False Heroes

"I've never needed much sleep before," Alex said back to Rachel, "My door' always open." he smiled before leaving to head upstairs. It had been an eventful night to say the least and he didn't care about the fact that everyone except for Alec was still up and moving. It was probably just his body trying to catch up on the months of fitful sleeping. He found his way to the bedroom that the Lariats had given him and shut the door quickly to immerse the room back into darkness. He blindly found his way underneath his covers and he squeezed his eyes shut.


He could hear the floorboards creak beside the bed from the weight of his memories and he tried to ignore it. Bill's influence had shown itself tonight with Mami and his unnaturally desire to smack some sense into the poor boy. He knew that the ghost of Bill would be out tonight... if he didn't know any better he might have thought that he had more than one ability and the second was to conjure up ghosts that only he could see and feel. Alex took a deep breath as he could practically feel Bill's rough hand touch onto his head. It wasn't real, he reassure himself. Bill had been buried in all but his mind.


And the air in the room seemed to become lighter. He felt alone. He wished he knew how he had gotten rid of his nightmarish delusions this time. But all of those kinds of thoughts washed away quickly as he fell asleep wondering what the nature of his relationship with Rachel was.


-


Isabelle was tired, but she could still feel the dull throb of pain from the electrifying jolt that she had felt when the Oridecon monster had torn through her plants. She wouldn't have been able to sleep through the ache and she also felt that she wanted to talk to Diana. What better way was there to honour her poor plants than to talk about botany and perhaps of new seedlings and roots? Her plants didn't need her to mourn for them.


She caught the eye of one of the Lariat's hired help who were now beginning to make themselves seen as the threat had gone away. They all looked the same... she was glad that she hadn't wasted her time on killing them when she had first arrived at the household. She wondered if Diana knew about how she had played a role in that monster's creation and how she had put Alec in the infirmary on his last visit? She examined the woman in her peripheral vision and she determined that perhaps Diana wouldn't care too much about those facts considering she knew the important ones: that she had been here attacking the monster alongside everyone else.


She removed the mask to negate the muffling effect of her mask to amplify her voice, "Hey!" she called out to the hired help. After getting the man's attention she pushed her mask back in place and took a deep breath, "I'll be in the sunroom, want to bring me a banana split? Emphasis on the banana... and no, that's not a euphemism."


She turned back to Diana, "It's been a long night, I thought I've earned a treat." she said, "Now, you've probably figured out my answer already, but yes, I'll be joining you in the sunroom. Lead the way."
 
Rachel came into the room slowly, almost as silent as a cat as she approached Alex bed. She saw him stirring in his sleep, and not in the pleasant way. She slowly eased herself on the bed so as to not disturb him. And she softly whispered "Sssh, steady dear." Alex was a man of great pains, there was a time that such a man would make her nauseous. A man that couldn't handle his own past was not something the old Rachel would want near her. But over time Rachel had learned that everyone had a weakness but that didn't really make them weak. She slowly moved Alex head into her lap as she cradled it, moving her hand through his hair slowly. She still had part of her mind on Alec as well, he normally didn't pass out, he also didn't normally have his bones removed from his body in two days but she still hoped he would wake soon.


Diana sat down across from Isabelle, as she slowly sipped her tea. She had the smile on her face that always bother her children. She never intended for the smile to bother people but it normally did, because while it was a genuine smile and it symbolized that she was indeed happy it also meant she was studying the person. Perhaps she should frown? She tried that for a moment, more for herself than for Isabelle. My she must have looked like a complete ogre! So she went back to her smile. "So Isabelle my dear? How long have you had your amazing gifts and how in the world do you make the plants grow so fast and strong?" As Isabelle spoke Diana mused to herself how comfortable the girl must be to give a demand to one of the servants, it seems her children must have been great host to make everyone feel so welcomed.


Kara stared off at the ocean for a bit after Alec had finished. "You know....you have talent for speeches. It is terribly annoying." She said with smile.


Alec gave a chuckle. "So I have heard. But I won't push you anymore than I already have. So..." His face grew dark for a moment. "What do you make of the beast? Not necessarily what it can do but rather..."


