully familiar, too much like the time you looked out the police car window as you were pulled away from him the first time.

you didn’t want to admit it, but you were a little hopeful then. not anymore, no, that was crushed flat under the gavel. you pretend you don’t hear daniel wailing when the door shuts.

fifteen years is a long time.

in your first fifteen years of life you were born to two parents, you met lyla, you got a little brother, your mother left, you went to school, you went to work, you went to parties, to concerts, on trips with your family—it all went by pretty damn fast.

that’s childhood though, right? or is it? you can’t remember what being a child is like anymore, not these days. the last time was maybe in humboldt county, smoking weed around a campfire with a bunch of kids who had forgotten, too.

it’s funny, really. you got so caught up in the turmoil of losing your childhood that you didn’t even consider the idea that they’d take your adulthood from you, too. you’ll spend all of your twenties in a prison cell, get out at thirty-two, and then what? you’ll still be a child, chewed up and spit out by the system and thrown into the world a shell of who you once were to figure it out.

fifteen years is a long time, but time starts to not matter so much after the first few years. you think about those eight months on the road every single day that they get farther away. it seemed so awful then, and it was, but you can’t help but think you’d do it all over again over this.

that’s a selfish thought, though. you realize this when daniel visits you—his cheeks fuller, his clothes new and clean and no bags under his eyes. he tells you about school and his new dog and what his friends have been up to lately. every once in a while, he whispers to you about somebody he helped recently, or a school bus he stopped from going off a cliff. you remember this is why you’re here.

the only thing that keeps you somewhat sane when daniel’s not visiting is art. you’re allowed to have paper and anything that’s not too sharp to draw with, and you make the best of it.

you can’t do studies anymore, not in here. that’d be awfully depressing, so you draw what keeps your head up. you draw for daniel, mostly. comics of superwolf, showcasing all of his acts of heroism. it’s the best way you can show him that you’re proud.

he cries almost every time you pull out a new piece of paper for him; holds it in his hands so carefully, as if he’s convinced it’ll crumble to dust like a dead leaf in his palm if he grips it too hard.

he’s lost too much. so have you. it’s not over yet.

you notice karen visiting less than she did at first. you wonder if it’s just inconvenient for her to come or if it’s guilt, but then you remember she’s not ever been too good at feeling guilty about anything. it still sucks to admit, but you can kind of get it now.

when she does come she updates you on daniel and all her friends in away. she tells you that arthur and stanley finally got married, even after years of saying it didn’t really matter to them if it was official or not. you think about finn. you wonder if maybe, in another life, one where you had gone to mexico and called his number on that letter—

you hope he’s doing well.

you start avoiding reflective surfaces altogether. not that there’s many spare mirrors sitting around in prison, but even the water in the mop buckets makes you turn your head. you wonder how your beard looks, sometimes. you wonder how you look with the glass eye they fitted you with. you wonder how much you look like your father, or don’t. you wonder if he’d even recognize you now.

years and years go by and the only way you know this for certain is that daniel’s a lot taller, karen’s got wrinkles, and your grandparents aren’t able to visit you anymore. you’re sure you’ve aged like shit, but you can’t know for sure. your beard’s gotten fuller than your father’s ever was, and you know you probably look older at thirty than he did when he died at forty-five.

you don’t feel any relief when they remind you that you’re about to be released. fifteen years ago this day was all that kept you going, and now that it’s here, you feel sick. you don’t know what it’s like out there anymore. how much will have changed? how will the world look at you? how will you ever adapt after everything?

you’re still seventeen. you’re a thirty-two year old child. you’re still staring at the mexico border from the wheel of the car wondering if you’re making the right choice. you still wonder if you did.

they give you the few belongings you had in a duffle bag. you slip on the eyepatch right away, you aren’t ready to see the glass eye yet. you look for one thing in particular; an old sketchbook, a birthday gift from your father. ‘sean diaz, do not open.’, it read on the front.

the whole thing was read out loud in court for the trial, the entirety of your journey with daniel, your therapy. it’s not here. of course they kept it. add that to the list of things you’re never getting back.

you feel so incredibly small stepping out into the sun when they let you free, like an ant under a magnifying glass being lit aflame.

daniel’s there, of course, tall and bearded and a twenty-five year old man. that’s never going to stop hurting. karen’s next to him, looking so much older than you remember her looking the last time she came. you don’t remember when that was. she’s wearing a familiar rainbow windbreaker vest. joan must have passed away at some point. you wonder when that was.

you’re so overwhelmed that you don’t even notice a third person at first, you weren’t expecting anyone else, but she’s the only one who looks the same as you remember.

when she runs into your arms and crushes you in a hug you feel like a child again for the first time in nearly twenty years. you’ll never regret calling her, even when it was a stupid idea. best freaking fighters, forever.

adjusting is as hard as you imagined it would be, but not exactly in the way you imagined it would be. nobody gives you weird looks in public, but you can’t remember how to pump gas, because now the pumps look like alien software, and you cry in the car when daniel tells you that he’ll just do it instead.

you do look older than your father, but more than that, you look like a stranger to yourself. the only thing you recognize is your right eye, but everything else belongs to somebody else, a version of you you’ve never met.

it feels like greeting a family member you haven’t seen since you were little, and they look so different from what you remember in your head that you wonder if you ever met them at all.

somehow, that’s better than seeing yourself again. you remember the first time you looked in the mirror after losing your eye, how you had looked then with the cuts all over your face and your hair buzzed to the scalp.

it’s the same thing all over again, except now you have a beard, and instead of an empty socket you now have a solid white marble sitting in place of it. you look eerily like brody. something about that feels good, you’d love to be like brody.

you decide to keep the beard.

you feel guilty. even sitting in daniel’s apartment surrounded by your friends and family, a free man at last, you don’t feel happy. looking at him, you feel good. you’re proud, you’re incredibly proud, and he’s lived a good life, but now that you’ve paid your dues you have nothing of you left. it feels like you were a resource that’s all dried up and spent out. you’re in the sequel, and you still feel like you’re stuck in the cave.

after sixteen years of waiting you finally visit your father’s grave. you’re grateful that daniel’s taken good care of it, there’s already a bouquet of fresh flowers laid at his headstone when you go to place yours. you run your fingers along the words engraved into the hunk of marble and feel your wrist freeze when you get to ~2016.

1452 lewis avenue. tacky halloween decorations. lyla the love witch. daniel playing zombie in the front yard.

the front yard.

daniel lies with you in his arms on top of your father’s grave while you sob until you throw up in the grass and you’re so ashamed of yourself that you ride in the back seat when you leave. you don’t know what will ever make this better.

you want to get your life together, if there’s any point. you tell yourself there will be, you just have to find it. you pass your driver’s test and finally get your license, and daniel surprises you with a gift that rips your heart out in a way you didn’t think was possible anymore. the car that dad was fixing up for your graduation. the one you never got the chance to drive.

he’s saying something about how he’s made sure everything’s running and he’s had all the old parts replaced but you feel like you’re underwater and he sounds so far away.

you open the door and slide into the driver’s seat. there’s a faded old sticky-note on the dash with scribbled ink on it. ‘hope you have fun on all your hot dates, seanie-boy! don’t drink and drive. always call me if you need me. love, papito.’

i love you too, dad.

daniel helps you look for jobs, but every time you get an interview, you cancel. it doesn’t feel right. you don’t know why but you don’t feel ready, like there’s something you need to do first and you don’t know what it is.

daniel’s patient as ever, and you know he doesn’t mind, but sleeping on his couch feels a little worse every day you wake up on it. you almost feel like you owe karen an apology, you keep glancing at the door.

what do you need, then? what is going to fill this hole in your chest? think back, and think hard. when did you last feel most alive? was it living at home, going to school and working retail, worrying about college and being an adult? you know it wasn’t.

it was eight months on the open road. it was when you were traveling between state lines, meeting new people every day, living like wolves up in the woods. as horrible as it was, as much hell as you went through, you remember how much you loved the good parts, and how you’d pretend it was just a road trip when you could to make it bearable. you want to do it again, and do it right this time.

you bring it up to daniel. you ask him if he’d like to come, to be the wolf brothers together again—but he’s not like you anymore. he’s got a job, a home, a community—he’s got a place in this world. he can’t do it and that hurts. it’s why you threw away fifteen years of your life, though. you don’t know what else you expected.

he proposes an idea that makes your chest ache just to think about, but it sounds good. it sounds like it might be what you need, and that’s all you want, is to know what you need.

