X Marks the spot

Your Muse Shields Mine || Accepting || @fxllenwilson

She's outnumbered, of that fact she's quite aware. Since when has that ever stopped her? Besides, her abilities outweigh most peoples. She'd been doing fairly well for herself. Several people were already down. Just five...ten...she's lost count of how many left. It wasn't important. Not like they were making the best coordinated attacks anyways. Sad for H.I.V.E. recruits, really.

A gloved hand wraps around her midsection and pulls her close, spinning her around. The presence is familiar and comforting. She knows exactly who it is and that's the only reason they don't get elbowed and hexed for touching her without warning. Though, she's a tad surprised when she feels his hands push against her backside, shoving her out of the way.

When she finally catches her footing, she spins ready to yell at him for doing that, only to see his body careening backwards. He'd taken a hit clearly meant for her that she hadn't even noticed was coming. Her breath sucks in as she watches him hit hard against the nearest wall and slide down.

Again...again he's doing something that completely confounds her. This wasn't a small hit. This wasn't even a medium hit. This was clearly a hit that took a bit out of him. She had heard the hit and the bones breaking and his body hitting the wall. It made her sick. She hated anyone stepping into her fights, but hated it more that he got hurt. He got hurt protecting her. Jinx is aware of his healing abilities. He'll recover, but that doesn't mean it hurt him any less. That doesn't mean he's immune to pain.

Stupid, idiotic asshole. He shouldn't have done that.

Her eyes flicker to the adversary that's now approaching X, attention momentarily off of her. She can see others in the corners of her eyes that were paying some attention to her.

"Don't you fucking touch him," she hisses, not even caring that it could become knowledge that her weakness was him. Her body starts to shake as she lets her magic spill out of her, the ground quaking as she simply let's loose. Normally she's controlled, keeps her magic on a bit of leash to make sure she doesn't exert herself. Right now, she doesn't really have that luxury if she's supposed to keep herself and King Idiot who wants to constantly get hurt in her place both safe. Besides, if she passes out, she has faith he'll somehow get her out of it. Probably.

Her hands spark before emanating a flame that swirls around her hands. Her mind goes blank and she just let's her instinct take over. She'd been nicer before. Less stabby. Less murdery. But there wasn't time to be nice now. Now, now they couldn't live. Not knowing that she and X had a connection. That would be bad for either of them.

Jinx is unsure of how much time passes between then and her essentially melting everyone. She'd never let anyone see her take a life. She never had wanted anyone to be witness. But it was her knee-jerk reaction to making sure they both stayed safe since he insisted on meddling in her affairs.

She'll push the worry about how he'll react to it out of her mind for now as she stumbles towards him. Dropping to her knees in front of him, worried hands reach to feel him over for his injuries. Not that her abilities give her any help with healing.

"You stupid, fucking idiot," she chastises, hands shoving at his uninjured shoulders. Her voice is slightly shaky and she's doing her best to fight any tears that may be forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Maybe next time, if you give me a heads up and get here before your body starts healing, I will. Maybe.” Because leaving him with that thought is amusing. Leaving him wondering is also amusing. Would she or wouldn’t she? That would now be the question he has to deal with.

“Healed over and sick,” she retorts. If he doesn’t clean the wound then he will certainly get an infection. While he maybe, probably, able to take care of it on his own, she’s not about to let him take that chance.

An eyebrow arches at the fact the girls know his identity. She doesn’t even know his real name. Not that she couldn’t figure it out on her own. He had kept her secrets and never pried, so she had given him the same courtesy. He’ll tell her about himself at his own pace just as she does with him.

She can feel how hot her face is at his teasing. Asshole has to know what he’s doing to her. What thoughts he’s putting in her head. Still, it wasn’t a question so she’s just going to not respond to it. If he really, truly wanted her to and asked her after she finished cleaning up his wound she just might. Because he is him and she is her and she can’t deny that she feels a certain pull to him. That she lets him get away with more than anyone else can. That he could get away with even more if he wanted to. Yeah, she’d rather not think about that.

Jinx blinks in surprise at his next question. She hadn’t thought of things being even. They never had in her life. People always wanted and took. She can’t ever wrap her head around why he treated her so different.

