P I P E R YOUNG
do not show weakness. as far as anyone knows,
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.zzzzzzzzzzzyou are emotionless.
xx
Being called blondie reminded Piper that she really needed to schedule an appointment to touch up her roots. She made a mental note to do that once they got Lucy back, and she hopefully had some time to breathe. Really, Piper thought that Malfyre was just doing their job, but Atticus apparently thought that the heroes should be moving heaven and earth, and doing the impossible to get Lucy back. To an extent, she understood: Lucy was their friend, and she was in trouble. They didnât have any time to waste, but they also didnât have the time to rush and make stupid mistakes. Then Artimis spoke up. Piper figured that, with all the things that had gone wrong during the mission the night before, it was only a matter of time before they pinned down several of the others as being there.
Piper had decided that one half of Gemini was okay after their mission, and now, as she listened to his little speech, she was thinking that the other half might not be so bad, either. He was trying awfully hard to assure them that the heroes all considered them to be one big team, but
she had to wonder if they all felt the same. She quickly glanced around the room, even over her shoulder, where Paladin still stood. Really, she didnât trust any of them to truly be on her side if things went south. There were a few that she figured would help her if she were in trouble, but it was hard to trust the people that had been trying to put her in prison a few weeks ago.
Piper rolled her eyes as Malfyre went on to defend themself from Atticusâ accusations. Really, it was unnecessary. They all knew Atticus was just panicked- and why shouldnât he be? Honestly, Piper would have been lying if she said she wasnât bothered by all of this, too. âNo shit sheâd be dead if they wanted her dead.â As far as Piper was concerned, viewing this thing as anything but a potential trap was stupid and dangerous- but unfortunately, if it was a trap, it was a trap they were very likely going to have to walk right into if they wanted Lucy back.
Malfyre kept talking, going over what she and Luciana had found on a computer a while back. Piperâs blood went cold: obviously, she knew that whoever was doing all of this had to have information on her, but for Malfyre to have those files, that was different. Piper glared holes into that stupid mask of Malfyreâs as they crushed a copy of the files- what was the point of that? It was clearly just for show, as if showboating would earn any trust. They assured the group they didnât look at anyoneâs files, but it didnât sit right with Piper.
Malfyre went back to the laptop, announcing their intentions of finding Lucy. Piper didnât want to interrupt that, finding Lucy was, obviously, going to be top priority. Before she knew it, though, sheâd said, âHow are we supposed to trust that you wonât use those files against us in the future?â
Being called blondie reminded Piper that she really needed to schedule an appointment to touch up her roots. She made a mental note to do that once they got Lucy back, and she hopefully had some time to breathe. Really, Piper thought that Malfyre was just doing their job, but Atticus apparently thought that the heroes should be moving heaven and earth, and doing the impossible to get Lucy back. To an extent, she understood: Lucy was their friend, and she was in trouble. They didnât have any time to waste, but they also didnât have the time to rush and make stupid mistakes. Then Artimis spoke up. Piper figured that, with all the things that had gone wrong during the mission the night before, it was only a matter of time before they pinned down several of the others as being there.
Piper had decided that one half of Gemini was okay after their mission, and now, as she listened to his little speech, she was thinking that the other half might not be so bad, either. He was trying awfully hard to assure them that the heroes all considered them to be one big team, but
she had to wonder if they all felt the same. She quickly glanced around the room, even over her shoulder, where Paladin still stood. Really, she didnât trust any of them to truly be on her side if things went south. There were a few that she figured would help her if she were in trouble, but it was hard to trust the people that had been trying to put her in prison a few weeks ago.
Piper rolled her eyes as Malfyre went on to defend themself from Atticusâ accusations. Really, it was unnecessary. They all knew Atticus was just panicked- and why shouldnât he be? Honestly, Piper would have been lying if she said she wasnât bothered by all of this, too. âNo shit sheâd be dead if they wanted her dead.â As far as Piper was concerned, viewing this thing as anything but a potential trap was stupid and dangerous- but unfortunately, if it was a trap, it was a trap they were very likely going to have to walk right into if they wanted Lucy back.
Malfyre kept talking, going over what she and Luciana had found on a computer a while back. Piperâs blood went cold: obviously, she knew that whoever was doing all of this had to have information on her, but for Malfyre to have those files, that was different. Piper glared holes into that stupid mask of Malfyreâs as they crushed a copy of the files- what was the point of that? It was clearly just for show, as if showboating would earn any trust. They assured the group they didnât look at anyoneâs files, but it didnât sit right with Piper.