Kara finished for him "...who made it? There are not many researchers who specialize in genetic modification on that scale. You may need to begin an investigation on your own." She saw Alec's eyes become slightly distant. She then stood up in excitement. "You cannot be serious?! You don't do that anymore and even when you did, you only participated in it because you were working for Nikali at the time! It is not you Alec!"


Alec stood slowly and placed his hand on Kara's shoulder, she was trembling with excitement. He smiled a little, he was refered to as the more sensitive and kind of the Lariat children, if only they had meet Kara. "Steady yourself sister. I'm not sure if it will come to that but if I must I will. The people at play here should not be allowed to remain in the public world and they have influence and friends in many areas, including the judicial system. So I see no alternative at the moment but I will still keep it as a last resort understood?"
 
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Alex woke slowly though he was almost aware from the very start of his waking that someone else was in the room with him. He blinked blearily seeing only the darkness of the room cloaking him and he felt gentle fingers in his hair that instantly reassured him. The other person didn't speak, he didn't think it was a memory than it would his mother, Florence. She was too kind and gentle to be with someone like Bill, but her meekness had prevented her from ever being able to leave that monster.


He closed his eyes again, turning the darkness of the room into deeper darkness as he thought of what he wanted to say, "I did it for her, my Mom. When I was younger I let myself dream of the day when I could take her away from Bill. No matter what my father did to us, it was never dark enough to diminish my fantasies that one day I could get us both away from it and that we'd be happy together... I knew it could never happen. There was no place we could have gone where he wouldn't have found us even if we had the money to actually leave. We were his, we belonged to him."


He paused wondering if he was going to make Rachel grow disgusted with him by the time he finished what he wanted to say. He was surprised that he had been having his nightmares again, but he was more surprised that she had come in and comforted him. He had bared his weaknesses and flaws to Alec, but he had tried to keep them away from Rachel. He didn't think that she would like this side of him, the side that had nightmares and cried in his sleep. He continued, "But I guess even that isn't the truth. I thought it was when I was younger, but I was always able to get free once I was old enough to leave. The day after graduation was when I left and I didn't even look in the rear-view mirror as that town slipped away.


"Once in Law, I forgot all about him... and my mother. I was never like this until I discovered my abilities. I discovered them in a car crash that should have killed me. I practiced on myself until I thought I could get rid of him so I went back home to kill him, to keep my promise to my Mom to save her." Now came the part of the story that even Alec didn't know, "I didn't have the nightmares before I did it. Only after. I see him around and I hear him speak to me... and I hate myself not only because it's all in my head, but because I'm only seeing him everywhere I go because I feel guilty."


He jerked his head up and away from Rachel's hands and he turned in the dark to face where he thought that she was, "This is a man who verbally, mentally, and physically abused me. A man who probably did far worse to my Mom behind closed doors. This was a man who left bruises and broken bones and who actually induced a miscarriage on my Mom and killed my baby brother... and I feel guilt and regret? I should hate Bill with every cell in my body... and I thought I did and yet I'm hurting myself with his memory? What is wrong with me?"


His eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough to make out Rachel's outline but he couldn't see any of her individual features. That was probably a good thing. He only felt shame and disgust with himself so he didn't want to see what she thought of him written on her face. He would have felt less ashamed if his nightmares and fears had stemmed from the years of childhood abuse rather than the truth. He was just hurting himself because of what he had done to Bill. His father was a cruel and vicious man and there was no denying that, but he was still Alex's father. It would have been impossible to claim that all eighteen of the years spent under that roof had been completely miserable, but he could still remember more bad than good days. There was no reason he should feel the weight of Bill's murder in the way that he did, by all rights he should loathe the man enough to not feel this amount of guilt. He had kept his promise to his mother, after all, he had done what he dreamed about to keep himself sane during those dark years. Why on Earth did he carry around his father's ghost then? He waited for Rachel to leave, she was a strong woman and he doubted that she would have much sympathy for why he was having his nightmares when even he couldn't find it in himself to forgive himself for his poorly placed consuming guilt.


