driven

Screaming was normal …right?  Vance thought so.  At least, he thought it made sense to scream when a complete stranger ran into him.  Vance thought that he was strong, but this woman knocked into him and he hit the ground easily and laid there.  "I was in the way,“ Vance decided as he responded to Elvira.  The man rolled over, hitting his stomach against the concrete before he pushed himself off the ground.  Then, he stop and pointed at the direction Elvira was looking at.  "WHAT IS THAT?  WHAT?  What?” Vance’s voice went up in pitch as he put his hands on his head, “Am I seeing things correctly?  Is that a puppy?”  Elvira might have been looking at something different, but Vance’s attention was on the puppy.

“I really don’t think it’s a bad thing. I’m just surprised.” She smiled and turned to look at Elvira. “Yes, I’m buying a new mattress for my daughter and… one for myself as well. I don’t do much sleeping these days.” She was the Antichrist, so she didn’t need much sleep. Neither did her daughter, but she was trying to get her used to human time. “I have so much grading, but it’s good to have a place to rest. And you?”

Nova stared wordlessly at the keys in Elvira’s hand for a moment before reaching to grab them, his hands no longer shaking, but just trembling slightly. He wasn’t immediately sure how to take ‘be more careful’ — were they orders from a superior or advice from a friend? As he turned to finally lock the door to the shop, he looked at his reflection in the glass. It took him by surprise, him being more worse for wear than he had thought or cared to admit. Perhaps seeing the medical team was a good idea. And perhaps doubting his friend’s sincerity in wanting to help him wasn’t. Taking a deep breath before turning back to Elvira, he collected himself. “Thanks, El. I’ll try. I can’t support you well, either as an agent or a friend, if I’m not in top condition, now can I?” He was going to be of no help to anyone if he pushed himself too far. They couldn’t afford another loss, and Nova would never be able to forgive himself if it happened due to his stubbornness. “Once I get a clean bill of health from the medical team, I’ll be right by your side! Shouldn’t be too long.” He didn’t know how wrong he was in that moment. “Well, I better get going then… unless you have any business at HQ?”

Curtis beamed as he nodded, “I know, Director, ma’am.”  It was difficult to break any of his older habits.  However, it made him feel as though he truly didn’t belong in this world - there was a harshness in the people here that he couldn’t completely grasp.  “I think even if the world has changed, I do believe that there are plenty of things in here that make sense,” Curtis said firmly, “Such as good must always defend against evil.  That much hasn’t changed and I do not believe that it ever will.”  Every fiber in him wanted to fight for justice, even if it wasn’t the easiest thing;  good never meant easy, if it was easy then it wasn’t always worth it.  He smiled at her and nodded, “I believe you, ma’am.  The world does seem to be much better than when I left it.  Accepting is something that I had wished the world could have been.”  As they walked toward the burger establishment, “What made you want to become a member of the Inner Sanctum?”

a professional hazard.  rory rolled her eyes at elvira’s words, even if she agreed with it.  their job was focused on protecting people, standing up against the injustices of the world and all of the other things that came with heroism - rory originally focused on this to follow her brother’s footsteps, but the agent has found her spot amongst the rest of the heroes of innter sanctum.  maybe, she really did fit in with this world.  "aye, aye, captain,“ rory said as she saluted elvira.  quickly, she moved forward, running past the usual group of people and headed toward a higher vantage point.  rory growled as she ran up the steps of the apartment complex;  she was used to running, but that still didn’t shake away the weariness that came with the stairs.  as rory reached the top of the steps, she brought her wrist communicator to her lips.

"hold the crowd for a few minutes, boss,” rory spoke clearly.  "i need to set up shop.“  once she said that, she dropped her bag on the ground.  she unzipped it and smiled at her baby, "we’re just going to need a second to get settled.”

Elvira rolled her eyes at Rory's salute but headed toward the crowd. Something Elvira had learned over time was that crowds needed to command and to command a crowd as frantic as this one, she couldn't waver. She held her head up as she walked to the frown of the crowd. A police officer came to scold her but the moment that she flashed her Inner Sanctum identification, they backed away from Elvira immediately. She turned around immediately and brought her hand up to her lips and let out a loud whistle. Everyone's attention went to her and said, "Out. All of you need to get out of the area completely." Someone began to protest and she held a hand out, "This is official Inner Sanctum business now. You all need to leave for your safety." With the command of control that Elvira had, the crowd knew that they couldn't protest anything further.