Malfyre went back to the laptop, announcing their intentions of finding Lucy. Piper didnât want to interrupt that, finding Lucy was, obviously, going to be top priority. Before she knew it, though, sheâd said, âHow are we supposed to trust that you wonât use those files against us in the future?â
D H A N I BATRA
you know as well as i do that it has to be done,
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzand somebody's got to do it.
xx
If it hadnât been for the others, Dhani might have reached out for Atticus, tried to do something to comfort him. As it was, he didnât want to draw more attention to that relationship than he needed to. He knew that Kieran wasnât always the best with her words, but he also knew she was trying, and probably didnât deserve to have Att go off on her like that. He never knew what to do in these situations: he wasnât much of a leader, and even if he knew a good half of the people in the room would listen to him if he spoke, he wouldnât know what to say. Lucky for him, Gemini decided to be the one to try to keep the peace. He noted the look Adrian shot him. If he needed to, Dhani knew he could probably physically break up any fights, and he could hopefully get Kieran to shut the fuck up if she said anything that the villians in the room would consider offensive.
Kieran didnât need to defend herself, not really. Nobody thought she wasnât really going to do her best (expect maybe Atticus, but Dhani could understand the desperation to find someone when they were in danger), but she still explained how it wasnât that simple.
When she admitted to having done similar things in the past, Dhani found himself shifting uncomfortably where he stood. He didnât like thinking about what the people he knew were capable of. He knew that everyone in this room was capable of- and more than a few of them had done- some pretty fucked up things. Kieran wasnât wrong, though. This was about something.
Dhani wasnât personally too worried about the files- he didnât have much to hide from Kieran- but he was a little uncomfortable with the concept of her keeping them. It seemed like Kieran was hoping to just sweep the information about the files on them all under the rug, and she quickly went back to her computer to find Red Witch. He considered saying something- heâd called for the meeting, things got a little tense, maybe he should try to patch things up a bit, even if it was only to once-again assure Atticus that they would do whatever they could to find Red Witch.
The Aboleth spoke, and Dhani figured she had a good point. She didnât have a single reason to trust Malfyre. âI wouldnât worry about the files, Malfyre-â
âItâs not just Malfyre, itâs all of you. How do I know that you wonât use the files and turn on us the second all of this is over, if we donât all die.â
Dhani didnât know how to answer that. âWell, uh,â
âHow do I know that they wonât look and decide we arenât worth helping based on our pasts? I know you have nothing to hide other than that youâre tall and stupid, but some of us have real things that could be used against us.â
Dhani frowned, âI know youâre scared, but-â
Aboleth shook her head, âAnd you arenât? Look around, guess how many people in this room I trust to have a dossier on me? I donât trust any of you that much.â
Dhani didnât know what to say to that; of course he was scared. None of them were fearless. âYelling at me isnât going to help anyone.â
If it hadnât been for the others, Dhani might have reached out for Atticus, tried to do something to comfort him. As it was, he didnât want to draw more attention to that relationship than he needed to. He knew that Kieran wasnât always the best with her words, but he also knew she was trying, and probably didnât deserve to have Att go off on her like that. He never knew what to do in these situations: he wasnât much of a leader, and even if he knew a good half of the people in the room would listen to him if he spoke, he wouldnât know what to say. Lucky for him, Gemini decided to be the one to try to keep the peace. He noted the look Adrian shot him. If he needed to, Dhani knew he could probably physically break up any fights, and he could hopefully get Kieran to shut the fuck up if she said anything that the villians in the room would consider offensive.
Kieran didnât need to defend herself, not really. Nobody thought she wasnât really going to do her best (expect maybe Atticus, but Dhani could understand the desperation to find someone when they were in danger), but she still explained how it wasnât that simple.
When she admitted to having done similar things in the past, Dhani found himself shifting uncomfortably where he stood. He didnât like thinking about what the people he knew were capable of. He knew that everyone in this room was capable of- and more than a few of them had done- some pretty fucked up things. Kieran wasnât wrong, though. This was about something.
Dhani wasnât personally too worried about the files- he didnât have much to hide from Kieran- but he was a little uncomfortable with the concept of her keeping them. It seemed like Kieran was hoping to just sweep the information about the files on them all under the rug, and she quickly went back to her computer to find Red Witch. He considered saying something- heâd called for the meeting, things got a little tense, maybe he should try to patch things up a bit, even if it was only to once-again assure Atticus that they would do whatever they could to find Red Witch.
The Aboleth spoke, and Dhani figured she had a good point. She didnât have a single reason to trust Malfyre. âI wouldnât worry about the files, Malfyre-â
âItâs not just Malfyre, itâs all of you. How do I know that you wonât use the files and turn on us the second all of this is over, if we donât all die.â
Dhani didnât know how to answer that. âWell, uh,â
âHow do I know that they wonât look and decide we arenât worth helping based on our pasts? I know you have nothing to hide other than that youâre tall and stupid, but some of us have real things that could be used against us.â
Dhani frowned, âI know youâre scared, but-â
Aboleth shook her head, âAnd you arenât? Look around, guess how many people in this room I trust to have a dossier on me? I donât trust any of you that much.â
Dhani didnât know what to say to that; of course he was scared. None of them were fearless. âYelling at me isnât going to help anyone.â