you pack up a small suitcase of everything you want to take with you; nothing heavy. you remember words from an old friend, a long time ago.

that’s how shit starts, you know? when you start havin’ things of your own… things you ought to defend. property, land, family. what do you think you’re missin’ out on now?

you don’t know.

you want to find out.

you follow daniel all the way back up to washington. even from the car, it’s all flooding back. you walked this exact road on foot for miles and miles in the opposite direction. you know now that you may as well have turned back then, but you know all things considered, it was worth the journey. the best and worst time of your whole life.

you park on the edge of the road, right where you first walked into the woods so many years ago. daniel didn’t even know his father was dead yet back then; just a couple of kids playing with sticks and skipping stones on the water, and you swallowing your grief down like shards of glass.

nostalgia eats you alive like a coyote tearing right into your throat. so much is the same; the trail, the markers on the trees, daniel excitedly walking ahead of you, and you’re trailing behind, feeling like the only thing that’s changed.

it’s funny. you were so worried about the world out there being different when you got out, but it’s just you. who is sean diaz anymore? you wish you could ask the boy who carried his brother into these woods in full confidence that he’d be able to outrun his fate sixteen years ago. in all his terror, he probably knows the answer better than you do. oh, how you envy him.

you replicate your first night in these woods down to every last detail by building a fire under the same rock den you did back then. daniel’s so much older, so much bigger than he was then, but he’s still daniel.

it hits you fully, finally. there’s no getting back what you’ve lost. not your own childhood, and not daniel’s either. you’re both grown up and there is no way to redeem yourself that will gift you the ability to go back in time.

it’s always going to be this; stories that you can try your best to imagine like you were there, but everybody will always know where you really were. they won’t say it, like it’s a dirty word, but it’s a part of you now. there’s no sean diaz without those ugly fifteen years stamped onto your life like a passport.

daniel’s in the middle of telling you about his first kiss with a boy when you remember yours. it was with chris, no less. they’re engaged now. you try not to be heartbroken that you missed that, too. at least they held off the wedding.

you think about finn again. you think about arthur and stanley. you think about the fact that you’re thirty-two and haven’t had a kiss since, and the fact that you could have fallen in love, but that was taken from you, too.

you feel so selfish and ridiculous for bursting into tears. you feel like such a fucking child when daniel has to rock you in his arms to calm you back down and keeps apologizing for bringing it up.

sorry, I forgot. you told me back then, remember? I should’ve known better.

none of it’s fair. you deserve to have the capacity to be happy and be happy for daniel. you feel too numb for your own comfort. this isn’t who you are.

you’re surprised when you wake up the next morning and feel… clarity? the sense that something better is coming, maybe. oh, right. there’s a name for that.

hope.

it feels right when you’re walking out of the woods and back to your car with daniel, like you’re getting ready to meet yourself somewhere, as soon as you find him.

this is a choice, a see you later. we’ll talk as soon as i get somewhere with wifi. promise, i’ll call. i love you. get home safe.

you get into the car that your dad wanted you to grow up in, and after much too long, you’re finally about to. you drive away first, watching daniel in the rearview mirror as he waves excitedly. he’s almost out of view when you see him cup his hands around his mouth, tilting his head back. you can’t hear him, but you know well enough.

you howl as loud as you can, even though all the windows are rolled up and daniel’s over the hill already. maybe a lot has changed, and you have too, but there’s one thing that never will. the tale of the two wolf brothers.

it’s time for you to write your own story, big brother.

[onebourbon-oneshot-onetear]

Aquatica

Chapter 7- The Brave and the Bold

I do not own D.C Comics, and I only own my OC and my versions of the plots.

"Evie, you're still in Gotham, correct?" Diana asked me through my earpiece. I sat up in my chair and pushed the button to answer her.

"Yeah I'm down here," I said. "I was just about to leave to go back to the Watch Tower. Why?" Currently I was reading the newspaper, looking for any big events where a crime could take place. I was due to go up to the Tower for my monitor duties in about an hour.

"Good, stay down there. Green Lantern is heading to Central City, where there was a report of a stolen truck full of radioactive isotopes. Are you available to help him?" She asked.

"Sure, I can be there in 10 minutes," I said.

"Thanks Evie, it's much appreciated." Diana said.

"Yeah, sure," I said while tying the laces on my boots. There was a click on the other end, signaling she hung up. I threw my coffee mug into the sink and ran out to my fire escape and climbed up to the roof. From there I jumped onto my ice disc and flew towards Central.

Within ten minutes I was in the city's limits. I pressed my ear to activate my communicator. "Hey G.L, you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Head towards the bridge. It looks like Flash is chasing the stolen truck now," Green Lantern said.

"I'm on my way." I flew as fast as I could to get to the bridge, and just as I came up on it I saw the truck Flash was chasing drive over the edge. In a blur of red Flash had gotten in the truck and saved the two men from going into the water. I was about to try and stop the truck from hitting the water but G.L beat me to it.

"Lose something?" he asked, levitating the truck using his ring.

"I was handling it," Flash said, seeming a little offended that we had to step in and help him.

Green Lantern and I both looked over at the rest of the bridge and the small fire that was leaving a trail of smoke in the sky.

"So I see." Green Lantern said.

"What are you guys doing here?" Flash asked us.

"G.L is responding to a police call and I'm his back up," I said, floating down to stand next to Flash on the bridge.

Green Lantern followed and set the truck back onto a stable section of the bridge.

"Someone hijacked a load of radioactive isotopes." We opened the back of the van doors and saw containers that had the radioactive isotopes in radiation containers. Yikes, imagine what trouble they can cause if these things had gotten away.

"No wonder these guys were in such a hurry," Flash said picking up the two drivers by their collars. The man in the glasses started to stir, and he opened his eyes and seemed very confused as to where he was.

He blinked a few times and he let out a groan. "Oh…where am I?" He asked, rubbing his eyes, almost as if he had a headache. The other man Flash was holding stirred and woke up as well.

"You hijacked a truck and drove it off a bridge," Flash said setting the men down on their feet. "Any of this ringing a bell?" He asked, getting in the face of the dark haired man in glasses.

"What?" the man asked, sounding utterly confused. He looked around as if he would be able to find the answers written somewhere on the bridge. My gut was telling me that this man really had no idea what we were talking about.

"Before we start accusing them of anything, why don't we figure out who they are first?" I said, stepping forward, trying to relieve some of the tension that was mounting.

"Let's see some I.D," Green Lantern said. Using his ring he took the men's wallets from inside their jacket pockets. "Professor Arthur Chin and Dr. Mark Stevens," he read. "Both work at the River Bluffs Research Center where the isotopes were stolen from."

I raised my eyebrows, now I definitely knew they really didn't know what they were doing. I couldn't see these two respectable men who worked at such a high end research facility all of a sudden become truck hijackers. Just glancing over them I could tell they seemed genuinely scared.

"Man, and I feel guilty when I take paper clips from the watchtower," Flash said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"That's you? I can never find any when I need them," I said.

"Can you focus?" G.L glared at us. "Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this." We decided to call an ambulance to take the doctor and the professor to the hospital so they could be checked out and make sure there are no internal injuries that need to be taken care of. Once the ambulance left and workers started cleaning up the bridge, G.L put us in a green bubble and we made our way over to the research center.

The center sat alone on a cliff, facing the ocean. I thought it was a really nice and peaceful spot, that is, until I walked into the facility itself. The inside of the building was all painted steel grey, with no decorations or anything to make the office look nice. Once we were led to the actual laboratory the building became really unpleasant. The entire place was full of stainless steel counters that reflected off the harsh fluorescent lights, and the walls were lined with different cages filled with monkeys, some ranging from tiny ones that could fit in your palms to a giant gorilla, who sat sitting in his cage listening, as if he could understand us.

The scientist we were meeting was Dr. Sarah Corwin. She worked with both the professor and the doctor, but quite frankly, I didn't trust much of what she had to say. Her entire appearance was cold, she had bright blue eyes that were framed by dark rimmed glasses and dark hair that was pulled back in such a tight bun I though her forehead was going to tear into two. She wore a simple lab coat over a tight black dress.

"I'm sorry. I can't explain their behavior," Dr. Corwin said after we asked her what she knew about the professor and the doctor. "They're both highly respected experts in their fields," She continued saying.

"They certainly don't fit the profile of armed robbers," G.L said as he looked over their files. It sounded like he didn't believe what Dr. Corwin was saying, and quite frankly neither did I.

