for in that sleep of death,

She was one of the good ones. Of course, no matter the person, they would admit that Theo was a good person. That she was too good for anyone, especially for him. And yet… he had her and she had him. Wasn’t that something special. “Julien?” It took a while for the name to click and when it did, oh, he was not happy. His expression was a combination of anger and confusion. “He was there? How, why?” It didn’t make any sense but honestly, did anything in this city ever make sense? Absolutely not. God. “So he was there and he saved you… Was he there working for Xavier or what?” 

         it’s not quite surprising that nia has ended up farther than expected. from where sora is standing, she seems a fair bit more than just distracted. while it’s not her business to help anyone outside of work instructions, something has drawn her to that. curiosity? force of habit? the possibilities range on. “i’m not on my way home,” she replies, shrugging. “and i’d rather make sure that you get home safe. you could have been killed back there.” and what difference does it make? she could have walked by and witnessed the skid marks and been none more bothered than she is now. but everything happens for a reason, doesn’t it?

         “what’s the address? i promise i won’t make a mold of your keys,” she teases gently, wondering if she should keep hold of nia. while she doesn’t seem unsteady on her feet, she’s certainly disoriented. is she ill? dying? having a breakdown? it could be anything, but it shouldn’t be one of her concerns. she should just wish her on her way and head back to the institute, where her real work has begun. she doesn’t.

as grateful as nia is for this woman—sora—saving her life, that appreciation now boarders on annoyance because of her insistence on taking her home. it’d be easy to tell her to fuck off; hell, it’s tempting. but she holds her tongue, whether it’s because she’s considering other sorts of danger she can find herself walking into from being distacted, or because…nia eyes sora up and down, before biting her lower lip for what’s probably the dozenth time since meeting her. or because sora’s company doesn’t seem all that bad right now. 

        there’s little sora can think to expect from a situation like this, but sleep deprivation seems an honest, and well-earned, excuse. “yes, i stopped the car,” she answers, caught between her work attitude and her own, less fabricated, personality. should she be bubbly, here? a bright spot in a dark road? or an incredulous stranger, less interested in the sanctity of life and more confused about this near miss with death than concerned? she normally plays it safe. that’s what she’s been trained for. split-second decisions have never been this difficult, before.

         gently, perhaps too much so, she leads nia back to the sidewalk, allowing the car to resume its motion like nothing had occurred. “i don’t know if i’d go that far…” owe her life to? that’s certainly not in her expectations for the night. “but if you’re this tired, i’d like to at least get you home safely. do you live around here?” after a beat, her own moment of distraction, she adds; “sorry, i’m sora. i guess i’m a little distracted, too.”

damn, nia thinks, but doesn’t say. she wants to ask what else she can do, wants to focus on anything but what just happened. her mother’s rotted smile flashes back in her mind, and it takes every ounce of self control not to flinch. she can only imagine how pathetic she looks to this stranger already, and prefers not to add onto it. 

he smiles to himself at the sound of her voice. it was only a matter of time before she came looking for him—and what a theatrical introduction she’s prepared! he’d commend her if he wasn’t so exhausted. “hi, honey,” says emilio in equal measure of faux sweetness. he tosses his gloves over to his key bowl and turns on the lights in the living room. “is dinner ready?”

“None of that matters. You’re alive and that’s the only thing I care about.” He was loyal to the Brotherhood but Nia’s safety will always be his first priority. No matter the situation. He winced at the name, he was still dealing with her lost. “She… she sacrificed herself. For those she was saving, she used up every bit of herself to revive them.” She used herself instead of using him, the villain of the entire situation. “It’s–” He breathed in before shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about it. I want to talk about you. Where were you?” 