Her fingers go to gently touch his shoulder so she can begin examining the wound. “Can you take your arm out of your sleeve? It’s annoying to work around your suit,” she says mulling over his suggestion and what she’d want to ask them. There’s a rather long list of questions. So she’ll start with something that is smaller.

He shifts forward just enough to give her room, reaching for the suit’s collar with his good arm. The motion pulls at the fused patches and draws a sharp grimace across his face; teeth clenched, breath hissing out between them. Synthetic fabric tears where it’s already melted into skin, but he manages it, shrugging the top half of the suit down his injured arm until the burned shoulder is fully exposed. The air hits the raw, knitting mess and it stings like hell, but at least now she can actually work. Accelerated healing is already trying to close over the worst of it, pink new skin stretching tight around blackened bits of weave. He’ll be picking those out for days.

He can't say he's entirely surprised in her choice of question. Honestly, if anything he's a little surprised she didn't try to ask sooner. The way her nose crinkled on weird tugs a small, genuine smile out of him despite everything. Weird pretty much summed up ninety percent of… whatever the hell this thing between them was. Still, it's weird to say again given only three people actively were even using his real name even in private.

"Grant." No last name. No extra details. Just that. It feels like handing over a live wire, but it's Saira. It was safe.

All he can do is accept his fate in that split second of looking at the other with curiosity and the slightest tinge of concern, only for the both of them to disappear in a blip rather than just him. Maybe two or three seconds pass but in that short time frame his body felt weird, like jelly left out in the sun but also like being stuck hanging upside-down on the loop of a roller coaster for too long.

Once the world stops spinning and he realizes they've appeared in a living space unfamiliar to Billy, he assumes it's X's. A rub of the eyes, a quick shake of the head, and he's feeling alright again, but that was certainly trippy.

He let out a short laugh before giving X a playful shove. "Caught me off guard, that's all—but, y'know, that teleportin' stuff can't be good for, like, ya bones n' innards n' such. Wonder what the long lastin' effects a' doin' that is." Now a poke to X's shoulder. "What if the xenothium is cookin' ya insides a lil' bit more every time ya use it?" Billy asks this before looking around the new space, immediately noticing just how minimal it is.

He moves to the fridge, pulling a red gatorade for Billy and one for himself, tossing one over to the duplicator. He's not great at this 'friend' thing but he figures at least that might make up for the disorienting feeling of a jump.

"Don't get me wrong, it's super-fuckin' combustible, a little tube of xenothium can blow a warehouse. And it can take a whole tube to go as far as Gotham- but I don't think it's rotting me inside out. So as long as the belt doesn't take a bad hit then it's all good. And if the belt does blow, then Robin can have his suit back with bits of me in it."

He actually laughs at Billy's judgement of the place. Yeah, it's lacking. Not being properly socialized would do weird things to your sense of self once you don't exist legally.

"Oh, good, you're making jokes," she drawls. "That's always a good sign. You would like that, wouldn't you?" Her eyes have a faint sparkle to him. If he thinks that'd unnerve her; he's wrong. Lived with a bunch of guys, remember? Think they never made the same joke once or twice? "You know, they are awfully handy for sneaking into hospitals to take medical supplies unnoticed." Is that admitting she has one? Maybe. Her to know and him to have to think about. She highly doubts her changing into one would make him any better of a patient. He was as stubborn as she was.

She snorts at his third option suggestion. That was the stupidest idea she'd ever heard. Besides, he's forgetting that she does know where he lives and would just track him down anyways. She cares about him too much to let him stay injured. Idiot. "Your option is stupid. If you do that, I'm calling the girls to come help me." They both know she's talking about Query and Echo. You want them giving you a lecture about being reckless? Probably not since she tries to avoid it.

His question catches her off guard. She sputters, then coughs. Jinx can only hope that her face isn't heating up. Her hands shake a little as she drops the med kit she'd been carrying. Not a normal reaction that most people would get if they'd dared ask her that. Most people would get hexed. X, however, gets a Jinx whose brain has promptly shut down and stopped working. A Jinx whose mind is once again conjuring mental images of him kissing her that have plagued her in the past. And she hates that he can do this to her.

The casual admission that she even owns a nurse outfit is going to live rent-free in his head for weeks. Maybe months. He files it away with the same care he gives to every scrap of real information she lets slip- dangerous, addictive, and far too tempting.