"To be fair, they've been under enormous pressure to finish their current project," Dr. Corwin said. "It's possible they simply snapped under the strain." I quirked an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest, having a bit of a hard time believing what this girl was saying. "I wish I could help you, but frankly this whole things seems…so preposterous."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Flash walk over the cages to look at the monkeys.

"What exactly is their project on?" I asked. If these two guys, who had perfectly clean records, would resort to armed robbery as a way to deal with their stress then this project better be really important.

"That's classified information," Dr. Corwin said, grabbing the file out of Green Lantern's hands. I narrowed my eyes and glared at her.

Behind Dr. Corwin, flash walked over to one of the bigger cages where a fully grown gorilla was sitting. "Want one?" He asked the gorilla, offering him a banana that God knows where he got it from.

The Doctor turned around and saw Flash offering the gorilla a banana and her cheeks flushed a deep red. She stalked over and snatched the banana out of his hand, and pointed at a sign on the wall that said 'Do not feed the lab animals.'

Corwin seemed to compose herself. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." And with that, she turned around and walked out of the lab.

"She seems a bit suspicious, or is that just me?" I asked. Flash only shrugged his shoulders and we all turned and walked out the door.

"Are you staying with us Evie?" Green Lantern asked.

"Sure, I have nothing else to do today. Besides, I'm intrigued." I said, stepping outside and squinting my eyes from the sudden sun.

"Yeah, Evie wouldn't leave her favorite people behind, would she?" Flash said, throwing his arm over my shoulders. I rolled my eyes at his antics, and kept walking away from the facility.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

After going to the lab we went back to Central City, looking for more leads in the investigation. That is, we would be investigating, if someone didn't get hungry. The second the three of us walked into the park, he got a whiff from a hot dog cart, and that was the end of that. He ran over to the cart, practically dragging me and G.L with him.

"We're supposed to be conducting an investigation." Green Lantern said, crossing his arms and looking very grouchy.

"Can I help it if I have a hyper accelerated metabolism?" Flash asked. "Besides, it's just a little snack," He said lifting up his entire armful of food.

"He has a point, Green bean," I said, nibbling on my own hot dog. Green Lantern only rolled his eyes and became even grouchier.

I looked up from my hot dog when I heard sirens in the distance and they were coming closer. "Uh-oh," I said, shoving the rest of my food into my mouth.

"Now what?!" Green Lantern said, obviously not liking another distraction. Suddenly, people started running from the direction the police car was going.

More and more people started running by us and we could hear part of what they were saying. "There's a gorilla on the loose!" One blonde man yelled.

"Did he just say gorilla?" I asked, not quite believing what I was hearing.

"I'm on it," Flash said, throwing all of his food at Green Lantern.

"Wait, I'll go…" Green Lantern started saying but Flash had already taken off.

"…with you." He finished. I looked at him, already jumping on an ice board.

"No worries Greenie, I'll help him." I said. I flew as fast as I could to try and catch up with him, but the speedster was too fast. I only was able to catch up to him when he stopped at the park and changed direction. I decided to follow the officers, incase anything serious happened and they needed help. The officers were wearing patrol gear and their swat gear.

It looked like they were chasing after something silver, but it moved too quickly for me to get a better look at it. By the time I flew around all the officers the silver thing was gone and all I could hear was the screeching of tires. I went over to the street and saw a man sitting on the ground.

"Sir, what happened?" I asked him, hovering a few feet above the pavement.

"I don't know, but something pulled me out of my car, it looked like a gorilla," He said, rubbing his head. Okay, he must have hit his head because as far as I know, gorillas can't drive cars.

I decided to follow the direction his car went anyway. After a few seconds of flying and dodging lampposts as fast as I could, I caught up with Flash, who was chasing a car…with a gorilla driving.

"Are you seeing this?" I yelled at him, trying to make my voice carry over the wind whipping in my face. Flash grabbed a rake and sped up, throwing the rake in front of the car, wrecking the tires. The car sped out of control and crashed against a dumpster and landed on its side.

I jumped off my disc and stood next to Flash. The gorilla leaned out of the car and landed on the ground.

"Easy, boy," Flash said, walking over and tried helping the gorilla and making sure I wasn't hurt. "We'll have you back behind monkey bars before you know it."

"Uhh, Flash, are you sure we should be going near him? He could, ya know, rip our faces off." I said, standing a few feet behind him.

Flash only shot me a look before putting his hands on the gorillas arm.

The gorilla rolled around and said, "Get your stinking paws off me you filthy human." That's right. The gorilla said that. Said! As in, speaking plain English. Flash and I both jumped back a few feet.

"Say what?!" Flash exclaimed.

"Did you slip something into my hot dog? Cause if not I may have hit my head on something," I said, staring wide eyed at the silver gorilla.

As we were standing there, there was a soft shooting noise and seconds later, electricity enveloped me and my body felt like it burst into flames. The pain was absolutely unbelievable, it felt like my body was on fire and being electrocuted at the same time. All I could do was scream, I couldn't move or feel anything other than the white hot pain.

I don't know how long the pain lasted, but it felt like forever. I remembered the day I got my powers, and the pain I felt when the chemical machine exploded. Then I saw myself, but it was like looking at myself from outside my body. I could see everything happening to me, but it wasn't me. I was walking along a hallway, but I was slowly melting onto the floor until I was a big puddle.

Suddenly I was in Gotham, flying around the city, when my body couldn't move. I was just stuck to my ice, until it started melting and I fell through. I was falling and falling until I saw a bright light at the bottom. As I fell through the light I landed on the ground and tried picking myself up, but I kept slipping.

I looked down at my hands and realized that I was see through, and cold. I was made of ice. I was finally able to stand up on my feet, and I was trying to think of what I could do next. I heard a noise, getting louder as it approached me. I looked up and saw that it was one of Batman's batarangs, and it was heading straight for my chest.

I tried to move but I couldn't, and the second the batarang hit me, I broke, shattering into a million ice shards.

I opened my eyes to see a bright white light right above me. I groaned and blinked, trying to make my eyes used to the light. Suddenly a face was over mine. "Hey, wake up," the man said. I looked at him, but only for a few moments as my head seemed to pound the longer I kept my eyes opened.

The man looked fairly old, probably around his late 50's. He had a neatly trimmed mustache and haircut that was a beautiful silver. He had piercing eyes that seemed to look right through you.

"C'mon, you're in my spot." He said. I sat up and looked around me, not recognizing where I was. I saw red out of the corner of my eye and saw Flash, he looked like he was slowly coming too.

As I looked around, I noticed more men were in the room with me, all wearing ratty clothes, and not looking like very nice people.

"Where am I?" Flash asked. He walked over to me and helped me up.

"I have no idea," I said, holding my head. There was a loud clanging noise and we looked at the front of the room, where there were metal bars.

"Flash, where the hell are we?"

On the other side of the bars were two men, one in uniform and the other a man wearing black pants, a tie, and a white dress shirt.

"You Justice League hotshots think you can do whatever you want," said the man, putting his hands on his hips and looking angry, quite angry. "Not in my city."

The officer stepped forward and put handcuffs on Flash and I.

"Hey!" I yelled. Flash tried protesting but he was cut off by, who I assumed, was a detective.

"Let's go, red. You too frosty."

Frosty? I thought, how rude.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do." He said. I was walking next to Flash and at this point I was seriously freaked out.

"Flash, what happened? All I remember was chasing the car with the gorilla in it," I whispered.

"I don't know, Evie. It'll all be okay. I'm sure," He said, being quite serious. That freaked me out the most, Flash being serious.

We were both taken to an interrogation room, where another man in a suit stood in the middle of the room, next to a table that had a really old t.v. on it.

"Sit!" The first detective said, pushing us into the two chairs at the table.

"Hey, easy. What did we do?" Flash yelled. The uneasy feeling in my stomach grew when the two men walked over to the t.v. and put in a VCR tape.

"This is a surveillance tape from the police impound," said the first detective. The screen flashed on and showed a surveillance feed of the truck that we stopped earlier that day. The back of the truck was open and the rest of the radioactive isotopes were still in the back. "See that stuff?" The detective said, pointing at the yellow barrels. "The isotopes from the robbery you two and Green Lantern broke up? Watch."

Flash and I sat there, looking at the screen. A few seconds passed and I noticed something different on the screen. Two barrels of the isotopes were gone.

"I don't understand," Flash said. The detective walked over and leaned between Flash and I.

