"You're different."
Fuse turned and looked at Lulu as she walked through the galley. "Where's Porter?"
"Sleeping."
He grunted and turned back to stare at the inky black void. "What d'you mean I'm different?"
"From when we were kids. And Keystone after that." She said, her raspy voice barely above a whisper. "You're warmer."
"Warmer?"
"And you play coy now, too."
He chuckled quietly. "If you say so."
"That girl's important to you."
"They're all important to me."
Lulu smileld. "But she's special. She woke up the real you. The you you forgot how to be when they sent you away."
"Do you remember your parents?" He asked, turning in the seat to face her.
She nodded. "There's a time disparity between us, though. Physically, Porter and me and the others are all your age or older. But our minds are still playing catch up. For me, it still feels like I just saw them five years ago."
"I can't remember my mother's face. Or how my father smelled after working all day. Or how they'd laugh at me when I'd pull some crazy stunt only a toddler would think of doing thinking it was a big deal. I don't really remember anything at all before the Program. Just these... flashes. Like blurry photos."
"But..." She said expectantly.
"I remember every moment with Lin. From when I found her unconscious in that cabinet to the look on her face a few hours ago when she sobbed herself to sleep in my arms." He sighed. "When I was recovering from brain damage or whatever they call it, I kept getting these flashes of who I used to be. They terrified me. And while everyone else was waiting for me to recover, she didn't care if I returned to normal or not, she was just happy I was alive. And I was happy she was there. Happy to put the Wolf of Wardham behind me. To finally let him sleep."
"But she needed him. The Wolf."
He nodded. "Everyone does, it seems. But now I can put him away when I don't need him. Like in those quiet moments where it's just me and her."
"So she's your home, then."
"She is." He said quietly. "And everyone else is my village. This time, I will protect my village, and no harm will come to my home so long as I can hold a weapon."
"I feel the same way about Jacen. His mouth gets us into more trouble than it should, but I can't stand to be apart from him."
Fuse gave her a smile and turned back around to face the front of the ship again. "Better get back to him, then."
She walked back through the galley and saw a figure shorter than her in the dark. Scared eyes froze when they saw her, but Lulu smiled as warmly as she could. "He's in the cockpit."
"Th-Thank you." Lin squeaked quietly.
"Take care of him." She said, making the smaller girl jump slightly. She nodded awkwardly and hurried away, leaving Lulu to climb into the bunk beside Porter.
"Good talk?" He mumbled.
She nodded, wrapping her arms around Porter and holding him tightly as they both drifted back to sleep.
~
"Kuro?" She whispered.
He turned in the seat and gave her a worried look. "Everything okay?"
She started to nod, then shook her head, running over to him and climbing into his lap. Her face buried into his shirt, she cried quietly for a few minutes before looking up at him. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
She shook her head and rested her head back against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. "I need you to tell me-"
"I never did get to take you out on that date."
She pulled away and looked up at him. "Date?"
"Yeah, at Echelon. I said I'd take you on a date without Clint and Rebecca, remember?"
She scrunched her face up as she thought. "Did you really?"
"Might've done." He smirked. "There was a lot going on at the time."
"I thought you were trying to be comforting. You were serious about that?"
He gave her a confused look. "Why wouldn't I have been?"
Her mouth moved wordlessly before she shook her head to reset. "I... Are you sure?"
"As sure as I was when I said it the first time. Lin, when we get a chance to breathe for more than five minutes, I'd like to take you out on a date."
"O-Okay." She stammered, turning red.
He leaned back in the seat and sighed in relief. "Whew, I was worried you were gonna turn me down for a second. That would've been embarrassing."
She gave him a wry look before smiling. "You're teasing me."
"Only a little." He said, running his hand through her hair. "I really don't know who I'd be without you. And I have no way to even come close to paying you back for everything you've done for me."
Her head tilted and she raised her eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be the one saying those things."
"Well, I beat you to it." He said with a grin, before wrapping his arms around her.
Lin was too shocked to react until he let go and leaned back. She stared at him for several long seconds before her lips moved. "Why?"
"Because between tomorrow and the end of all this nonsense, I don't know that we'll have much time for this. So I've got to give you as much as I can while I can."
She nodded and bit her thumb as she thought for a few seconds before looking back up at him. "In that case-"
She pulled herself up to his face and pressed her lips against his. He tightened his arms around her once more to hold her close and the two stayed like that for a few minutes before she lowered herself and smiled, cheeks flush. "Is this what it feels like to love someone?"
"I hope so."
She curled up against him and rested her head against his chest, hearing his heart beat slightly faster than before. "Me too."
~
"I've decided I don't care." Lin announced. "Whatever my origins, they don't matter. I grew up not knowing where I came from, so why should it matter now? All that matters is getting home, getting back to our friends, and kicking the asses of whoever keeps trying to kill us."
"Here, here!" Porter cried, raising his cup.
Yolanda gave her a concerned look. "What happened to you? You finally get Fuse to give it up?"
Lulu snorted and Red's face matched his name while Fuse and Porter gaped. Lin, however, tilted her head in confusion. "'Give it up'?"