--


Isabelle took a seat across the table from Diana and settled in to make herself comfortable. The first thing she was aware of was of Diana's smile and she felt strangely unnerved by it before she pushed it from her mind. How often was a smile something to be thought of as disturbing? It wasn't as if it were a malevolent smile. She was probably just trying to make herself hate the woman without giving her a fair chance. It was unusual of her to meet another human that she might like, though the Lariats were difficult like that. She didn't like Rachel, but she felt the same sort of undefinable way towards Diana as she did towards her son, Alec.


Though she immediately felt a sour taste in her mouth as Diana quickly jumped to her powers. She didn't like how suddenly the conversation had gone in that direction when she mostly just wanted to talk about soils and nutrients, but she quickly reasoned that it was probably a good thing that Diana was this direct. The Lariats were direct with their motives. If Diana wanted something from her, she probably would announce it soon. There was no reason to jump quickly to the idea that the woman was asking for anything other than curiosity's sake.


"I've had them since I was ten years old." she said almost proudly with only a brief thought of mentioning the dog attack that had marked the discovery. The second question stumped her, "I don't know." she said noting how her voice wobbled slightly as she said it. She wished that she didn't actually know. She boasted about sharing a symbiotic relationship with her plants, but she believed that less and less despite how she wished it was true. She was growing to believe that the plants were stealing more from her than she was getting in return. It would explain the rapid deterioration of her health after growing the Liana plants (especially since this environment was so counterproductive to their growth).


"It's not something I think about often. But what about you? I love learning about the Lariats, what is your power?" she asked in what she thought was a more natural voice hoping to redirect the conversation though the laugh she added at the end sounded unnatural and harsh, clearly forced.
 
Rachel sat for a moment listening to Alex. Her eyes were gentle and her face portrayed no emotion. She spoke softly to Alex but didn't sugar coat her words. "You feel these emotions because you wanted petty revenge. This Bill, your father, was man. A weak man, who saw strength in harming others. You knew this, your mother knew this. Perhaps she wanted to help in passive sort of way, maybe Bill himself was filled with rage from pass experience in his own life. You don't know. You will never truly know because he is dead. You took his life. I do not fault you for it either. You were hurt both physically and emotionally and you needed to vent your rage. But never assume you did it for noble reasons. Murder is never noble. It can be necessary, that much is true. However, I am a person that knows rage quite well. I have taken life many times, sometimes I didn't want to, sometimes I couldn't think of anything I wanted more but I have never made any illusion that what I did was right. You suffer from that, you feel some form of justice was achieved yet you also understand that he was your father and maybe some part of him loved you, perhaps you even loved him." She gently laid his head on a pillow and moved to the door. As she opened it to leave she turned for bit. "I won't apologize if these words make you uncomfortable, for that is their purpose, often the truth is not what we wish to hear. But I do hope you take these words and use them to strengthen you. You have made errors in life but you must use them to gain a greater understanding of yourself. You have killed but you are not a killer, killing effects you to much to say that you are. You have known hate, but your heart also knows love. Choose the one you wish to hold on to forever and never let go...." She then left the room.


Diana sat in surprise at her answer for a moment and chuckled softly. "Oh dear, do forgive me for the misunderstanding. Though it is fascinating to know of your 'abilities'. I wished to discussed how you have come to love and care for the plants so well. I must admit asking how they grew so fast would provoke that answer but I had no intention of asking about your Enlightened abilities unless you felt it prudent to share. Now deary, as far as my powers are concern, I can tell spank two Enlightened children and never worry about them throwing powers and me. I have a mean alley-op in basketball. And when I walk into a room, dashing young men in uniform stand at attention until I say 'At ease'." She smile for a moment so Isabelle could see her jest. "I'm what you like to call a simple Ordinary, so if my son Nikali, whom you met earlier. So no powers my dear. Though my other children swear I can cast fear into people and well you can see how much of a charmer my Nikali can be, clearly his younger brother tries his best to emulate him." Diana of course knew that was a lie, Alec and Nikali were incredibly different, but she wanted to see how Diana reacted to that statement.
 
The immediate effect that Rachel's words had on him was that if felt like he had been slapped. He had heard nastier things come from his father's mouth, but Rachel's words weren't selected in a venomous matter, what made them sting was the truth to them. Alex would have preferred if she had just slapped him or yelled at him, those were the ways that he was used to, that he could handle. He didn't try to interrupt her speech though he wanted to. He wanted to explain himself further or attempt to justify himself, but with every word she spoke he knew that his words would have been empty and meaningless.