"Too quick for you? Let's try the freeze frame." He said, rewinding the tape and pressing play again, this time in slow motion. The video showed Flash carrying one barrel of the isotopes…and I was flying next to him, carrying another one.

My heart quickened as I looked at the screen. What were we doing? I don't remember going back to the truck, let alone stealing the barrels.

"Recognize anybody?" He asked us. I glanced over to Flash and saw that he had the same look of disbelief on his face.

The detective walked over to the other side of the table and sat down. "Why'd you steal the barrels?"

"We didn't!" I exclaimed. "I mean, those are our bodies but we didn't know what we were doing."

The detective raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you stole the barrels without knowing what you were doing?"

I wanted to face palm myself. "No, you're just twisting what we're saying."

The detective continued to glare at me some more, then he looked over at Flash. "Let's go over this again," He said.

"There's nothing to go over. We're innocent," Flash said, sounding even more frustrated than I was.

"So that's not you on the tape?" The detective asked.

"No. I-I mean, yes," Flash said, not quite sure how to explain what was on the tape. "I mean, I don't remember!"

"Where did you stash the isotopes?" The detective asked us yet again. It was pretty obvious he didn't believe us. I mean, why should he? We have only saved the world countless times, why wouldn't he treat us like criminals?

The blonde detective stepped forward, finally speaking up. "Just tell us your side. I'm sure the DA will understand. After all, you're a hero after all."

"Was a hero," the other detective said. "Forget his statement. We've got the tape."

"He's right. If you want to help yourself out, you got to do it now." The blonde detective said, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. Okay, now I'm done.

"Would you two quit the good cop, bad cop routine? If you're going to charge us with anything you would have by now. Just because you have the tape doesn't mean anything. I'd rather sit in jail then confess to something I wasn't responsible for, so you can take your tape and shove it." Flash stared at me, shocked by my outburst. Oops.

The detective across from me looked even meaner than he did before. I may have stepped over the line, just a little bit.

"I can't think," Flash said, thankfully breaking the shocked silence that had enveloped the room. "I'm tired, and hungry." He held his hands up to his face, almost like he had a headache.

"Maybe some coffee will help. How do you take it?" He asked, holding a mug of steaming, probably crappy, coffee.

"Cream and thirty seven sugars," Flash said, turning around to look at the blonde detective. I rolled my eyes.

When the detective turned around, obviously thinking he was joking, Flash said "No, really."

Suddenly the door opened and someone said the greatest sentence I had ever heard. "Put it in a paper cup. He'll be taking it to go." Dramatic and poetic? No. But it was still amazing to hear anyway.

Green Lantern walked into the room, holding a file in his hand. He threw the file on the table and the grouchy detective picked it up. "You actually posted bail for these lowlifes?" He incredulously asked.

"Hey!" I said. Excuse me, but I am not a lowlife.

"If they were really guilty do you think you could have held him here with a pair of handcuffs?" Green Lantern asked.

I smirked and took some moisture out of the air and used it to make water and put it over the handcuffs. Then I froze it and pulled my hands apart, the freezing cold easily snapping the metal.

Flash had already gotten his off and was twirling it around his fingers. Green Lantern led the way and we walked out of the department. I was pretty quiet, since I could sense that Lantern wasn't happy.

Once we walked outside, Flash was the first to speak. "Thanks for sticking up for us in there." *SMACK*

"Ow!" Flash said, rubbing the back of his head after Lantern slapped him.

"What were you thinking?" He yelled at him.

"I wasn't thinking anything," Flash yelled back. I just stayed where I was on the stairs and hoped that if I didn't move neither of them would notice me.

"Obviously," Lantern said as he started walking down the street.

I followed a fairly safe distance behind them, close enough where I could hear them but far enough I wouldn't be in range of a head slap.

"Look, if we wanted the third degree, we would have stayed in there."

Oh no, don't drag me into this argument.

"Like we told 'em, we don't remember." Flash continued. I decided now was the time for me to speak up.

"Alright, let's start with the last thing you do remember," Lantern said, continuing his fast paced walk.

"Look G.L, the last thing I actually remember is seeing you in the park and then flying off. Everything after that was just a weird acid trip." I said, remembering the visions I saw before I woke up.

"Yeah…after we caught the gorilla it told me that…" Flash said but he was cut off by Lantern.

"The gorilla talked to you?" Boy, did Lantern look at us like we were crazy.

"Yeah, it did!" I said, coming to Flash's aid. "It called us filthy humans. I mean, for a talking gorilla he was kind of rude."

Flash glanced at me and was trying to fight a smile. "She's right. It talked right after we stopped his car."

We had stopped walking and Lantern was full on glaring at us. "And I'm supposed to believe this?"

"Hey, we all got a Martian's phone number on our speed dial," Flash said.

"Yeah, we should get a benefit of the doubt here," I said. Lantern must have realized we were right, albeit he still looked a little skeptical.

"Let's check it out. Together this time." Lantern powered up his ring and flew behind Flash, who had already whisked away.

"Hey!" I called. I jumped on my ice disc and flew after them.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The three of us went back to the park where the original call came in, where the gorilla was on the loose. When we got there we saw there were still police in the area, apparently the gorilla wasn't caught.

"Looks like he's still at large," Flash said, once he stopped running.

"Or maybe he made like a banana…and split." I said.

Flash chuckled and we followed behind Lantern, who was using his ring to look for any clues about where the gorilla had gone to. Flash went looking in the bushes and I went on the other side of the sidewalk, looking for footprints or fur of any kind.

"Wait. I've got something," Lantern said. We walked over to him and saw that his ring was illuminating a giant footprint, of what I assumed, was made by a gorilla. He raised his ring and his beam of light followed a trail of gorilla prints.

"Of course the prints would lead to a dark tunnel. Why wouldn't they lead to, oh I don't know, somewhere bright and cheerful?" I grumbled. We all walked towards the tunnel and Lantern lit it up with light.

Standing in front of us was a silver gorilla standing on its legs. He was so tall that his head was practically scraping the ceiling. Did I mention that he didn't look happy to see us?

He let out an enormous roar that shook the tunnel and he started beating on his chest. "Oh no," I squeaked. Suddenly Green Lantern used his ring to zap the gorilla back, and sent him tumbling out of the cave. He sat up and instead of fighting back, he just sat on the ground.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked.

"I don't know, was scaring us really necessary?" I muttered. I followed Flash and Lantern as they walked out of the tunnel and closer to the gorilla.

"Okay, so he can talk." Duh, Lantern. That's what we've been trying to tell you. "Who are you?" He asked.

The gorilla stood up and walked over to us. "My name is Solovar," He said. "I'm chief of security for Gorilla City."

"Gorilla City?" Flash asked him, disbelief written all over his face. "You have got to be kidding."

"I assure you this is no laughing matter." Solovar said.

"Go on." Lantern told him.

"Safely hidden from humanity, we apes have lived in peace for thousands of years," Solovar said, looking up at the moon. "Until the black day when a power-mad genius named Grodd tried to conquer our city with advanced mind control technology." Well, that explains the doctor and professor from earlier, along with Flash and I, I thought. "We were able to thwart his evil plot but we couldn't prevent his escape. It wasn't until later that we discovered he had also stolen our city's security plans. Grodd has sworn terrible revenge on all who reside in Gorilla City."

Great, a power hungry gorilla wants to destroy a city full of other super smart gorillas. Why exactly are we being involved in it?

"So that's why you're here?" Flash asked him.

"Yes," Solovar growled. "To stop him from carrying out his threats."

"If it's true he has a mind control device that could explain the isotope thefts, and your memory loss," Lantern said, looking between me and Flash.

"He needs those isotopes to power his devices," explained Solovar.

"Alright, so where is Grodd?" I asked. Solovar stepped away and towards a bush behind him. Well, I thought it was a bush. As soon as he came closer to it, the bush disappeared and a bike took its place. Well, not just any bike, but a super fool futuristic bike.

"My investigation showed that Grodd had been carrying on an e-mail correspondence with a local scientist, Dr. Sarah Corwin." Solovar said, handing Green Lantern some papers out of a gold case.

"I knew there was something weird about that lady." Flash said.

"I hate to say it, but I totally told ya so." I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I didn't like her from the start, and now I have actual reason not to like her.

"We better call the others." Lantern said.

"Why?" Flash asked. "You think we can't handle one dumb old gorilla, no offense." He said turning to Solovar. "It'll be a piece of cake." I actually face palmed my head.

"Could you not insult the bad gorilla in front of another gorilla?" I asked him, elbowing him in his ribs. "I would like my arms to remain in their sockets." I turned to Solovar, "No offense."