“I’m so glad you’re alive too,” Nia whispered, her voice breaking at the end despite how hard she tried to rein it in. She didn’t want to breakdown, not now. Despite being the younger of the two and always the follower, she wanted to be strong for Daichi. She didn’t want to burden him. When he explained how Theo had died, she squeezed his arms in a way of silent sympathy. “She…She was one of the good ones.” As much as Nia despised the Omegas, she would be grateful to Theo and Theo alone for how happy she made Daichi. 

         sora is not a hero. she’s an agent of a higher purpose who, on occasion, is forced to perform helpful acts for her own image. espionage often requires gaining someone’s trust, and for the last thirteen years that trust had been the entirety of the xavier institute. she has had to play the part of a perfect person, selfless and determined to make the world a better place—and truthfully, she does want to make the world a better place. but not for mutantkind. not even for the humans those at xavier’s seem almost determined to beg at the feet of. no, the world will be righted for linda and the seven. everything else is background noise.

         but thirteen years is a long, long time to play pretend. sometimes, sora doesn’t even fully realize what she’s doing before she reacts—in this case, distorting the air near the frozen pedestrian so that the speeding car doesn’t flatten her against the pavement. the vehicle in question is unharmed, but sora’s focus remains on the woman she had intervened for. worth it, she imagines. letting someone innocent die would not have made the professor any more inclined continue offering his trust.

         facade not quite at the ready, she steps over with more subdued concern. “are you alright? you really shouldn’t be standing in the road like this. that car could have killed you.”

nia doesn’t even notice the car until it’s suddenly frozen right before her. she looks from it to where she thought she saw her mother, but finds the space empty. her mind is still fuzzy around the edges, which makes her jump at the voice next to her. 

LOCATION && WITH WHOM : : THIER HOUSE W / @thedreammaster​

She wasn’t by his side when he woke up and that caused him to panic. No phone call, none of the Brotherhood members have seen her– he was spiraling. It took two of his friends to hold him back, to keep him from running out of his home in order to find her. He could barely keep himself standing but he was still prepared to find her, though he didn’t have a single lead to follow. Daichi felt weak and completely useless for days. First, he lost Theodora and now Nia? If he had the energy to do so, he would’ve turn his temporary home into an ice fortress and this time, Yazmin wouldn’t be there to stop him. But he held on, hoping that she’ll appear or that someone would find her, even if it was her dead body. He needed something to calm him down. 

Luckily, his prayers were heard. He was trying to watch whatever movie was playing when he heard the door open. “Nia? Nia!” He scrambled off the couch, almost falling to his knees, as he ran up to her and pulled her close. “You’re alive, thank God.” 

The second Nia had woken up in Julien’s apartment, she left. Her head still ached, the visions were more frequent, and parts of her body still ached deeply. None of that mattered at the moment because her main focus was Daichi. She had to know if he was okay. That goal became more urgent on the cab ride over as she heard on the radio that Theodora had died. Please be alive, please be alive, please be alive. If she lost Daichi…

oh, julien, nia thinks once the door to his apartment gives a satisfying click, you have got to get better security. it’s dark, and after a quick walkthrough, she finds no one home. she sits herself on his bed, flashing back briefly to waking up there after the entire plan exploded in her face at xavier’s. it makes her angrier—but she keeps it in control. no, she has to focus and be patient. 

but she doesn’t have to be patient long. the thin walls can’t hide the sound of the front door opening and closing, or the footsteps that follow it. they get closer and closer to the bedroom, until the door starts to crack open. at a certain point, nia flicks on the lamp on his bedside table, giving him a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. 

“welcome home, honey.” 

the nightmares are worse. nia isn’t sure what that fucking professor did to her head, but the flashes she gets of them when she’s awake are more vivid. she swears she feels the breath of her mother on her neck sometimes, or the cold of a knife across an old scar. if it was only that she had to deal with, it’d be irritating, but she could deal with it. however, life can’t be that simple. julien. the name makes her grit her teeth and curl her hands into fists. it was easy to ignore her anger, her hurt, when he was long gone. now, he’s back in her life, and she can’t forget it. 

all of it is why she’s walking the streets at half past midnight, ignoring her surroundings out of fear of seeing something she knows will not be real. then, as she walks down a sidewalk, she glances up and sees her. her mother, but it’s not her mother. her mother, hair gone in chunks, body frail, and flies swarming around her. she is staring at nia with her dead eyes, smiling and holding a hand out. nia steps back, frozen, hearing a rattle as her mother breaths in and out. it’s all she can focus on—even as a car is barreling down the street at full speed, heading right towards her. 

