into the mist

There’s the carefree tilt to the smile that remains everpresent upon his lips, lips that press as fondly as a lover’s to the rim of theglass as he sups at the drink whilst never quite removing his gaze from theyoung woman before him. Against the continuous onslaught of chaos that assaultedhim on all fronts he focused in on her, blurring out the background noise to adull roar as she sharpened into a knife. If the unspoken edge to her gaze didspeak volumes, say it, say it and do usboth a favor.

The well ventured and well known business man looked completely unaffected by Diondra’s words, yet even in his suit looked utterly at home within the pulsing heart of their surroundings. This and the easy smile upon his lips did more than merely get beneath her skin. And she knew that was exactly what he wanted and it only managed to irritate her further. The feelings were foreign, and she wished briefly that she were someone else. Anyone else. Someone who posed more of a threat - not quiet Diondra Woods who kept reclusively to herself. But even a recluse has bite. His eyes never wavered and for the duration of this seemingly long moment, she didn’t look away. Simple, yet, a small victory. There were others eyes on him - on them, and Diondra knew if he made some sort of move, another would be made in turn. But like always, she would try to keep the peace and she swore that was one of the only reasons Mae Huang kept her around. 

Raven snorted but her voice was still shaking over the phone, “You could y’know cause explosions everywhere you go. It’s like super fun and not dangerous and all!” The sarcasm leaked out of her words quickly and sharply, “Something weird is going on with all of us, this isn’t right- I can feel people’s gifts or emotions anymore Diondra, all I can do is blow up shit. In my opinion, that’s not very productive.”

“W-what?” The question came out shaky, and here Diondra was panicking about herself when apparently others were going through she same problem. “...Are you alright Raven?” Because yeah, an angry mutated green house was nothing in comparison to random explosions. “Do you...do you think ASH has something to do with this?” She whispered into the phone. That was now the first thing crossing her mind and she wouldn’t put it past the organization to make their lives harder than they already were. 

Naveen hadn’t expected to see a giant venus flytrap today, in fact he never expected to see such a sight in his whole life. However, today seemed to be full of exceptions. Not only was he without his telepathy but it appeared other people with abilities were struggling with their own issues. Naveen was quickly trying to leave the scene when he overheard a young woman talking. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, approaching her slowly. “That thing tried eating you?” 

Diondra looked up from the ground, eyes filled with tears as another came from her building and addressed her. He looked worried and she realized soon after he’d seen the demonic green house that had sprouted from her apartment. She carefully nodded her head because what if this was some trick of ASH - twist a metahumans power. Make it even harder to control so they were easier to identify and dispose of? She hung up her phone, nodding again. “I - I don’t know what happened. I woke up this morning and....” She shook her head. “Apparently everyone with...powers, are affected.” Diondra wiped at her tears, hoping these new powers didn’t trigger again. 

Aaron let out an annoyed grumble as he took a sip from his drink. Perhaps he shouldn’t be spending the little money he had on booze, but New Years Eve was probably the day he hated most and he was glad not to be outside. “They think that every year and nothing changes. Life sucks, no need to make up stupid resolutions to pretend you can change it.”

Diondra plastered a smile on her face, recognizing the sound as an annoyed grumble. She herself didn’t really celebrate or care one way or the other. But the sound the fire works always did stress her a little and being here instead of the busy New York streets was a plus. “Is that what you did before coming to this realization?” The brunette asked curiously, holding the empty tray against her chest. 

“Why do people still say ‘happy new year’ when they already know they’re not going to keep their resolutions and they’re still going to be the same shitty person they were the past year and the year before? The Earth turned, wow, congratulations, move on.”

“Um well--” Diondra started, placing the mans drink upon the table and gently scooting it toward him. “Maybe that person hopes the next year is better for them than than the last. Maybe this one was really, really bad which is why those resolutions went down the drain.” She smiled with a shrug, trying to brush off the negativity.