And, for the second time that day Flash ran off, leaving the rest of us in the dust. I learned my lesson for the day, I stayed behind with Lantern.

"He's very fast." Solovar said.

"Yeah," Lantern said, obviously sounding displeased. "What were you gonna say?"

Solovar picked something up from the gold container in his hands. "These headbands will protect us from Grodd's ray." He held up a thin silver band that had a circuit board on the inside of it.

"Do you happen to have one in black?" I asked. The gorilla only looked at me and I scrunched my nose a bit. "Alright, silver it is." I took the band and out it on my head but under my ponytail. I felt a bit ridiculous.

"We'd better catch the kid before he gets into any more trouble." Lantern said, putting his headband on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Solovar told us that he believed Grodd was back in Dr. Corwin's lab, so that's where we headed. We got to the building we assumed Flash had already gotten there. Lantern flew up to a window to see if he could see anything. "Great, Flash is out cold and Grodd is in there with Corwin." He called down to us.

I pulled my staff off my hip and extended it. "Hey G.L, you got the wall?" I called up to him. He floated down and nodded. Using his ring he blasted a giant hole in the wall and we all stepped through.

"Don't move, Grodd." Solovar said, holding up a gun. I winced a little bit at that, I really hate guns.

The black gorilla stood up to his full height, and I saw he was wearing a gold helmet on his head. "Solovar, you're a fool to come here." He said.

"You can't control us while we're wearing these." Solovar said, gesturing to the headbands.

I looked over at Flash and saw he wasn't wearing a band. Oh, no. Please don't let Grodd notice, please don't let Grodd notice, I chanted in my head.

"Actually, I wasn't thinking of controlling you," He said. Oh great, he noticed. The red button on Grodd's helmet glowed red, and Flash sat up, wearing an uncharacteristic scowl on his face. "Destroy them."

Flash immediately went over to Solovar and quickly threw a punch, strong enough to knock the gorilla down.

I jumped on an ice disc and rose up to the ceiling, trying to get out of the way and think of a way to stop Flash. Lantern used a force field to prevent Flash from hitting him, but Flash only bounced back and grabbed the gun that Solovar had dropped.

"Flash, snap out of it!" Lantern yelled. Flash must have noticed me because he shot up towards me, hitting my board and shattering the ice. I started to fall, but I was quick enough to grab onto the ceiling beam. I swung myself up and crouched on it, trying to protect myself from the blasts.

Flash was distracted from me and turned his attention to Lantern. I looked over and saw that Grodd and Dr. Corwin were escaping. I made another disc and flew down and chased after them. They got to the door, but I froze it shut.

"Hey monkey breath! Don't move." I yelled. Grodd turned to me and looked furious. "Oh, I wasn't talking to you." I said, and looked over at Corwin, indicating I was talking about her. Grodd looked even more furious. He picked up a piece of concrete that had fallen during the fight and threw it at me. I put up and ice shield but the force was too much and it threw me back. When I sat up, Grodd and the doc had already left.

I walked back over to Lantern and saw him standing over Flash, who was out cold. "You guys okay?" I asked.

"I am, Flash…not so much." He said. I could already see a bruise forming on Flash's face. Ouch.

Solovar and Lantern ran through a door and I stayed behind with Flash, who started groaning and stirring a little bit. A few minutes later I heard a really loud buzzing coming from the other room of the lab. I stood up and walked towards it when I saw a bright yellow light coming.

I ran over and put Flash and I into a strong ice sphere, but the second the light touched it, it melted. The light hit us and it felt like a really weird prickling sensation, almost like my entire body had fallen asleep and I had pins and needles everywhere. As quickly as the light came, it vanished and I collapsed on the floor.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I woke up, with yet again, another small headache. I groaned and rolled over on my back to see G.L and Solovar standing there.

"Good, you're awake." G.L said, lending a hand to help me up. I took it and he hauled me off the ground.

"Geez, what happened?" I asked, rubbing my temples.

"We don't know."

"Well that's comforting," I snapped. Lantern only gave me a look. "Sorry."

Flash was laying a few feet next to me, groaning.

"The mind control, is he still…" Lantern started to ask Solovar.

"No. This should protect him." He said, walking over to Flash putting a band around his head.

Within seconds Flash sat up, now wide awake. "Who? What? Where?" He spluttered, trying to get a grip on his surroundings. We all looked down at him, hoping he would remember what happened. "Oh, man, not again." Flash said, rubbing his head. "What did I miss?" He muttered.

G.L only put out his hand and helped pull Flash off the ground. "That dumb, old gorilla got away." G.L said, referring back to what Flash called Grodd only an hour before.

"Go ahead, rub it in." I looked at Flash, then back at Green Lantern.

"There isn't anything to rub in. It could have happened to any of us. No hard feelings, right G.L?" I said, giving him a pointed look. He only sighed and shook his head.

"This time, we're getting some backup." He said. He reached up to his comm and called the Watchtower. "Green Lantern to Watchtower. Watchtower, come in." He waited a few seconds to see if he got a response. "My comm link's off line."

Flash and I both reached up to check ours, and lo and behold, mine only gave a small static noise, and nothing else could be heard. "Same here." I said.

"And for good reason." Solovar said, walking over to the opening in the wall. We all followed him and saw the city was still there, but there was a haze in the sky. It was moving, and I assumed it was a shield or something.

"Man, what is that?" Flash asked the silver gorilla.

"It's just like the shield that protects my city." Solovar said. "Nothing can get in…"

"Or out." I said, finishing his sentence. Great, now we have no way to contact the team and let them know where we are.

"Unless I can shut down the generator." Green Lantern said. We all raced into the back room where the light came from and saw the generator was still running. It was a giant ball of light that was being held in the air. Lantern held up his hand and used his ring to try and penetrate the light, which would cause the shield to go down.

His green light only hit a shield surrounding the generator and created a bright light, but it didn't do anything more than that.

"Not even a scratch." Flash said.

"Gorilla technology is highly advanced." Solovar said.

"Yeah, no kidding," I said, still in awe over the generator.

"Come, let's find Grodd." Solovar said, leading us out of the room.

"Are we sure we want to go back and find the crazy, super smart, mind controlling gorilla?" I asked. And as usual, I didn't get an answer. "Right, good plan everyone."

"Oh relax Evie, we can handle him again." Flash said.

"Again? We didn't handle him a first time." I said. He thought about it for a second before accepting that I was right. We walked out of the building and into the rest of the city. Except it didn't feel much like a city. It was dead quiet, with not a single person out walking, well, except for the four of us.

"Weird, am I the only one creeped out here?" Flash asked, sensing that the city was too quiet. "Where is everyone?"

"Nope, I don't like it either." I said.

"Perhaps the shield frightened them." Solovar said.

"Could be, but usually when a city looks this empty flesh-eating zombies are involved." Flash said.

"Seriously? You just had to say that? I swear to God, Flash, if I see a zombie I'm whooping your butt." I said, taking out my staff.

"You two watch too many movies." Lantern grumbled.

"Shh! Listen." Solovar said, sticking his arm out so we stopped walking. We could hear voices, lots of voices. And they didn't sound too happy.

"Well, the apocalypse has started…I call Batman on my team." I said. Lantern rolled his eyes and Flash chuckled. We hurried closer to the sound and saw a giant mob gathered in the amphitheater, staring at a screen that had a live feed of Grodd on it.

Grodd raised his arms above his head and the crowd did the same, screaming and cheering for him. "We're too late. They're already under his control." Solovar said.

"Uh, how many of these headbands you got left?" Flash asked him.

"Two." He said, simply.

"That's not gonna be enough." Flash said, eyeing the mob up. We pushed our way through the crowd up towards the front. Grodd silenced the crowd and began to speak.

"People of Central City, the age of hairless simple-minded humanity is over. Today, a new age dawns. Today, Grodd rules." He finished and the crowd erupted around us.

"Guys, we have to figure out a way to snap them out of this." I said, hoping that no one would realize we weren't cheering.

"Humans are slow, ugly, immoral, and have an unpleasant body odor."

"Hey! Who are you calling slow?" Someone yelled from the crowd. It took me a second to realize that that someone was Flash.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at him as the people around us became silent and looked at us.

"Flash, don't heckle the supervillain." Lantern scolded.

"We don't have to listen to this."

"Humans are inferior creatures," Grodd continued, thankfully he hadn't heard Flash. "fit only to serve at my whim. But after Gorilla City falls, you will be the paving the stones on which I will build my new empire!"