Alex felt bile rise in his throat as so many moments came to mind that showcased Bill's cruelty. Sure, it could have been past abuses and a vicious cycle that seemed to cause all abusive relationships, but Rachel hadn't known the man like he had. Rachel had however been dead-on about Florence, she had thought that she could help and perhaps even save Bill, which was why it was absolutely necessary to kill him. Bill was a rotten man to the core, any good moments were eclipsed by the bad. That being said, he couldn't deny that there were more selfish motives to what he had done. He felt a chill to crawl down his spine. He wanted to believe that he had done what he had just been to help his mother out in the same way that she had helped him to mentally survive his childhood. But that was wrong... and it was a truth that he had barely managed to conceal from himself. He hadn't killed Bill simply for his mother's sake. He heard the door shut and what little light that filtered in from the hallway was gone and he was in darkness that was just as thick as it had been when he had woken up to her gentle touch.


He pushed himself out of the bed and he fumbled in the pocket of his discarded jeans lying on the floor and found that the package of cigarettes was empty. Oh well, his body wasn't equipped to be a smoker anyways, every cigarette was like his first one because of how his lungs repaired the damages. It was about time he quit anyways. He took this as a positive sign. It was about time he started making changes. He hadn't felt bad about letting go of Kate so why not let go of Bill too? ...But that meant meant admitting that he had killed Bill for personal reasons and not for his imagined noble ones, did he want to have to acknowledge that he was more like Bill than he would have liked to be? If he didn't acknowledge his similarities to his father now, then where would he be in ten years time? Or five? He had justified every death he had caused and it wouldn't take very much effort for him to cross the line again because of the nature of his powers. He had killed the shooter on the roof because he was angry and he had managed to sweep that under the rug because he had not known the man. If he didn't try to acknowledge his nature he was trying to hide from himself when would it be another nameless person? Bill probably hadn't thought that he was a bad man and he had managed to find a reason for all that he had done so Alex could see the similarities between them in that aspect. He couldn't think of himself at the same level as his father, but that was the problem wasn't it? He knew that no matter what he did, he could never be as malevolent as Bill... at least in his mind and whether it was true or not.


He tossed his jeans off to the side and opened the door. He could see Rachel's retreating figure and he bolted after her. He grabbed for her hand before reaching his other arm to her shoulder to turn her around, "You're right... at what point do I cross a line if I can't admit when my motives are self-serving?"


-


Isabelle felt her body slacken slightly as Diana explained the misunderstanding, she had jumped to that conclusion. It was clear that Diana was aware of her aversion to the question, and she was thankful that the woman didn't pick at that thread. Isabelle wasn't in any mood to talk about her health or any of the related issues such as how her plants were able to grow in the way that they did passively. She chewed on the inside of her lip when she realized that Diana wouldn't have known about the way that her plants grew without her attention. That was just her defensiveness.


She had also made another assumption about the woman. She kept her jaw up with great effort when Diana told her about her 'powers'. She hadn't considered the idea that Diana was an Ordinary. It seemed preposterous given the way that she held herself and the way that she and Nikali had come in. If it weren't for the joke cracked earlier about Nikali's 'shoo shoo' power than she would have been inclined to believe that he was equally gifted. But she had believed coming into this room that Nikali was something akin to a Squib from Harry Potter surrounded by Enlightened family members.


"Oh." she said in a flat voice that betrayed none of her embarrassment about her assumptions, "Well, flora and fauna have been there for me when I had nobody else. It was impossible to not love my plants when they've never faltered in their love for me. You can't speak to them the same way that I can communicate with them, but plants love to be talked to even if they don't speak the same language as you. It would also be prudent to pay attention to the soil, too many people don't think about that after they've tossed them into a pot. A few of your plants had that complaint. The better the nutrients in the soil, the happier the plant. Your plants don't have much to complain about with watering and sunlight though, so you're clearly quite good in that regard. No threatening insects or fungal diseases in the garden either, so that's good. You're a pretty good gardener so you have a lot of happy plants in your greenhouse. I don't have much to say considering I've fixed most of their complaints," she laughed, "But you can ask me if you have any specific questions, fire away... I'll try to answer. I can communicate with plants in their language so it's not like I ever have to guess. If they have complaints, they're usually pretty vocal about it and they tell me exactly what they want from me."


