* fade

          “did you know that the chills you feel when you listen to a song are caused by the brain releasing dopamine in anticipation for the peak moment of that song?” the words rolled off dorian’s tongue quicker than he realized who he was talking to–if anyone at all. “uh–sorry, that was totally random. i have a bad habit of doing that; just talking without really thinking of–…i’m doing it again. sorry.”

“huh?” if noah was being honest, he had completely zoned out. mostly trying to figure out how he was going to manage to finish his twelve page paper in between going out with his friends for their extracurricular activities. usually fairly attentive, it was probably a sign that he needed a more regular sleep schedule. a blush appeared on his features, turning to look at the other. “it’s okay. you said something about...dopamine?” 

noah didn’t hesitate to send off another concentrated beam of sound, vibrations at the exact frequency he knew to discombobulate the average human. and apparently this guy was pretty average. as he fell to the ground with a THUD, the young mutant gave the man a light kick. yep, out cold. he turned his attention to aerith, where she was finishing off the last of them. yeah, she got it. for a moment he just watched, ready to step in, but with the knowledge that he wouldn’t have. 

and just like that, it was over.

“did that just happen?” noah asked in between gulps of air, adrenaline slowly wearing off as their surroundings came into focus. and, with that focus, came the realization of just how many men laid unconscious at their feet. those thugs had crap luck, attempting to rob some sweet old lady’s shop mere feet away from two powered individuals. seriously, all they wanted was some ice cream...the ice cream !! he stole a glance at where they left the cups and, yep, they remains were now sitting on the ground in a puddle of artificial colors and sprinkles. “aw man,” he mumbled, walking other to aerith. and to think that night was supposed to be no powers, just him showing her the sights of the city. sights that he too, admittedly, was still getting reacquainted with. “should we, uh, call the league?”

 ❝     hey  ,   it’s   my   hero   !   !    come   to   save   me  .    how’s   your   leg   ?   ?     ❞     clara   looked   him   up   and   down  .   he   was   adorable  ,   in   the   way   a   lost   puppy   was   adorable  .   like  ,   you   kinda   felt   bad   for   it  .   the   incense   in   the   room   &   crystals   around   her   neck   were   enhancing   her   senses  ,   and   before   she   took   the   necklace   off   and   stopped   the   smoke   ––––   she   caught   a  hint   of   overwhelming   emotion   coming   from   his   past  .    whatever   had   happened   to   this   kid  ,   she   didn’t   want   to   know  .   trauma   was   like   a   shadow   –––   it   followed   you  .    and   sometimes   clara   could   glimpse   those   shadows  .   unfortunately  .   before   she   closed   her   mind   (   something   she   was   getting   better   at  ,   thank   fuck   )    she   got   a   sense   of   something   terrible  .    she   ignored   it  .     ❝     back   from   a   long   day   of   getting   your   ass   kicked   ?   ?     ❞

realization struck him like a semi as he hesitantly took several steps forward. the woman from before. what were the odds? “hello,” noah replied in an awkward voice, a blush creeping onto his features. her finding him limping down the street was NOT one of his prouder moments. a minor consolation at the time was the knowledge that they would probably never cross paths again, but it was just his luck that he chose her shop to wander into. figures. “yeah, but this time i was going up against calculus,” he mumbled. his ass was most definitely kicked in that class, so much so that he almost wished it had been some bad guy beating him to a pulp and not some stupid trigonometric functions. “i...i didn’t know you worked at this shop.” that much was probably obvious, but he wanted to make it clear he wasn’t, like, stalking her. 

S. A RANDOM FACT ABOUT MYSELF.

“i’m like, super allergic to seafood.”

P. WHY I HATE SCHOOL.

( answered. )

I. HAVE ANY TATTOOS OR PIERCINGS?

noah shifted uncomfortably. “didn’t really have a choice in the matter,” he muttered, and left it at that. 

D. HARDEST THING I’VE EVER BEEN THROUGH.

( answered. ) 

E. MY BEST FRIEND.

“the pantheon,” he answered without a moment of hesitation. 

R. FAVOURITE SONG AT THE MOMENT.

“dunno. i’ve been listening to a bunch of musicals lately.”

 feet   up   on   the   counter  ,   she’s   leaning   all   the   way   back   in   the   chair  .    shocking   to   none  ,  clara   is   at   work  .   however ,  not  necessarily  working  .  she’s   flipping   through   a   magazine   and   picking   at   a   salad  .    the   afternoon   light   enters   through   the   shop   windows  ,   catching   dust   mites   in   its   rays  .   the   room   is   stuffy  ,   reeking   of   incense    and   patchouli  .   when   someone   enters  ,   and   the   little   bell   chimes  ,   her   attention   is   barely   pulled  .   she   doesn’t   even   look  up  .       ❝      we’re   closed  .     ❞       they   weren’t  .    the   sign   on   the   front   said   they   closed   in   seven   hours  .    she   just   didn’t   have   the   energy  .

