Slowly, like through snow, my eyes flutter open, breaking the crust-lined around them with each bat. I must have been asleep long.

Yawning I try to recall what happened, The last thing I remember is…

It hits me, everything that would have happened if I passed out again. I jump out on my feet, drowsiness snapped out of me and take note of my surroundings.

Dark lit room, the smell of sweat and odd detergent, it’s the medic room at one of Rey’s mini-bases. It’s the one we came to when Vern got shot.

Neil...T.V...where’s Vern?

Shakily, with my head pounding, I navigate my way through the long and stuffy room out to the opening leading outside. It’s another underground base, except there aren’t any drugs or piles of unlaundered money laying around, just injured or sick allies.

Right into my first step out of the base I hear my name called, screamed more like it.

“Paige!!”

Startled I swirl and take a look, by look and voice the screamer is a burly, tall man. He’s hovering over a bed with one other person in his company besides Vern lying in the hospital bed.

At the sight of him, I gasp and start a sprint. I sprawl into the bed, into his arms. He grunts a bit but laughs, patting my head.

“Are you alright? What happened?” It pains me that I have to ask.

He hums, “Well, T.V made a bunch of noise and Lieutenant came in and saved me. I haven’t been able to use my powers but I’ll be able to once the meta suppressant in me passes out.”

“Meta suppressant?”

He nods, “It’s this thing the Suppressors use to capture metas faster, just shoot us with a power dampener, it’s in most of their bullets and absorbable.

I let out a sigh of relief, “So you’ll be fine?”

He nods again, “I’ll be fine.”

I leave his embrace and pay attention to Rex and Austin, “What’s going to happen now?”

The first attempt may have failed but I’m sure with the Lieutenant’s around, T.V won’t try anything and if he does then I’m sure the Lieutenant will be quick to retaliate...right?

Austin grimaces in response and Rex avoids my eye, getting to his feet, “Better Vern fill you in than we.” He coughs and walks past.

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The two wander off outside and shutting the drapes that partition the makeshift rooms as they do. “What are they talking about?”

His lips stay shut for a moment, a moment too long. Suspicion begins to grow within me, “Aren’t we going to try again? To leave?... Vern?”

With each question he seemed to sink into the bed, his name inciting the highest reaction.

He doesn’t keep me waiting any longer though, his head swirls to me and he gasps, “I had to do it, he wouldn’t have helped otherwise and I couldn’t leave you, I couldn’t leave you here alone and vulnerable.”

“What are you talking about?”

Swallowing, he breathes, “If I died you wouldn’t be safe, you wouldn’t be free. And I can’t have you dying on me either.”

I shake my head, “Vern, I can take care of myself, you don’t have to sacrifice anything to safeguard me, I’ve survived worse.”

He shudders and scoffs, “No, you can’t. You’re vulnerable, Paige and with Neil and T.V running around looking for me and the Police and maybe even the Suppressors after me, it might be best if we stay with Invincibill and Rey. They can protect us for now, they’re pretty much the only ones who can.”

This time, I persist, “You won’t leave Xoxia because you would much rather stay here and fight? And keep fighting?”

“What? No, I-”

“We can have a quiet life out there if we leave now, if we try again someday then we can start it all out there but you want to stay?”

He’s sprung up from his lying position and has his legs hanging over the bed now, brows wrinkled and lips pursed I know he’s about to say something hur-

“First of all, you can’t even stand the sight of a gun for extended periods, the sound of a shot has you jumping on your toes and you blackout if someone seems remotely threatening with a weapon!” He huffs, “And secondly I can’t exactly take back my decision, I can’t walk up to the Lieutenant and say I want out now, they’re the only ones willing to help us in any way, we don’t have these resources, what would we do? We have nothing left, Paige. And with the Lieutenant saving our lives, we now owe him.”

I stand there still and frozen, reeling from his words. None untrue and all the more hurtful. I can’t do any of those things, I don’t know what's wrong, I don’t know how to stop it, but now I know it’s got to go. It’s got to go if I want Vern out and away from this place.

The pounding in my head escalates, each beat following that of my heart and even faster. Flinching in pain I’m nodding in an understanding of his words when it happens.

With an audible crackle. A streak of blue light splinterings between us. In a zap of light and tremendous power, it knocks the wind out my pipes. A heavy scent of ozone, my body is whipped across the room and back.

Groaning in pain from being flung around, I struggle to get to my feet. Staring up at Vern I find his face awash with shock, eyes saucers and mouth ajar.

With the sudden activation of my powers, Vern and I share a gasp. Desperately, I reach for him but it happens again.

Zzzrapp!

My body is displaced through space and time then brought back again.

“Vern.” I gasp his name out, already I can see glimpses of my destination, the same place but in the future. People surround me there startled and fearful.

I need to tell him before I go.

“Vern, please, I can’t watch you hurt here. I can’t leave without you but I can’t stay here and watch you get hurt either. So I promise I'll get better!"

Stumbling out of bed, tripping on his feet he reaches for me, swiping for something of me to hold onto. But my matter has already begun to dissipate, streaks of lightning curve in and out of existence near me.

“Come back!” He screams, “I’ll make it safe here, please! I’ll make it perfect!”

I shake my head at him, his desperation for this. Make Xoxia safe? Maybe...maybe it could.

No, no I doubt it.

A surge of pain splits my head as all I'm made of, now all but coloured dust begins to fade away. Together we declare our final words.

“I’ll get stronger!”

“I love you!”