She was a little surprised to hear what Diana had to say about Nikali and Alec. She hadn't interacted with Nikali at all, and that was what made her surprised to hear. Nikali had seemed eager to leave the crowd while Alec had been dragged away because he was unconscious. They didn't seem similar... and yet? "Nikali must be a lot more charming when he's trying to be because... Actually, I'm pretty sure he's the only reason Rachel hasn't swapped my heart with something yet." she added honestly.
 
Rachel let out a gentle breath ate his words. Not one of annoyance but rather one of release. She gave Alex a gentle smile and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Your motives will always be self-serving Alex. So will mine. Everything we do, is selfish. Sometimes that can be a good thing, other times it may lead to ruin. But they are all selfish. What you should see is that line you mentioned. Which side do you aim to choose? And will you be able to stay on the side of your choice?"


Diana took in Isabelle's words with great interest. "Hmm I must admit that I am not around long enough to properly examine the soil in the greenhouse. But I must thank you for your incredible insight. Oh, and I must ask you what do the plants say? What types of conversations can one have with them?" She then took a sip from her tea and took a satisfied sigh from the refreshing aroma, she looked into the tea cup for a moment as she spoke, her voice was just as calm and conversational as it had been since she arrived, like a woman asking a child how their day at school went. "So, Isabelle my dear...." She looked up at her with gentle eyes and the same smile she had on when they entered the greenhouse. "When were you going to inform me of your involvement with the good Dr. Bisset?"


Alec woke slowly and stared at the ceiling, he felt slightly nauseous and could still feel that his arm was 'around'. He was in the cold clinical sheets of their private hospital room and could see out the window. He let out a bored sigh "I have got to stop waking up in this place."
 
"I don't believe that this line is quite as clear as you think it is, but hear me out," Alex began a little uncertainly, "I don't believe that the world is black and white, or good and bad. I can't believe that it's all quite as simple as you make it seem when I can have a mother like I did and a father who was her polar opposite. The world is gray. Black and white led me to believe that that I was just a victim... that I didn't have choices, but I did. I just couldn't see that because I didn't want to. I didn't want to believe that I had wanted to kill Bill just because I wanted revenge... I wanted to believe that I killed him because I had no choice but to do it to save my Mom from him.


"...But getting to the point... I know it should seem easy to choose love over hate, but how is love meaningful without hate? I don't want to choose hate, but I can't choose just love either. It probably sounds more complicated then it should be, but that's why I was hoping that maybe you could help me with that? I was hoping that maybe you could help... keep me balanced?" he asked her hoping that she would understand what he was trying to say.


--


Isabelle smiled and it reached her eyes, "Much more beautiful things than humans do. They don't know the worst of what defines us as human. They don't know about hatred, prejudice, or any of those things. You might think of that as simple and naive, but there is beauty in simplicity and a sweet innocence in naivety. A lot of times they can quite boring, I mean I couldn't tell you how many times I've had to listen to them talk about water and sunlight, but they have a truly fascinating way of seeing the world. I'm too selfish to want anyone else to have my abilities and have to share them... except for the ability to talk to plants. We could learn a lot from them."


Her pleasant smile pulled into a smirk after Diana posed her next question, her fingers entwined as she answered succinctly, "I wasn't planning to inform you of that at all. I felt as if that were behind me. He got what he wanted from me and I didn't get what I wanted from him. Should I lay what little I know out for you in agonizing details or should I just grab my stuff and leave? And by stuff, I would only want that banana split I'm waiting for if that makes you feel better about kicking me to the curb. Your plants might not be as perky or lively as they are now though, so keep that in mind." she said but her tone was fairly light. She had stolen a bone from Alec and she could have easily killed him if she had come better prepared without blinking and he had invited her into his home and let her stay. She got the feeling that Diana was similar in that way.
 