"Q and E are on the other side of the country. By the time they got here, I would already be healed over." And honestly, thank fuck for small mercies. The last thing he needs is those two scheming gremlins descending on him with their knowing looks and endless ammunition. “Besides, they already lord way too much over me as it is. You don’t need to give them more fuel. Them figuring out who I am was humbling enough.” Gotham didn't give them enough credit for how well they weaponized being underestimated.

He shouldn't like seeing her blush as much as he does. X was prepared for a full hex blast to the face. This? Is so much better.

"Mmm-hmm. It won't be in a bit, you know." Teasing with one last jab as he finally shifts enough to give her better access to the wound. He’s pushing his luck and he knows it, but the way her hands had shaken when he asked… yeah. Worth it.

Of course X was angry about his current predicament, Billy wasn't surprised at all. Did that mean he was going to stop being the most annoying lil' shit on this side of the coast to him? Absolutely not. This was the bread and butter of how the duplicator operated and X totally knew that at this point.

On top of all that, he didn't know how exactly to help instead, especially since the wound seemed to be closing and healing insanely quickly. How interesting.

Based on witnessing that alone, he really didn't know the full nature of X and his powers and abilities, or really too much about him at all. Maybe if he wasn't going to get drowned or blasted into oblivion, he could find out more. But that would require not being a constant little shit. Choices, choices...

"Banter n' chitchats with them girls is always a fun time." A grin spread on his lips, now simply watching and not moving an inch as the other approached him—the original, correctly chosen by X. The flare of his palms made Billy's shoulders jolt ever so slightly in anticipation, though X's words and bad attitude made a short scoff-like laugh and an eyeroll come from the multiplier.

"Ohh, calm ya damn self down n' get that twist outcha panties, why dontcha? Yeesh. Be lucky it was me seein' this happen, blondie, 'specially considerin' what weirdos ya be messin' with." X was always doing some sneaky stuff, messing with things he probably shouldn't, and that's saying something coming from Billy of all people. He truly had no idea what X was up to the majority of the time, but Billy was confident that he could be in over his head from time to time.

There was also the temptation to at least scare the little shit a bit about following through on that harbor threat. He closes the last few feet of distance to the original, putting a hand on his shoulder before the world tilts. A chemical smell permeating for a few seconds before the environment came back into focus. No water, no beach, but his own place. Sparse industrial loft, exposed brick, minimal furniture. Just enough to function. Grant hadn’t exactly needed much since clawing his way back to the land of the living.

"Sure, you'll do it later because shoulder injuries are so easy to handle on your own. Definitely don't need any help with them," she says dryly as she moves closer so she can inspect his shoulder. Just straight up ignoring the fact he had told her to not come closer earlier. What's he going to do? Hurt her? She doubts it.

"You think my former team was good at treating their own injuries? X, please." You know who her former teammates were. Do you really think many of them should be handling their own injuries?

"Though, I'm sure you'd like me to dress up in a nurses outfit for you," her voice is light, but teasing. He can deflect all he wants, that doesn't mean she's going to ignore his injuries. She can see that his skin is already starting to heal over the fabric of his suit. With her former teammates, she could just threaten them to get them to let her treat their injuries without them being too annoying or threaten their video games. That wouldn't really work with X. He'd make some stupid quip about enjoying it. No, she'd need a different strategy with his stubborn ass.

He forces another shaky breath, back pressed hard to the wall like it might anchor him here instead of letting the past drag him under. The hand he’d thrown up in warning drops slowly to his lap. No lashing out. Not at her.

“You offering, Pinkie?" His voice is still rough, raw at the edges, but the smirk that tugs at his mouth is genuine enough to take some of the sting out of the pain. "Cause I think I’ll be a much better patient if you are.” He's pushing it, and he knows it, but it'll still be worth getting hexed. Stupid as it is, it’s helping. His breath catching on a light chuckle before slowly starting to even out. The shakes from the adrenaline linger, but bit by bit the reality of the present starts winning out over the past burning. 

“Consider this third option: I teleport to my own place, pass out and deal with whatever is still fused to me later at no inconvenience to you trying to move my heavy ass.” It’s an option… but it will suck absolute ass and he knows it. Her other offer though? It's a tempting incentive. To have a couple of things without her ducking or deflections. He doesn't move to power up the suit again, watching her like he's waiting for the catch or for her to call psych. When it doesn't happen, a small smirk creeps up. The first question is already forming on his tongue; something light enough to test if she’s really committed, but pointed enough to make her squirm just a little.