"Hey, monkey boy, why don't you go climb a skyscraper?" Flash yelled, even louder than before. Great.

Grodd must have finally noticed us. "Intruders! Destroy them!"

We all made a circle and had our backs towards one another. "Couldn't keep your big mouth shut, could you?" Lantern asked him.

The people just kept coming closer and closer, and I didn't know what to do. Yeah, they were trying to destroy us, but they still were civilians. I can't just go and punch them in the face.

"We need some breathing room." G.L flew up and created a trench around us, forcing the people in the mob to slow down in order to get to us. "Make yourselves scarce, I'm going after Grodd." He said and flew up into the sky.

People started climbing the trench, and they were doing it pretty quickly. "We need to do something." I gathered some water from my staff and coated the inside of the trench with it, then froze it, making a solid sheet of ice. One man started slipping down the ice, and they were having trouble getting a good grip.

Suddenly, two girls that Flash knew (I don't even want to know how) started throwing rocks at us. I put up some ice to deflect them off of me and started making ice in the trench thicker, so it would be harder to climb up.

Suddenly an explosion went off above us and we saw guards aiming missiles at G.L. "Would you excuse me?" Flash said, leaving me and Solovar on the mound surrounded by a mob. We kept trying to keep the mob away without using too much force, but it became too much.

"Flash is coming back, you stay here and I'll go with Lantern." I told Solovar. Before he could respond I was already on an ice disc and flying up. I flew next to G.L and he was frantically looking around. "What's wrong?"

"Grodd got away. We need to meet up with the others." Lantern said, sounding disappointed. Lantern used his ring to follow Flash and Solovar's trail and we found them in an alleyway a few blocks away from the mob.

"Grodd got away again." Lantern said, interrupting the conversation Flash and Solovar were having. "But if he used his rocket bike, my ring can follow his trail."

"I've gotta get me one of those." Flash said.

"What would you need a bike for? You're already fast. If anything, the bike would slow you down." I asked, putting my staff away and making step back onto an ice disk.

"Yeah…but I would look cool. Besides, chicks dig guys on bikes." Of course. Flash is thinking about how attractive he would be. What else is new?

Lantern used his ring to follow the trail of Grodd and the rest of us followed behind him. We had travelled a few miles before I recognized where we were at. "Isn't this near the military base?" I asked.

"Yeah, and the trail is heading directly towards it." Lantern said.

"Great, a crazy monkey with a genius level IQ and mind control technology went to a military base where they store military grade weapons. Could this day get any better?" I said.

"Yeah, we could have zombies." Flash added to my little rant.

"Enough you two." Lantern said, landing next to Grodd's motor bike. Well, looks like we are finally here. "He must be inside."

"Okay, so what's the plan-" I started to ask, but a movement out of the corner of my eye stopped me. The guard came out, and pointed gun at us.

"Stop, in the name of Grodd." He yelled before shooting at us.

"I thought the saying was 'Stop in the name of love'." I yelled over the shots. Solovar jumped over to the soldier and knocked him out with one swing. If only I could do that, my days would be ten times easier.

"Hurry, before Grodd finds out we're here." Solovar called back to us, before he broke the barrier. Suddenly a loud alarm started blaring, and I thought it was the intruder alarm going off.

"Something tells me they already know we're here." Flash said. I started to agree, until I actually listened to the alarm carefully. Wait, I know that sound. I could feel the color draining from my face as I realized what the sound was.

"No, that's a launch alert." G.L said, confirming my fear. I don't know how I could forget about that noise, I used to hear them all the time when I was in the military.

Suddenly four missiles were blasted off from their launch pads and shot into the air. "Guys, those are nukes." I said, immediately recognizing the shape and designs of them. I looked at Lantern and a mutual understanding was passed between us.

"Evie and I will go after the missiles. You stop Grodd!" Lantern yelled, already soaring towards the missiles. I jumped on a disk and shot after him.

"G.L, we have to get the control out from the middle of the rocket, it's the only way not to set it off!" I called to him, trying to make my voice heard over the rushing of the wind past my ears. We each caught up to one of the rockets and went on either side of it.

Lantern used his ring to cut a square right where the detonator was, and I used my water to slash through the wires, rendering the missile useless, just before it caught fire in the air and flew down to the ocean. Well, one down, three to go, I thought.

We caught up to the second one and did the same thing, taking out the control box and exploding the rocket before it hit land. We looked back at the rocket just in time to see it explode, but a piece of metal flew off in hit G.L right in the face, rendering him unconscious and sending him straight to the ground.

"Lantern!" I screamed. I glanced up at the other two rockets, but decided I needed to save G.L before he became a green pancake. I surfed through the air as fast as I could, trying to get to him but he was too fast. I gathered my water from my staff and sent it around him, creating a platform of ice for him to fall onto. He woke up right as he hit it.

"Are you okay?" I asked, making sure he didn't break anything in the fall down. "Let's just go." He said, taking off at super speed. I followed him, going faster than I ever had before.

"NO. I'm too late!" Lantern said, seeing the missiles almost make it to the city. I thought for a second, before thinking of something really stupid.

"Make a slingshot and throw me." I said.

"What?" He asked, looking at me like I was crazy.

"Just do it!" I yelled, seeing the missiles get closer to the city. Lantern actually listened to me, and he made a giant slingshot out of his ring energy and put me in it.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Nope." This is the dumbest thing I have ever done, but there is no way we would make it there in time just by flying. I've always wondered how fast a bullet traveled, and I think I just found out. I flew through the air, catching up to the missile in seconds.

As I entered the airspace around the town I saw that J'onn had already taken out the detonator in one missile, and Diana was trying to stop the other half of a missile that Hawkgirl had broken in half. I may not like her, but I knew it was the right thing to help her.

I flew down and grabbed the back of the missile while Diana was trying to push the front. I used all the water I had around me and froze it to the edges of the missile and pulled the ice up. I couldn't tell if it was helping or not, but I had to at least try something.

We were heading to the ground, after crashing through a couple buildings. I was pulling with all my might and I kept putting more ice and water around it, pulling every molecule up and trying to relieve the force.

I felt the missile hit the ground, with Diana holding the front of it. Which was great, except that meant the back flew up…and hit me in the face. The edge came up and cracked me in the forehead. I lost concentration and my ice melted, which meant that all the pull from the back end was lost. The missile came apart and the back end was thrown up, and since I was still holding onto the edge, I was catapulted through the air, and landed on the ground.

As if that wasn't enough the entire piece of missile rolled right over top of me. It was completely dark and my ears were ringing. I tried lifting the metal off me but I was in no way strong enough. That seemed more like a Superman worthy job. I thought I could hear yelling, but my ears felt like they were clogged with cotton, it was all muffled.

There was a loud groan coming from the metal moving and there was a sliver of light. I reached my hand over to the edge of the missile where the light was coming from and felt someone grab my hand. Still disoriented from hitting my head I tried to crawl my way over but my legs were stuck. Suddenly a green light enveloped the missile and the hand that had grabbed me lifted underneath my arm and dragged me out.

I blinked at the sudden bright light and felt someone grab my face. …Evie…you…alright?" I blinked some more and saw that the person holding onto me was Batman. "Evie! Are you alright?" He asked again and I winced at just how loud his voice was.

"Why are you talking so loud?" I asked. He only looked at me, but his hands were still on my face. "Bats?" I whispered.

"You have a concussion." He said, dropping his hands from my face and standing up. I tried standing up only to fall back down again. Bats bent over and picked me up bridal style. Normally I would be throwing a fit, but between my head feeling like it was going to explode and the bruises and cuts that littered my body, I didn't worry about it.

Bats suddenly looked up suddenly and put me down. "I need to go help Diana." He said, before rushing off. I looked towards the direction he headed and saw the other half of the missile lying on the ground with no Diana in sight.

Bats slid down and started digging near the missile and I realized why. Diana was crushed underneath of it. I somehow managed to stand up and walk over next to J'onn. "Diana?" I weakly asked.

J'onn walked over after a minute and laid a hand on Batman's shoulder, signaling that there was nothing he could do. I just stared, tears filling my eyes. Just cause I didn't like her, doesn't mean I wanted her to die. I mean, I should have done something more, I could have tried harder to stop the missile, I could have-

My thoughts were cut off by the sound of metal being lifted. I jerked my head up and saw Diana lifting the missile off of her and throwing it aside, with the detonator in hand. I let out a breath that I was holding and thanked whatever being there was that she was alright.