emilio’s brows crease at the sudden inquiry—what the hell is this woman talking about? he doesn’t have time for an inspection, and by the looks of it, neither does she. brushing off the woman’s question, emilio doubles down and takes advantage of the pause; he lunges at her and curves his arm, wrapping it around her neck and keeping her in a headlock. he squeezes his forearm against her throat, the other binding her wrists behind her back as he grits out, “we don’t have to make a mess in this hall.”

smoke bombs are thrown, and their battle has begun. through watery eyes, emilio wafts what fumes he can out of his line of sight and hears the familiar whistle of steel cutting through the air. instinctively, he draws twin daggers from his sides and turns around in time to shield himself from the broadsword, arms crossed. the scrape and clatter of metal on metal grates in his ears, and emilio refocuses his energy into charging against the masked figure with a forceful shove, weapons gliding off one another. not wasting any time, he lines up one of the daggers and throws it in their direction.

oh, this will be fun. nia’s ears ring from the sound of metal on metal; it’s been too long since she’s had a real sword fight. when she’s shoved away, she moves to leap at him again when a sharp pain cuts across her shoulder. it’s a flesh wound, but it irritates her. she grabs the knife from the ground and is about to throw it back at him, before she’s stopped by the first look she gets at it. she finally gets at it. this dagger…

she recognizes it. 

“hey!”

the last clear thing emilio sees is a masked figure running full-speed towards cerebro (at least that’s what he thinks it’s called) when he turns the corner. he isn’t sure what’s meant to happen, but he’s not going to let anyone near those doors. grabbing his trench knife, emilio curls his fingers around the blackened brass knuckles, thinking of ways to bait the figure to come out.

“why don’t we talk about this first, huh?” he asks, softly panting as he does, “it’s been a long day, and maybe a little conversation would be best for everybody right now.”

quietly, nia unsheaths her sword from her back. it’s been too long since she’s had a reason to use it. she’s running through a set of moves to take, when she hears a voice ask to talk. it nearly makes her break out into a giggle; what a juvenile way to get her to reveal her position. but there’s something that holds back her amusement. the more he talks the more his voice is irritatingly familiar. it’s not that pathetic light show omega. no, it’s someone else she’s faced before. 

Tenzin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Harm him as little as possible? Is he for real?” So, they had orders to slaughter whoever stood in their way to get to Cerebro, children included. But when it came to hurting Xavier, that was where Magneto drew the line? Talk about fucked up, repressed feelings. Pretty typical of someone within the Brotherhood, though. “Well, I hope whatever he wants him alive for is brutal and bloody. You be careful, though, alright? If you’re in too much danger, please stop. Don’t kill yourself for this mission. It’s not worth it.” Was it dangerous to say that? More than likely. Someone had to say it to Nia, though — someone had to care. She wasn’t just some disposable weapon, she was a person. 

“Oh, well, we can’t have you eating sour meat. You might get sick. We’ll have to make the death nice and slow. Don’t you find the meat tastier when they’ve gone through pain? It’s like tenderising it.” Feeling Nia’s nudge, Tenzin laughed, wrapping an arm around Nia’s shoulders. “I agree! You’ll have to freeze some, probably.” Their lead’s movements slowed, and it looked like they were trembling. “You scared the little bird, oh dear.” 

Tenzin let go of Nia; a loud, exasperated sigh leaving her lips. “Do you want to make them move or should I?” Her buddy hadn’t had any fun yet, it seemed. “A little fun before you take on Xavier, perhaps?”

Nia snorted. “I didn’t ask twice, no, but I think he meant it.” It was an annoyance for her, considering it wouldn’t be easy to take him out of Cerebro delicately. Sadly, orders were orders. She glanced away with a harsh laugh from Tenzin’s insistence that she shouldn’t kill herself for this mission. “Don’t doubt me now, Malice.” In that moment, a mirror image of herself, rotting and lifeless, faced her. She flinched, and the space was empty again. “I don’t like plans failing, and me dying would make it a failure.” Running was worse; that was accepting defeat. But, she kept that to herself for Tenzin’s comfort. 

“I had no idea you were so knowledgable about this delicacy,” she grinned, relieved for the topic to be back to something light. Her arm wrapped around Tenzin’s waist, and she dipped her head into her shoulder. While she hadn’t known the woman long, she had grown to enjoy her company. She could only hope this wouldn’t be the last time she saw her. 