Orion found herself coming to Atlas more often since she had met the brunette waitress. She enjoyed her company and generally liked to just sit and watch her serving people with a smile. Besides, she had promised to stick up for Diondra if men would bother her again. She could only imagine how hard it could get to deal with drunk people every night. And sure enough, there was the sound of glass shattering on the floor, making Orion look up from her usual cup of tea, just in time to see Diondra shove a man away, yelling at him not to touch her. The laughter that replaced the casual chatters was heartbreaking. Was no one going to stick up for her?

The laughter was the worst part, still ringing in her ears as Diondra sought refuge in the back of the club. But it wasn’t the laughter that truly had her running, but the trail of fog now creeping along the clubs floor in her wake. She hated it - hated that she couldn’t control whatever this thing was inside of her. And to...make a scene out on the floor like that - it was too much. Now hidden in a little alcove toward the kitchen, teary hazel eyes looked up as she heard a familiar voice. But she watched as a the small, identical, yet confused clone of herself slipped out of Orion’s hold like she were made of nothing but vapor or smoke. Diondra hadn’t even realized she’d done that - at least for once it was only one.

glass half empty || sawyer & diondra

The night was busy, a little more so than usual, yet there were enough waitresses to even out the crowd. No fuss, no muss and an angry “villain” was never a pretty sight. Diondra knew that full well as she worked her short legs on overdrive to deliver an order to the bartender for a fussy patron. In the grand scheme of things she would much rather be home as these types of crowds, though used to them - still caused her anxiety. Which, for the most part, she had proudly kept them under lock and key. Keeping her mind busy helped tremendously. However, Diondra quietly held out hope that one day the power that lived and breathed beneath her skin and changed her life, would one day stop feeling like such a burden.

Harry peeked up at the brunette who couldn’t seem to finish a sentence at first, vaguely amused, and also really glad she didn’t finish her demurral. It took a minute for him to answer, as he was calculating how much time it all would take, before she decided to move out of the way. He rose an eyebrow up at her, watching as she turned away and offering a weak, sarcastic smile. “Good idea,” he acknowledged. There was a few seconds of silence as he didn’t really want to say much else and he was momentarily distracted by the work, but he’d remembered her initial question. “This’ll take about an hour. Is that a problem?” 

A pout formed upon Diondra’s mouth, arms crossing over her chest as she stood back away from Harry as he worked. She was in the way - always in the way, it seemed. And after her ‘near death’ experience with her powers and her car which inadvertent wound her up here with him, the small brunette was a little on edge. “I’m never driving again.” She said more so to herself than him, not that she thought he was listening either way. She looked up from examining her car as he answered her question. “No - no problem....” She shook her head quickly, almost fearing he wouldn’t help her if she kept up the worrisome attitude. An hour was nothing. “And um...” She took a tentative step toward him again, unable to keep from moving. “How much is it going to cost....?” She was definitely talking too much, she figured. 

“Oh just calm down, they won’t notice nor do anything if you don’t do anything out of the ordinary.” Raven asserted, “Unball your fists, you look like you want to fight. If you don’t remember me from Atlas for some odd reason, it is I, Raven. Your fellow co-worker.” It seemed that Raven knew Diondra but the acquaintanceship wasn’t mutual, which wasn’t a bad thing. “If anything, ASH will think you’re my younger sister. I mean, look at you! You look like a younger version of me.” 

“Tell that to my skyrocketing heart rate.” Diondra said, words coming out a little more harsh than she had intended. This was why she rarely left her apartment, or the safety of the club. The small brunette unclinched her fists at the command quickly. “Me fight? No - I couldn’t hurt anyone even if I tried. Practically harmless over here.” If it came between fight or flight, it was usually the later with Diondra, at least when ASH was involved. “Of course I know who you are, Raven.” She rarely socialized with anyone, let alone those she worked with and she had developed a bit of a loner reputation. “If we are sisters - you got all the good genes.” The girl laughed, trying to calm herself down and not accidentally trigger her powers.