We all helped each other stand up on the ridge that was made by the missile and looked at the citizens of Gorilla City.

"The fates were kind today. Your city is safe." Diana told all of them. The gorillas al cheered as they learned their city was safe again. I was standing in between J'onn and Batman when I realized that I was starting to get a little dizzy. Not wanting to seem weak, I stood there, trying not to puke on all the happy gorillas.

I saw Diana shift and walk over to Batman and kiss him on the cheek after saying something to him. I would have laughed at his really red face, except I noticed the feeling inside of me. Now, I could blame this on the concussion, but when she kissed him I felt this burning in my stomach. Was I jealous? I mean, why should I be? We're all only friends. Right? Another wave of dizziness came over me and I couldn't take it anymore.

Sorry Bats, but I'm about to make you a little uncomfortable. I took a step sideways and put my head on his shoulder. I felt him immediately tense up at the close contact but I really didn't care. "What are you doing?" He asked, his voice sounding harsher than normal.

"I really don't feel good and the world is spinning, so just let this happen." I said, really quietly. His muscles relaxed a bit and he turned his body a bit so it wasn't so uncomfortable for me to lean on him.

"Evie, come on, we are going to one of the main buildings to talk with the, uh, silver gorilla…?" He trailed off, not quite sure what his name was.

"Oh, Solovar? He's nice." I said. I stood up straight and blinked a few more times.

"Are you good to walk?" Bats asked me.

"Yeah…I'm sure I'll be fine." I said, before taking a step and feeling no ground beneath my feet. Apparently in my concussed state, I didn't see the end of the trench right in front of me. Two hands grabbed my arms and pulled me back before I could fall on my ass, and probably concuss myself some more.

"Here." Bats said. He picked me up bridal style again and I started to protest before he stopped me. "Just let it happen Evie." I looked up at him for a second before shrugging and laying my head on his shoulder again. I had to hand it to the man, he was very comfortable.

We arrived at the building and walked in (or carried in) to see Flash, Solovar and another gorilla standing there waiting for us. "You can put me down now." I said. Bats gave me a look and he seemed a little reluctant to do so. "Seriously, I feel a bit better." He set me down gently and I wobbled a bit, but it was a definite improvement from the last time I tried to stand on my own feet.

"I'm sorry we misjudged you." The gorilla with the scar over his eye said to us. "We can never repay you for all you've done."

"No biggie." Flash said, taking most of the credit for himself. He deserved it though, after the day he had today. "What's gonna happen to Grodd?"

"I'll show you." Solovar said, leading us over to a cage on the side of the wall. "The feedback from his helmet completely wiped out his mind." Grodd was just sitting in the cage, holding a banana in one hand and pushing a tire swing with his other hand, a completely blank look on his face.

"I almost feel sorry for him." Lantern said. Yeah, I did too. I mean, sure he almost killed us but he just seemed so…empty now.

"You have my solemn word that he will receive the best of care." He turned and led us down the stairs and out the building.

I heard Flash and G.L talking in the back but my head was hurting too much to understand it. "Can we just go home now?" I mumbled.

Bats put a hand on my shoulder and led me towards his jet. "I'll take you back to the Watchtower now and get you fixed up."

"Don't you have to go back to Gotham?" I asked, gently sitting in the jet.

"It can wait until tomorrow night. You need to fix your head first."

We took off and I leaned my head against the window.

"Thanks, by the way." I said.

"For what?"

"Helping me after the missile landed."

He was quiet for a few minutes, and I thought he was just going to ignore me. "You really should be more careful. You're lucky you weren't killed." He said, and I was thankful he was keeping his voice quiet.

I continued looking out the window and I noticed we were seeing stars now. "Are we almost there? I'm tired." I hated how I sounded like a little kid, but my head was hurt and I was getting tired.

"Yeah, just hold on." He said, landing the jet. He helped me out of the jet and walked into the Watchtower. We were walking for a few minutes but I wasn't paying attention to where we were going. I just assumed we were going to the med bay.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me.

"A little better, why?" I asked looking at him.

"Just wanted to make sure you won't drown." He said with a smirk on his face.

"Whait…what?" I said and I looked around and realized that we were in the pool room. Then, the Bat pushed me in the pool. I landed with a splash and I sunk to the bottom. I immediately felt better and I watched my cuts and bruises heal. I popped up to the surface to see Bats standing above the pool, with an actual smile on his face. A smile, might I add, that looked very familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

"Much. My head still hurts but it isn't as bad, and I'm still tired." I said, climbing out of the pool. I took the water off me and threw it back into the pool.

"You should still sleep here tonight, just in case something happens. Someone will be here to help you."

He was probably right, but it still sucked I couldn't go home. "Yeah, you're right." I said, walking towards the bedrooms. I felt like a zombie. My eyes were half closed and I was stumbling around. I thought it was a little weird that Bats was still following me, but I didn't say anything other than a few mumbled words that he couldn't make out. He followed me into the room and I took off my jacket and my boots, and sat on my bed.

"You sure you're okay?" He asked me again.

"I'm fine Batsy. Be careful, you ask too many questions people will think you actually aren't that scary." I teased. He smirked a bit and leaned up against the door frame. "Thanks again for everything." I said, climbing under the blanket and closing my eyes.

"Just get some sleep Evie." Bats said quietly.

The last thing I remember was closing my eyes and mumbling, "Night Bruce."

[pi-cat000]

MSA time travel idea (part 27)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Vivi POV, 8, 9, 10, Lewis POV, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Lance POV 18, 19, Lewis POV 2, 21 , 22, Vivi POV 2, 24, 25  Lewis POV 3

Part 28: here

MYSTERY POV

  Mystery watches his youngest charge, Vivi Yukino, strangle her new vehicle's steering wheel and is disproportionately concerned. Human emotional drama is an unfortunately common occurrence and, in his experience, rarely leads to any significant long-term consequences. Usually, its effects are fleeting and far beneath his interests.

  When had that changed?

  Mystery resists an inclination to climb onto Vivi's lap least he risks distracting her and causing an accident. Instead, he watches, somewhat at a loss, while she glares at the road, tense and obviously worried for her missing friend's wellbeing. The lack of room in the compact truck cab has Mystery squashed between the two humans, giving him a good view of both as they stew in silence, discontent rolling off them in angry waves. Lewis, equally upset by their third member's sudden departure, is staring obsessively at the note Arthur had left behind. Not a habit which denotes a healthy mindset from what Mystery understands. Fortunately, he does not have to worry about distracting Lewis, and he leans his full weight into the other. His leaning gets him a scratch on the head but nothing more. An internal sigh and a minor physical huff of exasperation. There is not a lot a dog can do in these situations aside from offer small comforts. The movement does have the additional desired effect of catching Vivi's attention. Her eyes flick in their direction. A few minutes later and they are pulling into a gas station.

  "Lewis. It's your turn to drive," Vivi orders, bringing the truck to a stop next to the appropriate pump. Lewis hastily hides the note and Mystery wonders who he thinks he is fooling with the action.

  "Sure. Sorry. Didn't realise we'd been on the road for so long. I would have offered sooner." There is some shuffling while everyone clambers onto solid ground, Vivi waving away the apology.

  "Don't worry about it. I kind of like it. It feels like I'm driving a tractor around with how high up it is. You know, when compared to the van."

  She holds the door for Mystery to exit. There is a convenient patch of grass adjacent to the gas station, and he knows what she wants of him. One of the few downsides to this dog form is the prerequisite that the humans meet his dog needs. At times such as these, he wishes that the youngest Yukino were aware of his true nature to save her from the additional, unneeded pressure. Luckily, Mystery is probably the best, most well-behaved, dog in existence because he's done and jumping back into the truck before Lewis has finished refuelling.

  "Where are you going?" Lewis asks after Vivi, catching her sleeve when she shuts the door on him and turns towards the gas station's attached burger stand. Mystery watches the humans share their small affectionate touches through the closed cab window. There has been a significant increase in this touchy-feely behaviour. Another indicator that all is not well.

  "I'm just grabbing breakfast. Lunch. Or whatever," Vivi answers, walking backward a few steps, "You keep filling her up. I'll get the grub."

  Lewis nods, "Don't get me anything with meat."

  "You're paranoid," Vivi snorts, moving away.

  "If you worked in a diner you'd be paranoid too. Not everyone is as clean as my parents," Lewis calls at her retreating form.