noah’s mouth turned into an ‘O’ as his face flickered with confusion. instead of taking his usual route from school back to haggis tech, he had decided to take the long way in search of somewhere new to grab a bite to eat. mcdonald’s just wasn’t cutting it anymore. yet, his attention was stolen by a storefront, nagging stomach quickly forgotten. wandering in—he could have SWORN he checked the sign—he nearly jumped when a voice rang out. maybe they had changed hours recently. “oh. ‘m sorry,” he mumbled, turning around.

noah didn’t understand the appeal of wearing flashy suits when fighting crime. sure, the sight of bright colored supers flying across his television screen had filled him with wonder as a young child, but now it just seemed foolish. didn’t STEALTH mean anything? so, when his friends convinced him to join their ragtag group of crime fighters, he quickly decided on one thing: no obnoxious suits. originally, he just wanted to wear a hoodie with a domino mask. but practicality won out, and slowly more leather and kevlar began being included in his getup. and maybe he added a little blue. just for the aesthetic. 

making his way back to the league hq, he stopped in an alleyway to change out of his gear. their team was still working under the radar, and best if the league remained oblivious. the night had went fairly well, they had busted some minor arms dealers. while noah had been fairly hesitant of the idea of crime fighting, he couldn’t ignore the satisfaction it brought. he sported a busted lip, but otherwise looked untouched. all he had managed to take off was his domino mask when he suddenly noticed the presence of another human.

“...this isn’t what it looks like.”

U. WHERE I WANT TO BE RIGHT NOW.

the question caught him off guard. for years all he could think about was escaping, being FREE. and now that he was, the question felt too large to even consider answering. “i’m happy where i am.”

P. WHY I HATE SCHOOL.

“i don’t hate school—not these days anyway. high school though, there were some pretty shit people. can’t say i miss them.”

D. HARDEST THING I’VE EVER BEEN THROUGH.

he was quiet for a moment, multiple instances flashing through his head with painful clarity. “can i…can i just say the last three years of my life?”

O. MY EYE COLOUR.

( answered. )

G. SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

“i like people, never really put a lot of thought into it. bi?”

N. FAVOURITE PLACE TO SHOP AT?

“goodwill?”

O. MY EYE COLOUR.

a head tilt. “brown? that’s really all they can be described as.”

A. WHY MY LAST RELATIONSHIP ENDED.

“i don’t think anybody wants to hear about the ‘relationship’ i was in that lasted a solid four days.”

H. DO I SMOKE/DRINK?

“i drank a little in high school…probably to fit in. it was fine, i guess.”

the great thing about the fine print was that she often didn’t need to rely on patients talking, nor did she have to rely on blind trust. there were plenty of times somebody had said one thing, but thought completely different – thought was trustworthy. knowing the thoughts and the fears and the experiences of her different patients… why, in cases such as this, oh, how useful it proved !! days in cells, nights being tested – his experiences with various humans would make her ‘recruitment’ tactic much easier. they were bad. there had been so few who’d done any good. oh, but that was in the past !! there were still things being fought for, still honorable causes, but they were so… calm, stagnant…. to make a change, one had to attack the origin of the problem. and the origin of the main problem she found nowadays: humans. if no one else would start an uprising against them, she would.

cells were… interesting things, somewhat cursed. she would not say that aloud, at least not yet ( if ever, that is ), but cells – dna – had become the root of so much evil. “ you know, i was never very good at hard sciences, ” she admitted, although biology had become an important factor in her field. “ do you like them ?? ” make it feel like a conversation. make it ‘comfortable.’ tilting her head and leaning back slightly, she replied, “ i mean… i know the dean of students there- ” – which was to say they had never formally met, but god forbid she didn’t read him – “- and he’s not a very… open man, if you will. ” in such an ‘open-minded’ city ( sure jan ), was there one good figure of authority left ?? “ i can assume some of his students are the same in that area. ” – that was to say, some were. not all of them, but was exaggeration not a key tool ??

going back to school had been surreal. technically he hadn’t even finished high school, mere months away from getting his diploma when he was taken. getting his ged had been pretty easy, having already been above his grade level in most subjects before, well, everything. but stepping foot on campus, now that was something he was not prepared for. everyone’s problems were so mundane, so normal. the type of stuff he used to worry about–which made it all the odder. but learning, that was great. “yeah, biology is probably my favorite. math on the other hand...” he made a face. there was a subject he hadn’t missed. 

noah couldn’t keep the confusion off his face. did she mean...? “like he’s anti-mutant?” the politics of it all were still pretty NEW to him. of course he had never been naive to the matter, but before the accident on the bus, he had always considered himself to be normal. having been kidnapped only days later, he didn’t exactly have the chance to reckon with his new identity. close-minded humans were never a priority while in the facility, survival was. and all humans weren’t like those humans...his mom and brother weren’t like that... “i’ve heard a couple things, i guess,” he admitted, eyes adverting to the ground. at the time, the other student’s comments had caught him off guard, stung, having been sheltered in the league hq for several weeks. “but it was just like two people in one of my classes.”

“again.” the word was spoken plainly, as if she was telling a child to run through a piano piece once more. his eyes clenched shut. noah was well aware what disobedience brought but he was TIRED. tired of this test, tired of it all. 