A small mixture of a scoff and sigh managed to escape Harry’s lips, not that his flimsy efforts to withhold it would have ever been effective. He looked up from his position, crouched down next to the automobile, wrench in hand. “I don’t care,” he said, sounding mildly exasperated, yet honest. After a quick roll of his eyes, he turned back to his work, his eyebrows coming together to concentrate on the task that’d been given to him. “And don’t tell me how to do my job,” he muttered bitterly. Granted, it was his biggest pet peeve.

Diondra glanced to the side, nervously scratching the back of her head. “I didn’t...I mean - don’t you think....” The small brunette tried to protest but stopped, not wishing to argue. She sighed heavily, swaying back and forth on her heels. “I really need my car fixed like....yesterday. How long is this going to take?” She really wasn’t trying to be pushy, just busy calculating how much it was going to cost, verses how much money on average she made in tips in a weeks time. “I’m sorry I’ll just...” She turned to give him space. “Go over here.”

“Just pretend like we’re talking until ASH leaves.” Raven muttered to the person standing beside her, “Oh yeah, don’t act like I don’t know you have an ability- I can sense it. No point in hiding it for me, though you should hide it in front of them.” She had a little bit of a problem with ASH, and actually, little was an understatement. Raven dreaded going out on the town and seeing them walk around like they owned the town, if anything the gifted people owned the town.

Diondra’s first reaction was to freeze and then glance quietly over her shoulder. She’d dealt with ASH in the past, and she’d learned quickly that they looked like any other person and could be literally anywhere. Fear crept up her spine yet she tried to keep the expression on her face neutral. Yeah - she had powers, normal people didn’t work at Atlas and that was a well known fact. However, Diondra never voiced it. “That wont be a problem....I hope.” She didn’t use her powers, yet she couldn’t control them either. Her hands balled at her sides into a small fist. “We should turn and go - maybe they haven’t seen us.”

“Goodness, I’m sorry, that was terrible, then. I should never speak again.” Orion apologized, feeling really foolish now. She hardly knew anything about religious cultures or whatever they were called. She didn’t consider herself to be a complete atheist, but to her religion was something very delicate and complicated that she didn’t want to get involved in. “That.. sounds kind of terrible? You weren’t even allowed to cut your hair? I get not wearing pants, they can be very uncomfortable, unless they’re sweatpants. I can’t live without sweatpants..” She just rambled on. “But you have gorgeous hair, so I think I would be upset if you cut it as well.” She tried to joke, hoping it would make her feel less awkward about her mix up. She smiled and looked down at her tea for a moment, shrugging weakly. “Well, it’s just who I am. It’s like saying my name is Orion and my hair is red, it’s just.. part of me. I guess I spent so many years telling people and accepting I was ’gay’, this isn’t a big deal compared to it. It’s coming out in a different way. People just usually don’t get it, but I don’t blame them. I hardly understand it myself. I spend a lot of time staring at myself in the mirror, wondering what the heck I am, even now.”

"Don't worry about it, really." Diondra didn't mind in the mistake in the slightest, in fact it amused her. But she gave Orion a reassuring smile as the conversation continued. She no longer considered herself any set religion - but spiritual, she was. The word held a kinder meaning in her head and it didn't clash with other belief systems. Once she'd gotten out from underneath her parents thumbs, many things had changed for her - regardless of her circumstances, the world wasn't so black and white and set in stone anymore. "Technically - no, I wasn't." She tried to explain. "It was due to literal interpretations of the bible. Hair is a woman's glory, she shames herself by cutting it. Same goes for pants, except that's a whole other sexist issue." She tried not to roll her eyes. "I can't live without sweatpants either - especially after working here all day, you know?" Diondra never usually talked this much, but she kept up with Orion easily. "I'm not going to cut my hair - no need to worry about that." She smiled, nodding as the other explained. "I get that - but I still think it's brave. I mean - a lot of people don't understand, or don't want to. Or have been raised to believe certain things and...Anyway, I'm sure it can be rough sometimes." What Diondra herself was going though wasn't exactly the same, but there were many nights she stared at herself in a mirror too - wondering who and what she was now. "What pronouns do you prefer, Orion? Just so I know. If you like changing them up, I'm good with that too. It's a journey after all."