  "Give a wave when you're done so I can pay for the gas as well," Is Vivi light response. Mystery observes Lewis's dementor deflate the moment Vivi is out of sight. The tall human is staring blankly at the petrol pump, mind obviously far from the task. Mystery places his paws near the window ledge, drawing close to the glass to get a better view. He does not believe he has ever seen the human in such a melancholic state, slumped and drooping. Concerning.

  Ding. The pump clicks off, and Lewis does not seem to notice. Mystery, after another mental sigh, gives a loud yip to catch attention. Honestly, these human emotional states seemed to be as much a hindrance as they were a benefit. 

  Vivi returns not moments later with several packets of fries and three burgers, of which he is fed several meat paddies. All his dog food is gone with the van. It's not a terrible loss, dog food being a close contender for the worst part of being a dog.  

  As they return to the highway, Mystery can't help but admit that, as much as would criticise humans for their erratic and illogical behaviour, this disturbance has affected him in ways he could not have anticipated. When had Mystery lost that impartial distance, carefully cultivated and maintained over decades of human interactions? When had he started to care for the humans he had long sworn himself to? It has crept upon him like the summer fading slowly to autumn. All those blissful years spent pretending to be a dog and getting showed with attention and affection has blinded him to winters approach. This sense of attachment and concern is more binding than any oath.

  Of course, like many of his failures, it is only after the fact and long past the point of return, that he realises his blunder. Mystery cannot deny that he has grown to care. He cares not only for Vivi, a quirk he can attribute to duty, but also for her friends to which he has no obligation. Not only does he care, he cares immensely, about both their physical and emotional wellbeing. It is a grave misstep for a being of his longevity.

  Nevertheless, there is nothing to be done now but proceed according to his new priorities. It is a shame that he had not fully realised these priorities before Arthur's flight. Mystery, being the only one to have reason to suspect supernatural foul play, could have perhaps acted to prevent it. After Arthur's bright golden aura had simultaneously doubled in strength while also dulling in colour overnight, Mystery had been on the lookout for some form of interference. The sudden reduction of loving pets, riveting games of fetch-the-stick, and instances of Arthur chattering at him about his current interests,  also pointed towards Arthur having realised Mystery's secret. An unfortunate encounter with another being like himself fit somewhat in explaining the sudden aversion to all things supernatural.

  Mystery has been biding his time while he worked to discover the extent of the human's new knowledge. He had planned on pulling Arthur aside to offer an explanation, belay any understandable fear, and perhaps find a cause behind his changing aura. Now it is too late, and Mystery is left hoping that Arthur's abrupt exit is a result of human silliness and not something more sinister.

  "Viv, can you pull up a map to the hospital. I think that's the sign for the exit," Lewis's deeper voice breaks the silence which has been sitting about them like an itchy blanket for the past several hours. A quick glance at Vivi's watch tells Mystery that it is almost 5 pm and they have been on the road for almost four hours since their last stop. His dog body has gone stiff with disuse. Usually, he would play up his dog persona and whine for a break. Today, he lets the façade rest, if only minimally.

  "Oh yeah. Sure," Vivi pulls out her phone and begins typing, "We've been past the hospital a load of times. It's in the middle of town on the far side of Milton High. Near the university and that new research centre."

  As she talks, she pulls up the map, and, finding no space for on the cab's cramped dashboard, holds it out for Lewis to see.

  "I know," Lewis's eyes flicker to the phone and back to the road. The indicator for the turn signal is flipped on. "But I don't think I've ever actually been to the hospital. And this truck is harder to drive than the van, so there's more risk of me taking a wrong turn and getting lost."  

  Vivi nods in agreement, exhaling, propping up her arm so she can continue to hold the phone for Lewis, "You know, I bet this truck is close to the same weight as the van when you add up all the crap we carry around, but the van handles a million times smoother. Wonder why that is?"

  "Arthur does work on it obsessively. Maybe that has something to do with it?" Lewis points out before lapsing into silence his face pinched up in that strained way it does when he thinks of something unpleasant. Silence once again falls over the group.

  A traffic jam only servers to sour already frayed nerves, making Vivi jitterily and irritable and Lewis increasingly dourer. Thankfully, the negative vibes put out by the humans mostly disperses upon Vivi pointing out their destination fast approaching on the horizon. The pick-up truck, being too long for any of the hospital's provided parking, means they are forced to circle the block several times over. They find a rest space outdoors, and a five-minute walk from their destination. Mystery watches in slight bewilderment as the humans take exemptional offence to the setback. More erratic human behaviour. Concerning.

  The sooner they find their third member, the sooner all his charges can re-establish an equilibrium amongst each other, allowing his own worry and concern to abate. Then- after seeing to whatever supernatural force is interfering with Arthur-he can begin restoring his distance. As much as Mystery has adored watching this small group grow into a family unit, building their positive emotional bonds and being included among them, these erratically negative mood shifts are a harsh reminder that humans are as fickle as they are short-lived.

  Mystery releases a tiered snuff, allowing Vivi to carry him against her chest, to hasten the crossing of several intersections all crawling with various forms of transport. Humans did have a tendency towards packing themselves onto smaller and smaller plots of land.  

  "Excuse me! Mam! Madam!"

  Their entry into the hospital is barred by a thin man in uniform grey. The stranger steps suddenly into Vivi's path and Mystery has half a mind to growl in annoyance.

  "There are no animals allowed in the hospital. You'll have to leave the dog outside."

  "What," Vivi almost barges straight into the stranger, and Mystery feels her grip tighten slightly in irritation, "Crap. Right. Forgot about that."

  She swears again under her breath. Once again, Mystery is reminded of this form's disadvantages. Like the now fretting Vivi, he too forgets that dogs are often not welcome into human buildings.

  "You go ahead," Vivi is speaking to Lewis, who hovers to the side, "I'll take Mystery back to the truck."

  "You're sure?"

  "Yeah. Go find Arthur. That's more important. This should only take me ten minutes."

  When Lewis hesitates for a second too long she continues with a sympathetic hum, "I'll probably beat you to the room anyway, even with a head start. Hospitals are like mazes and your sense of direction is terrible."  

  A disgruntled but amused frown follows the joke. Lewis protests briefly, "That's a bit unfair. I only got lost once," turning. He continues into the building while Vivi spins, a few choice words of discontent directed at the still staring security guard, and powerwalks back in the direction they'd just come. They cut across several roads, dodging people and cars alike.

  It is not until they are back at the pick-up truck, Vivi having placed him on the ground so she can retrieve keys, that Mystery smells the tangy scent of a human who has had dealings with creatures not of this plane. A quick glance around and it is easy to spot the offending person. The man's aura is warped and stained in several places, and he's watching Vivi from several paces away. Mystery immediately lets out a small growl to alert Vivi to the potential danger. Usually, he would ignore such tainted humans, their presence, while not common, is hardly strange. Humans had an unfortunate tendency towards messing around with forces beyond their understanding. Today, with all the drama, he is on edge.

  Vivi's attention snaps to him and then to their surroundings in search of his enacted distress. The man, wearing a scuffed leather jacket and donning an aggressive expression, pushes himself forward upon their combined attention. Mystery notes the wrappings and sling, holding one arm secured, signalling severe injury.  The smell of blood and infection confirms his suspicion. With a significant amount of facial bruising, this man is looking awfully mangled in Mystery's expert opinion.

  "Hey. You got a moment?" The beat-up human asks in a gruff voice. Mystery growls from down by Vivi's feet to discourage any potential aggression. The action gets him a quick once over and nothing more.

  "Saw you arrive with that dude in purple, spotin the purple hair-do. He doesn't work at that weird-ass diner in Tempo, does he? Called 'Pepper and salt' or whatever."

  "Do I know you?" Vivi asks shorty, putting both hands on her hips, glaring.

  The action gets a grunted, "No. But you might know the guy I'm after.  Goes by the name of Arthur. That ring any bells?"

NOTE: Guess which character it is! Just kidding, there's only one supporting character left alive at this point (unless you count Claire the receptionist) so not a huge pool to guess from. Note to self: introduce larger supporting cast in early chapters.   Anyway, thanks for the comments on the last part it was genuinely encouraging to see people enjoying sections with heavier character introspection. I wasn't sure about this Mystery POV, so thanks again for giving me the push needed to finish it off.   On a somewhat related note, sorry about the wait between parts, it's that time of the semester where everything is due, so updates on this fic are going to be super slow for the next few months.  Trust me when I say that I'd pick writing fanfiction over work, essays and exam study any day of the week :(

Part 28: here