Rachel let go a sigh. Alex was sometimes a little too naive but it was sweet. She placed her hand on his cheek gently. "Alex my dear you must have misinterpreted my words. Do you truly believe a Lariat such as myself believes in such things as black and white? What I want to express to you is that your choices have meaning and definition and you will choose a side of sorts. Perhaps your reasoning on your decision is black, white, or gray. But your final choice will pick a side. The side of love does include things such as fear, anger, and even regret." Her face became a little hard at her next sentence. "But do not think that love requires hate. To love means that hate cannot enter your heart at that moment, and when it does you can no longer love. That is what I mean when I say to choose. There is no true good or evil, that much is true but there is hate and love. What you must balance is how to channel your anger so that it can never grow into hate. Love and hate are two side of the same coin and you cannot see both sides without risk of one destroying the other so you must balance your lesser emotions so that when you choice your ultimate ones you can have comfort in knowing that your decision was right." Her face softened after that. "I will help you Alex, be warned even I tend to need restraint as well. But the moment you choose hate for anything I am done with you, not choosing hate does not mean choosing love but it does mean you will not succumb to darker intentions."


Diana raised an eyebrow at the young woman. "Dear, save your silly threats, child. You were behaving like such a model adult until that. I'm not my children. I wouldn't threaten you nor 'play' with you. You should have picked up on that with Nikali, he is around me the most. He does not negotiation nor threaten but take decisive action. I have done that as well. Except kill you, I wanted to hold off on that until I heard your side of the story, if I wanted you to give me a sassy response I would have requested one." She let out a sigh. "The youth today. Moving along dear, I want you to understand as a mother it my duty to take you out of existence, you harmed my child, and regardless of his feelings towards you now I would be under full rights to end you with my own hands. That being said you don't seem like a malicious person, so yes my dear I want your agonizing details and do speak with some respect for me and yourself, sarcasm is just a cute word for cowardice when a critical situation is at hand.


Alec had finally found his way outside to the greenhouse and heard parts of Isabelle's and his mothers conversation. Isabelle was tough he had to give her that but there was a reason why one didn't mock Diana Lariat, she was a lot more dangerous that many Enlightened, at that note Nikali was worse. He stepped into the room as they were still talking and sat in a chair in between them fixing himself a cup of tea. He didn't have his left arm because he decided he would attach it later after he check on everyone. He was glad he did, he didn't want Isabelle's brain matter fragmented on the walls. "Do forgive the intrusion, Mother, Isabelle, I am just hear to listen." He then sat back and allowed them to finished.
 
"Oh, yeah, uh, right... Cards! Now, where did I even..." Daniel muttered as he searched his suit for the cards. "Aha!"


Daniel handed out a fairly minimalist card to the green-haired boy, with black text on a white background. Both sides would say the same, and there would be no images.


Daniel Wilbourn


"Weaver"


Enlightened Clothier


Third Street #12

​



Daniel shook Mami's hand, should he have accepted it. "I don't think you'll have to worry about the price, really. I keep my prices on a case-by-case basis, so unless you decide that your next T-shirt would have to be bulletproof, silk AND faultless, it should remain within a reasonable price range. Now, enough about my business and all that, might I ask about your Enlightened powers? Mine are fairly simplistic: Insect control. I think its range goes up to a block, maybe two. Depends, really."


"And miss Lariat, you know I've got to eat as well, right? I mean, these clothes don't really sell themselves. Well, maybe the stab-proof T-shirts do, but I actually have to make an effort to get all the rest sold. And aren't you wearing something of mine right now?" He said, putting one of his hands on his heart, an obviously fake . "Ah, you hurt me."


"Now, miss Rose, it's nice to meet you. As someone who's on a quite friendly basis with the Lariats, I do believe we'll be seeing eachother more. That is, unless you decide to actively avoid, which I do hope you wouldn't do. You seem too nice for that."


Hearing the threats miss Lariat and the other girl made at eachother, his expression quickly grew more determined. "Miss Lariat, you know my rules. I do believe I'll have to repeat them for the rest of you.


Rule 1: You better not kill someone when you're wearing my clothing. It gives me a bad reputation, as I supplied a murderer. Rule 2: My clothes are for self-defense only. Rule 3: If you buy something, I expect to be paid whatever we agreed upon, although more is always nice.


