Six Months Before Impact Day
Aidan was livid, fussing about Liz’s wounded leg like a flustered nurse. For her part, she just kept trying to bat him away.
“It’s fine,” she kept saying.
“Do you not see the bullet hole in your leg?” he demanded, before shooting a withering glare my way. “This is your fault, you know.”
“I knew the risks,” Liz said.
“Let’s not lose focus,” I added. “We need you monitoring the warehouse. They’ll take that bait sooner or later.”
Aidan sighed, giving Liz a moment of peace as he went back over to his laptop.
“They haven’t done anything yet,” he said. “You did give them enough information, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I replied irritably.
“And you didn’t make it too obvious?”
“Do you have any faith in me?” I asked.
“She did fine,” Liz said, backing me up. “I’m sure they’re just being cautious.”
Rachel’s fake doomsday device was sitting there, guarded by a token amount of ex-security guards paid anonymously by Aidan. So long as Vengeance tried to raid the place, they’d find it without any problems.
“Liz, you’ll be out of action for weeks like this,” Aidan complained.
“You’re underestimating me,” she said. “Besides, you did a great job of cleaning the wound. How do you even know how to do that?”
“I just do,” he said defensively.
“She’s got time to recover, anyway,” I reminded him. “We won’t need to move on Vengeance for a little while yet.”
“Assuming nothing goes wrong,” he said petulantly.
“What could possibly go wrong?” I asked, knowing full well just how easily things could fall apart.
“You can’t be serious.”
“There’s nothing wrong with optimism,” Liz said. “You’re too cynical, Aidan.”
“One of us has to be,” he muttered. “Besides, you should know better than to tempt fate, Charlie.”
“Man, fate can suck my dick,” I said.
“Charming,” he said dryly. “Just… be on the lookout for dramatic irony.”
“You spend too much time with Mark,” I said. “You’re starting to think like a writer. Actually, speaking of Mark, have you heard from him lately?”
“I have, yeah. He’s all kinds of suspicious, but there isn’t a lot he can do.”
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
“The three of us ran away to start a band,” he said.
“That’s the best you could come up with?”
“I don’t see you talking to him,” he snapped.
“What would I even say to him?”
“I don’t know, that you’re sorry? He raised you for ten years and you care more about playing hero than making sure he knows you’re alright?”
“Aidan!” Liz said, shocked.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “That was uncalled for. I’m just stressed out. I wasn’t built for all of this, you know?”
“I don’t think anyone ever is,” I said. “Anyway, I think I need some fresh air.”
“Charlie, I’m sorry,” Aidan said. “Really.”
“It’s fine,” I lied. “I just want to stretch my legs, that’s all.”
“Just let her go,” Liz said.
I left the two of them alone, my head in the clouds as I took the elevator down to the ground floor.
All I wanted was to talk to Rachel, to hold her hand, to curl up next to her. She grounded me like nobody else did, and she supported me without question or hesitation. It wasn’t like I didn’t appreciate Liz and Aidan’s contributions, but it was getting a little tiring, feeling like I had to justify myself to them constantly.
Who’d have thought the superhero life would be so full of petty drama?
I didn’t even notice the five armed men until they were already surrounding me. I felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of my skull, and a pretty man with silky black hair smiled at me.
“Hello, Charlotte,” he said.
How did they find me? How do they know my name?
“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to sound less terrified than I was. I had no way of fighting my way out of this situation.
Security footage. They tracked me from that. Which means they probably also saw me get shot, and recover.
“We’re taking you with us,” he said, with a wicked grin.
“I’ll scream,” I bluffed.
“We’ll shoot you first,” he said, unfazed. “Something tells me you’ll be easier to move that way anyway.”
This is too on the nose, even for me, I thought bitterly. Is god working against me? Am I just cursed? Am I really just this unlucky?
…did Aidan plan this?
“Let’s get it over with, then,” I said, moments before the world went dark.
Next Week: Aberrations Like You
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