“I…” Nova’s smile fell once again as he felt his mouth run dry, and the words failed to come. Despite having just talked about ‘being a team’ and 'helping each other out,’ the hypocrisy of his inaction while being stuck in the Dome resounded with deafening silence. Why hadn’t he gone to check to see if any others survived? Surely, that would’ve made the grieving process easier. Yet, all he did was lock himself away in the shop. He knew deep down it was because he hadn’t wanted to face the possibility of being a failure once more. Whether he was wearing a white coat or a green suit, the outcome had become the same — people were dead. He hadn’t changed even though he swore he would. Swallowing thickly, he somehow found his voice again, but it was weak: “Understood, Director. I’ll head over there right away.” He had no place to question her words when they were so brutally true. Turning to lock the door to the shop, he pulled the keys out of his pocket with shaking hands and ended up dropping the keys onto the pavement.

There was a need to deal with situations delicately, but Elvira had iher emotions staked into people in the Dome and Nova should have as well. Elvira had always been only human and even so, she never let her fear paralyze her in doing everything that she could - part of the reason she joined the Inner Sanctum was to become part of something that could change the group. Elvira took another look at at Nova and although, she knew she could offer kinder words but she felt betrayed. Nova had been in the Dome, she wasn't and that was something that made her so angry - she wasn't there and she wasn't able to do anything. She closed her eyes for a moment as she took a breath and said, "Just make sure that you get checked out by the medical team. Like I said, there's been a lot of changes in the world today." She took a look at the dropped keys and picked it up, then gave it to Nova. "You should be more careful."

Honor had gotten used to not calling for help and expecting that no one was ever coming. While in the dome, she was the cavalry, but for a long time, all she could see was her flaws. Her line of thinking went along wondering what was the use of a hero who couldn’t protect anyone and she knew that it was hopeless and wrong. Slowly, she’d regain her confidence, if not for herself, then for Elvira. She still needed a hand to pull her up  sometimes.“Don’t mind me… There are many agents still employed by the Inner Sanctum. I understand the importance of having attentive leadership.” She pursed her lips in thought before answering her about the program. “Maybe… I’m sorry for distracting you from your duties. We’ll talk later…?” 

“I would appreciate that very much, Miss Elvira,” Curtis said happily.  Elvira was a kind woman, even if she tried to appear as though she was completely tough.  Her eyes seemed so kind.  “I cannot help but be impressed with all of the advancements in this world.  Like a phone that fits in your pocket, but is also a computer?”  Curtis shook his head and smirked, “The world is a wonderous place so long as everyone is allowed to prosper.”  The world was so impressive.  There may have been some awful things in this world, but at the same time, people could do amazing things.  In all honesty, he couldn’t have predicted that he would be standing the world of 2024.  “I would appreciate a tour of the world today,” he admitted and smiled, “I have missed out on so much.”  He had also missed out on people that he knew.  The least he could do was find out what happened to them.

Curtis smiled and nodded with a smile.  “My pa was a master at the grill,” he said with a smile.  Though, he came back from the past, his father was memory even from the era he came from.  “You’re mighty kind, Miss Elvira,” Curtis said, “Incredibly kind.  I thank you kindly for everything you’ve done and everything you’re offering to do for me.  Not just that, but you’ve carried the weight of justice on your shoulders.  I cannot thank you enough for your service.”

"Oh, don't even worry about that, Curtis. I'm sure there's plenty of people who would volunteer to personally show The Patriot around," Elvira commented as she recalled the excitement that buzzed among their ranks. When she announced that they had found The Patriot in in cryogenic state, everyone had something to say but when the man awoke from that slumber, it seemed that everyone had been too shy to outwardly say it. She nodded in agreement. The world's advancement had been so great. She could only imagine how overwhelming this was for Curtis - the 1940s to 2024 was a big jump not only in technology, but in architecture and culture as well. It suddenly dawned on her why Curtis couldn't look her in the eye. "The world has changed a lot, Curtis," she reminded him, "But plenty of these changes have been for the better as well. The world's more accepting now."

somehow, rory wasn’t surprised to hear elvira’s voice.  the woman had been the inner sanctum’s interim director - this was right up her alley, wasn’t it?  her lips curled into a smirk as she nodded, “we wouldn’t be part of inner sanctum if we ran away from danger, now would we?”  as elvira describe the situation, rory already turned her head to look for a vantage point.  there weren’t too many in their immediate area, but rory was used to working with a disadvantage.  at least, there were trees.  she sighed, knowing what she would have to do.  “okay, i’m game,” rory said, “rubber bullets though.  we need to be able to question these people.”  however, she looked at the crowd and looked back to elvira, “what about the crowd, el?”