"Now, you might not take me very seriously, as I'm only the 'dude that controls bugs'. But miss Lariat might know the reason, or at least made a guess why I'm not into the whole 'vigilante justice' thing. I would hate to lose clients, current or potential."
 
Alex was surprised at the small chuckle that clawed its way out, "I like that you challenge me like this. Here I was thinking that I had figured it out... I was advocating for balance, an appropriate balance. I'm not saying that I'm going to hate and love the same amount or that I need hate to love, I meant to emphasize balancing them out. I'm an angry and selfish person so these are emotions and feelings that I'm never going to be able to get rid of, I need help to manage them because I know that they're part of being human. That's what I meant by talking about balancing, it would be ridiculous to think that I could get rid of anger, and hate but I just wanted to manage them.


"I was talking specific and day-to-day, but I think you're talking about a picture much larger than that. You're talking about the types of decisions that terrify me to think about because I've always been afraid of what I might choose. I definitely need help to make sure that I can be confident that I'll choose love in situations that monumental, but I want to reach that point. I do want to choose love."


-


Isabelle shook her head softly. She really needed to stop talking like that. Her sarcasm and attitude were a defense, they were a way for people to do what they needed to without difficulty. The words she had given to Diana about getting kicked out were posed to give Diana the opportunity to kick her out should she desire that. But Diana wasn't thinking about kicking her out, the issue was her life and death and Isabelle just hadn't realized that. The threat of death was usually enough to keep her humble and on her knees begging, but Diana's words just caused her to bristle up. She didn't understand where an Ordinary got off thinking that they had any sway or power over her, but Alec had just entered the room and that caused her to hold her tongue. She wasn't afraid of Diana, but she knew that if a conflict were to occur that Alec would win even in his current state. She was nothing without her plants and the only plants she could effectively use were distant trees and the plants in the greenhouse... she had not figured out how to make grass a weapon. She would have to swallow her tongue and pretend that this Ordinary (albeit a Lariat) had humbled her.


"Even Plato complained about youth in his day, you know," Isabelle muttered lowly feeling offended that she had been talked to like a child. She knew she wasn't the most fun to talk to, but she liked to think that despite her highly developed sarcasm that she didn't come off completely childish... though now she was definitely sulking for having to pretend that she had been chastised, and that probably didn't help her image.


She folded her hands on her lap and caught the whispers of the plants through an open window... she knew that there was only grass out there that could help, but it was disappointing to hear the confirmation. She had to talk, "I knew that Alec's bone was going to be used to weaponize the Oridecon," she said reluctantly, "I knew from the very start. That's why the reward promised to me had been so high. You're not an idiot so I'm sure you've noticed the mask and the fact that I can't breathe on my own. Bissett said he could fix it. That's all I needed to hear. It's awful, but that's all it takes to motivate me. I was just that chump who decided to believe something a human had to say for once. He told me things that sounded too real, and too good, not to be taken seriously. He had this whole spiel, that he could modify the Oridecon... I only paid attention to the part that mattered to me. Get Alec's bone and Oridecon and he would put most of his efforts towards creating a weapon unlike anything ever seen and he would dedicate a B-team to adapting it in a different way..." she felt the heaviness of what she wanted to say and she swallowed.


"He told me that saving my life would cost me something very dearly, it would kill part of me that I had known forever. This is what he's told me and I don't know how trustworthy it is coming from him... but there was a B-team was working on adapting the Oridecon into a type of cure." she didn't like thinking about this so she closed her eyes as if that would help her to continue speaking, "The A-team with Bissett at the helm were to weaponize the Oridecon, I guess into that thing, but the B-team were trying to figure out a way to kill the Enlightened abilities at a cellular level without killing the host. Bissett didn't sound too optimistic about B-team's work and it sounded more like an after-thought, but it was all I had. If they succeeded, my powers would be gone, but I haven't tried to think about that too much. I love my powers, but there's just too much I haven't seen or done and I'm too cowardly to want to die. I can't even breathe normal oxygen, for God's sake, it was all I had...