WHO: tenzin & @thedreammaster​ WHAT: girlbossing their way to cerebro  WHERE: xavier institute

“So, what’s the plan once you get to Cerebro? Besides winning, of course.” Tenzin asked, glancing at Nia while giving their lead a forceful shove. They had no time to walk at a snails pace. This needed to be wrapped up quickly. The longer they were at Xavier’s, the more likely it was that they would fail this mission. “Are you going to leave him alive or kill him?” With Charles Xavier dead, the Brotherhood would be able to succeed with much more ease. Then again, the threat from Essex still hung heavily in the air. 

With a roll of her eyes, Tenzin clicked her tongue. “Do you really think walking slowly will save your beloved Professor? And don’t even think about taking the scenic route.” She considered using her persuasion to make them move faster, but bullying them seemed like the more entertaining option. “My friend here will eat you if you don’t speed it up, sweetheart.” The threat seemed to work, despite Nia being far from a cannibal. 

For a few seconds, Nia didn’t answer. She watched in amusement as their navigator was pushed due to Tenzin’s impatience, which was a feeling she herself could relate to. The longer they take to the arrive, the more this mission felt like peeling a band-aid off rather than giving it one giant yank. “I was told not to kill Charles, and to harm him as little as possible,” she sighed. “Magneto wants him alive, but I’m not sure for what.” Were they going to use him as a hostage? He might be more valuable than Finley, but he was also more dangerous. 

You’re taking a great risk, Magneto’s words echoed in her mind. While I believe we will succeed, there is the chance your mind cannot handle Cerebro. Do you understand? There was an unspoken warning. Nia heard it loud and clear: She could die from attempting this. 

WHAT: take me back to the start. 

WHERE: xavier institute, deep underground.

nia runs down the narrow hallway like her life depends on it, which in many ways, it does. she isn’t supposed to be alone, but tenzin had yelled her to go ahead, she’ll follow after her. that was at least ten minutes ago. if something happened…she doesn’t let her mind wander. cerebro is the goal. she needs to get there. nothing, no one, will stop her. 

that’s when she hears it. 

footsteps carefully in line with hers to make sure she doesn’t hear them coming behind her. it’s a trick she uses herself. despite this new knowledge, she doesn’t stop moving. right now, she has the advantage of seeming clueless. 

He nodded his head, ready to turn around and get what she needed. But he only stopped as she grabbed his hand, Daichi freezing in place. He didn’t realize how much he was hopping that it wasn’t Theo, of his racing heart that ached at the simple thought of Nia and Theo fighting each other during a mission. That it was Theo who did this to his little sister. So for Nia to reassure him that it wasn’t his girlfriend but someone else, it did make him feel better but also pathetic. “It’s fine, don’t worry about that right now.” Nor later, Daichi wasn’t in the mood to handle any of it. 

His eyes fell on the black liquid, anger rushing throughout his entire being. “What the hell did he do to you? Why are you coughing up this shit?” 

Nia shook her head as she was told not to worry about it. That was easier said than done. Somehow she’d avoided fighting Theo head on, but with the way things were going she wasn’t sure how much longer that would last. If she could provide some comfort for Daichi now, she would. The subject change to Ezra made her wince, and she had to bite her lip in thought before answering. 

“ow!” she yelped, though she barely felt nia’s foot tap her ankle. a witty retort was just about to roll of her tongue, to manifest from thought to sound, until she noticed the other’s reaction. her eyes travelled from nia’s face to where her hand was pressed against. “is that the word travelling through the grapevine? god, how embarrassing!” she alighted on the couch, shoulder pressed against nia’s. it was odd, how much she had craved companionship these days. perhaps, being unable to leave new york was rotting her mind. “they could’ve cut that part out and highlighted how brilliant i was. have you read the news? oh! i don’t think they could even publish exactly what happened to masten.” she was deflecting. but recounting their triumphs was better than throwing a pity party. “you didn’t do so bad yourself. shame the daughter was spared.” maybe if sunny hwang followed her parents, martha would finally get her parts. yes, that was the reason for her unsuccessful broadway career: sunny hwang. definitely not martha’s terrible work ethic.