“Ma’am,” Curtis greeted Elvira with politeness as his eyes moved away from her and toward the ground.  It was hard to break a habit that had been so ingrained in him;  the consequences that had been dealt to friendliness with woman like Elvira had always been something that he feared, yet …the world was no longer the world he knew.  “I do apologize,” he said as he nodded at her, “I had no intention of causing worry to you nor the people in your organization.”  Curtis had worked with groups like the Inner Sanctum before, people set out to do the work for justice before themselves.  It was what he had originally devoted his life to.  His lips pressed together, curled into a moderate frown as he agreed with Elvira’s statement.  “The world sure is mighty different,” Curtis said, “I just wanted to see things for myself.  With my own eyes.”

When she put her hands on her hips, Curtis winced - he wondered if he would be recieving a scolding or worse.  He’d never had good run-ins when women like Elvira did that.  The tension in his experssion relaxed as he heard her words.  With a smile, he said, “That sounds incredible.  My pa used to make one of the best burgers in our city.  He made them so good that even the Reverend at church would hire him for after Sunday service barbecues.  So, a burger sounds like a delicious walk down memory lane.””

The politeness from Curtis never ceased to surprise Elvira. She couldn’t help but give him a soft smile before she nodded, “No need to apologize, Curtis. I know you can’t help but be curious.” Those in the Dome might have missed five years, but the man in front of her had a history that paused in the 1960s. From the 1960s to the year of 2024, that was a huge stretch; she couldn’t even begin to fathom the amount of confusion that came with that. She nodded, “It’s hard to imagine that this would be the world it is, huh? I know it’s confusing and a little overwhelming, but I promise, there’s a lot of good that came in this world too.” She paused and said, “I’ll give you a tour next time. Of all the places in the world, Ceres Centropolis is one of the most unique.”

“That’s nonsense, El.” He gave her a smile with renewed vigor. “Of course I have to do something. We might not be Rangers anymore, but we’re still a team, and we help each other out.” Nova was determined to make up for the lost time… and lost lives. “I’m fine; don’t you worry.” He reassured her despite the incessant pounding in his head. “I might not be actively practicing, but I still am a licensed doctor — I think I would know if something was wrong with me. But how about you?” Nova took a step back, his smile fading into concerned wrinkles etched into his face. The Elvira he remembered was a vibrant young woman; to see her become like this was worrying. Time obviously hadn’t been kind to either of them.

“You mean it, El?” Brett said it, taking a breath for a moment before he smiled at the woman.  He stood still for a moment before he let out a full smile, then he went for another hug out of excitement.  “We’ll be partners, okay?  You’ve been leading them for five years.  You know how this world works and I don’t yet.  So, I’m going to need your help to navigate it, El.”  Brett wanted her to know that this was a partnership - one that he wanted to build on trust, not a dictatorship.  If the Inner Sanctum was to change, it would have to start with the leaders and trickle its way down.  At her last request, Brett nodded, “I think so too.  I think, we need to gain the trust of our team before we can do something like that again.”

Honor didn’t believe that it was fair that El could make her this nervous with just a teasing word. That maybe dropped her heart into her stomach for a moment, but the words that followed after brought a relieved smile to her face. “Don’t let me keep you… I know you’re busy.” She put her key back on her key chain. “They haven’t moved, so you don’t have to worry about any of that. I should probably go check on my hand… Maybe I can get Agent Kumari to heal it. I’ve been trying to get her to practice more, but she isn’t very good at magic.”

"Well, busy enough," Elvira replied as she closed her eyes, taking in a soft breath. She knew she had plenty of things to do - the debriefment of the agents caught in the Dome was something was going to take time. With the way Elvira had been running things, it wasn't just an automated video - the new Inner Sanctum was more personable, more reliable. Despite the thoughts of how much work she had to do, Elvira still added in, "But I'm never too busy for you, okay?" She looked at Honor seriously and said, "Don't be afraid to call me, Honor." Elvira let out a short snort at the mention of Felicity and magic before she rolled her eyes. "I might need to speak to Brett about starting a retraining program, with focuses on magic."