"So I knew about the monster, not the specifics, but I knew it was going to be weaponized. I didn't think that it would take a matter of hours, though. I thought that if I got Bissett what he wanted that I would at least be helping the B-team, the one that would save my life. But I suppose that's what I get for trusting an-" she nearly said 'Ordinary' but she swallowed that word, "-someone like him. B-team probably never even got the samples of Oridecon or a fragment of the bone... heck, that's even on the assumption that there was even a B-team or that it was working on what he said it was working on and not just another method of weaponizing the Oridecon... he did task another Enlightened to dispose of me, after all." she felt the shame of her decisions after speaking out loud. She had omitted facts from Alec's previous interrogation about the promised 'weapon and cure', but it was not because of pride. Her only motivation was desperation.


"I guess now that you've heard all I have to say that you've probably formed the opinion that you should kill me? Just make it painless and if you absolutely feel the need to torture me first then I beg of you, stay away from my eyes. Eye-stuff gives me the shivers."
 
Mami smiled happily as Daniel rummaged around to hand him a card. Was it a singing card, or a pop-out card? Wow, he was excited! He took the card, with anticipation humming in his heart, and looked at it.


... This is just a square of paper... Weren't cards supposed to be able to open, and then the bright cheerful messages would pop up at you?! Like, Happy Birthday or Happy Christmas or Happy Thanksgiving or some shit like that!? There wasn't even any pictures! This was so... so... so disappointing... "Ah... thanks... So you could make me a kigurumi? That's cool. And I'm an Ordinary, I don't really, er, have powers. I'm pretty normal, other than my weird eyes and green hair. It's awesome that you can control insects though! That means you can catch stag beetles whenever you want!" Mami's eyes sparkled in happiness and excitement. "But, yeah! I'm a perfectly normal Ordinary! No powers, no nothing!"


A yawn almost split Mami's head in half suddenly, and he rubbed his watering eyes. What time was it, anyways? It had felt like an entire day, but it still seemed like night or something... He felt exhausted. Why wasn't he at home yet? His parents were bound to be furious if he wasn't in his room in the morning. He should probably be getting home.


He looked up to no one in particular, and asked to, well, anybody. "Hey, when can I go home? It's pretty late... Or early, depending on what you want to call it. I need to go to school tomorrow, and my parents might be worried if I'm not home..."


((WHOAAAA, SUPER LATE REPLY. BY NINE DAYS, TO BOOT. I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THAT THIS ROLEPLAY UPDATED WHOOAAAAAAAAAAAA MAN. WHOAAAAAAA.))
 
(And after a long time I'm back.)


Laurene slowly opened her eyes and instantly regretted it. Why did the light hurt her head? Where was she? She propped herself up on her good arm and looked around the room. One of the Lariat bedrooms. How had she gotten here? She closed her eyes and tried to bring back what happened. She remembered the monster from her dreams, putting her hand on Mami's back, Alec flying through the air... And then the floor. Laurene sighed. Perhaps creating a TK wall and slingshoting Alec across the estate at the same time had been a bad idea. So she had passed out. And some had brought her up here.


Laurene slid out from under the covers and made her way down the hall. Even the slightest creak that the stairs made as she went down them sent needles through her brain. After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached the bottom step and she took a second to let the pain subside.


When she finally reached the room where everyone was gathered she paused in the doorway. She looked at the several, well dressed people that she didn't recognized and then looked down at herself, still wearing her singed pajama bottoms and Mami's jacket. "Well, I'm obviously the best dressed person here." She joked, wincing as the act of speaking shot pain through her head.
 
Mami's head had drooped sleepily, but it shot straight up when he heard the stairs creak. He glanced around, blinking the sleepy dust out of his eyes, and focused on... Laurene! Golly, she was awake! Mami spun around, and did a few stretching exercises. Calves, 76%, 87 %, 98 %... 100%! Arms, are you in working condition? Yes! Hands are at the ready, and feet boosters have been fueled from the emergency energy supply!


Houston, we have liftoff! Mami sped over to Laurene, and grabbed her hands happily with the enthusiasm of a caffeinated puppy. "Laurene!" He spun her around, unaware of her mental distress. "Laurene! You're awake!" His eyes sparkled with relief, and he released her hands. Mami pumped his fist in the air, jumping in excitement. "I'm glad you're alright! You are alright, right? If you aren't alright, then that's not right!"
 
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