A randomly appearing X was hardly an uncommon occurrence. It's happened plenty of times before at any place she's stayed at. Part of the reason she's accused him of being a stalker over the years that they've known each other.

Though, he's never been unwelcome. She may greet him with snark, but he's never been an annoyance to have around, unless he's trying to make her sleep.

An injured X, however, was a rare occurrence. Just once before to get a bullet out for him before his accelerated healing closed up over it. Though, from the way he stops her it seems like this time it's an accident.

Her lips press into a thin line as her eyes assess the damage. He needs to let her clean the wound before it heals and becomes infected. She's half tempted to tell him he looks like shit, because he does, but doesn't think that'd be all that helpful in getting him to let her help him.

She turns and leaves just long enough to grab her med kit before returning and sitting down across from him. He can be annoyingly stubborn, but so can she.

But she’s already back, med kit in hand, dropping down across from him like she’s got all night to wait him out. Knowing her sleep schedule, she does. Pink hair, civie clothes, stubborn tilt to her chin he’s always found annoyingly cute. Of course it had to be her apartment. The suit’s glitchy teleport must’ve remembered the last place he felt… safe? Stupid.

His back stays pressed to the wall, legs sprawled out uselessly. The hand he threw up lowers slowly, but he still can't manage to make his lungs cooperate with his brain.

“I can do it later.” His voice comes out rough, cracked with the ghost of screaming he hasn’t done in years, but even he's not really buying that excuse. He shifts, wincing as a burned patch on his shoulder pulls. The suit’s synthetic weave is fused in places- he can feel it. Accelerated healing is already kicking in, knitting skin around melted fabric like an idiot. It’s gonna hurt worse coming out later.

The grin that caked Billy's face, one of pure amused bewilderment, was wide, giddy, and frankly stupid as he was staring a maskless X down.

His nosy self had come into the area to cautiously investigate after several shots were heard, only to surprisingly find his always-masked friend knelt over with blood drawn.

He didn't think this day would ever come though, seeing the face of the mystery man that was Red X. Of course it was a total accident, not any sort of friend-to-friend meaningful reveal, but he'll take what he could get. And considering their friendship, the disclosure of this was totally par for the course.

In a very small way, Billy did feel bad, as if he was completely intruding on something not meant for his eyes until the other was ready to divulge it to him, if ever. But it wasn't like he went over to him and ripped the mask off himself. That he'd be beaten up for, or worse, understandably so.

That little blip of a feeling came and went quickly as it was drowned out by the pure tease revving up within and beginning to overflow into the duplicator's demeanor. No threat from the other man was too harsh to stop the multiplier from having at least a few quips blab from his lips.

"Whew, seems like Christmas came 'round early for lil' ol' me, huh?"

Immediately, a handful of clones were created around Billy, a safety net if X decided to follow through on his threat to teleport him into the harbor. Now he'd have to at least figure out which the original was for maximum effect on said threat.

"Well, I'll be. Aintchu handsome underneath it all?" A duplicate said with tease dripping in his tone and that same grin that never left the original planted on his own lips as well.

It'd be almost impressive if it wasn't so goddamn grating right now. Blood kept dripping into his eye, forcing him to squint through the red haze at what he hoped was the original Billy. Blonde strands plastered to his forehead as the bleed finally slowed, then sealed under the accelerated healing. By the time he dragged the mask back down to wipe the last of it away, only a thin white scar remained—already fading.

"I didn't think anyone could be as big a flirt as Nigma's girls," he muttered. Clearly, Billy could give Query and Echo a run for their money. Which was a hell of a sentence. He took a few steps closer to the one he was fairly sure is the original. The red X's in his palms flared once, half-warning, like he still hadn't decided whether it was worth the xenothium to drop Billy's ass in the bay or just shut him up permanently.

Texts to the Wrong Number || Accepting || @queryxecho but meant for @fxllenwilson

[txt] If you tell anyone I asked you to spend the night last night, I'll kick your ass. Your stupid healing abilities be damned.

[txt] Also, you left your jacket over here.