“again, 9451.”

now the command had a bite to it. noah could feel his heart rate pick up, fight or flight response activating in anticipation for what was sure to come. the unspoken threat hung in the air and threatened to smother him, breath hitching. but he was done. eyes opening, he zeroed in on the test dummy across the room staring him down, lifeless and featureless. 

“no.”

the lab coat simply tilted her head, hand reaching for what he assumed to be a button. the button.

noah glanced out the train window, a mosaic of dread and anticipation painting his features. a wizarding school, they said. what did that even mean? the look of confusion etched on his brother’s face as the tall man herded him away was burned in his memory, the moment replaying in his on repeat. something about his dad, they had said. glancing at the kids next to him, he couldn’t understand their unadulterated happiness. all he could think about was wanting to go home. 

despite the fear that trickled out of his body through the lilt of his voice, despite the paranoia and anxiousness that knotted deeply in his mind with memories unknown, there was no denying the fact that noah gray was one of the most bravest humans the extraterrestrial princess had encountered thus far. choosing not to pay mind to the deathly grip he had on her hand, which was more or less similar to a firm handshake, aerith finally decided to slow her pace down when they managed to escape the ocean of people in favor of something less suffocating. “you are very welcome.” should he pay close attention, there were hints of pride and happiness in her voice as she offered him a warm yet encouraging smile, all in hopes of providing even a semblance of comfort in his heart. with a happy nod, the taller of the pair allowed a string of giggles to bubble out of her lips as she covered her mouth with her unoccupied hand. “ it is quite intoxicating, if i am to be true.. knowing their souls are content as well. ”

full rosy lips soon formed a tiny circle the moment he spoke, amber optics wide awake and sober with inquisitiveness as she furrowed her brows pensively. the beverage with bubbles made people feel strange? was the fizzy drink.. poison? her mind went on a full tangent on its own and her lack of comprehension towards the functions of alcohol was starting to become obvious the longer tried to make sense of it. the fact that robin chugged an entire flute of the champagne was enough to send her into a spiral of worry. perhaps she would ask him later if he was feeling any different than usual. perhaps she should warn him of the poison. perhaps noah shouldn’t.. “—huh?” her attention was quickly snagged by the mayor who was just about to start his speech when something rumbled angrily beneath their feet. that is when it began, the feeling of dread that noah was constantly feeling. “..something is wrong, noah.” aerith whined as she turned to noah, worries of poison gone with the wind and replaced with something far more serious.

before she could say anything else to her friend, it all happened. the flames came crawling up the walls with demonic speed, it devoured the mayor and the people that so vehemently supported his cause whole. peace for all. mutants and humans are the same. NO. they are not the same. they never will be, and the voice that echoed through the building as it came tumbling down like some frail house of cards made that impossibly clear to everyone as they screamed and burned from the chaos. without as much as a second thought, aerith roughly pulled noah into a hug and curled towards him, her own body becoming a shield to protect him from the flames that marched towards them like a legion of soldiers at the end of the crowd. use your legs, aer’i. run! protect the boy. leave! you hurt us! save us! run! “ the others.. t-they.. ” tears threatened to spill down her cheeks as she thought of robin, madi and bruce. “n-noah, w-we must to go —now!” she gasped loudly through the crackling and the screams, the blistering ailments on her skin all but forgotten and replaced with a desperate need for them to survive. 

the longer he spent around aerith, the more could he feel his once tense shoulders relax. she radiated belief, belief in him. and if she believed in him, well, who was he not to maybe believe in himself a bit? “i feel like i’d be even more stressed if i could feel everyone’s souls,” noah muttered, awe seeping into his voice. his powers were usually dormant unless he decided to call on them. but aerith’s...aerith’s were a part of her. unable to be separated or isolated. 

his eyes wandered around, finally locating where the alcohol was being served. he stowed the thought away as the mayor made his way up to the stage. after. head tilting, noah could feel the warmth of hope spread throughout the crowd. that, maybe, humans and mutants could live in peace. that the men and women who hurt him were outliers, and the doubts that had begun to creep into his mind were wrong. so many people were present in support of that very idea, it had to mean something, right? an odd frequency began to itch his mind as the mayor continued to speak. a vibration that hadn’t been there previously...or maybe he hadn’t noticed it until then. against his better judhement, he pushed the thought away. that is, until aerith echoed his very thought.

“there is a weird frequency in the air,” noah agreed, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as he stole a glance at aerith. the obvious concern plastered on his friend’s features was enough to send chills down his back. face paling, he whipped his head around the room in desperation. looking at the tranquil, hopeful faces watching the mayor with such trust, he wondered if this is what people meant by the calm before the storm. 

and then everything went to hell. 

as flames engulfed the room, noah FROZE. for the briefest of moments, he wondered if it was somehow his fault. if he had zeroed in on a frequency unknowingly. he felt his stagnant body become sheltered as a pressure surrounded his form. aerith??? the single thought snapped him back to reality as booming words reverberated against the walls.