"Jesus, I can't. You're just too adorable." The older woman said, covering her eyes and dropping her head on the table.
"I don't understand. Kuro, what's she mean?"
"Er..." He tried not to look as uncomfortable as he felt.
Lulu saved him from answering her, but made the situation more uncomfortable in the process. "She means sex. Did you and Fuse have sex?"
Lin considered for a moment before turning bright red and slapping Yolanda on the back repeatedly. "NO! NO! WE HAVEN'T DONE SEX!"
Porter laughed into his cup, spilling water onto himself and splashing Lulu. Both teenage girls gave him angry looks as he used his shirt to gently wipe the water from Lulu's face. Fuse tried to back away, but Lin, now fueled by anger and not confidence caught him and glared at him so fiercely, he actually felt intimidated.
"Maybe she needs to be called The Wolf of Wardham." Yolanda said with a smirk.
"More like Wolf tamer." Lulu said.
"He kinda looks like a wolf cub now, doesn't he?" Porter added, quickly wiping a spot Lulu pointed at on her cheek.
"You know you're all going to pay for that later, right?" Red asked, genuinely concerned about the safety of the people on the ship.
"ANYWAY!" Lin shouted, turning back to them, but keeping her hand firmly on Fuse's shirt to prevent him from running away. "There's some things we need to do before heading back to Earth. The ship needs refitting. Last night, Kuro and I found a planet that's habitable with clean water and food that's safe to eat. It also has ore deposits that I can use to make some tools we're going to need for when we get there."
"What kind of tools?" Porter asked.
"Weapons." Fuse answered. "I have a sword, you have your knives, and there's a few of those pirate's rifles in the hold, but that's not enough."
"And Yolanda needs a new arm. Which leads into the most time consuming project." Lin said, taking a breath. "Crafting new armors for Kuro and Yolanda."
"It takes months to adjust to an armor, Lin." Yolanda said. "Do we have that kind of time?"
"I'll make each of your armors specifically to your specifications. The armor he wore when you two fought at Coast City was a prototype and that was supposed to be his final test fitting before I started the final adjustments." She explained. "This ship's onboard computer's more powerful than the one I was using at the Spire, so that should eliminate the need for adjustments at all. I'm going to test the theory on your arm first. But for that, we need the ore on the planet we're heading for. After running a preliminary scan, the compound alloy I can create from it should be stronger than Kuro's sword, which was made from the same material the outer hull of Albion was constructed from."
Red perked up. "Really? It took a Phantom Class mining laser to cut through the hull. The missiles they used did next to no damage."
Lin nodded, grinning. "Making it practically indestructible to anything in a close quarters situation."
"And you think you can make something stronger?"
"That's my hope."
"Wow." He whispered. "You're incredible."
She grinned broadly. "I don't know if they'll have the same level of complexity as what you're used to, but I'm hoping I can approximate the functions well enough."
"Close enough is good enough." Yolanda said. "It'll be nice to not be monoplegic again."
"First we gotta get there. That'll take about a week." Fuse said, jerking his thumb at the console. "We're still really close to where we picked you two up and destroyed a pirate ship, so I'd count on trouble between here and there if their friends are nearby."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but we'll be ready." Porter said firmly.
Lin's smile faltered slightly. "I just hope everyone's alright back home."
~
Clint, Veronica, and Sebastian scowled as the lift continued dropping. Finally, after several more minutes, the lift slowed as the brakes engaged and soon a massive cavernous area was revealed.
"It's like a jungle in here." Clint grumbled, shrugging out of his heavy coat.
"Armand always liked his plants. Figures he'd have something this deep into the planet. Geothermic warmth and all." Sebastian said dourly, following suit as the lift came to a halt and the gate slid open.
Veronica stepped off like she owned the place, pulling her coat off and draping it over a railing as she followed the path ahead, ignoring the branching intersections.
"She always like that?" Sebastian asked as the rest of them disembarked.
"You get used to it." Tim said with a smirk.
Rebecca shook her head, brushing past her mother. "No, you don't. C'mon."
"Now it's like walking through a jungle." Clint grumbled as they followed the older woman.
After what felt like two miles, they finally broke free of the flora and entered an area that blew blessedly cool air over them. Veronica was sat on an elegant sofa sipping from a teacup and across from her looking utterly confused as he clutched a teapot to his chest was Sebastian's twin, Armand Phoenicks.
"I'm not sure how this happened." He said numbly.
"You get used to it." Tim repeated.
Rebecca nodded. "This bit, yeah."
"You had a lab under my building." Veronica said, lifting the cup to her mouth.
"Well, it's a good thing I did. Otherwise, what would you have done?" He said defensively.
Her lips gave a sharp smack as she set the cup back on the saucer. "What indeed, Armand."
Recovering from the shock of Veronica's arrival, he pushed the teapot into Clint's hands and walked over to where Tim was wiping sweat off Alice's face and forehead. "I have a strict no-return policy, Sebastian. You break it, you bought it. However, in this case, it looks like you shattered it into a million irreparable pieces."
"I just need you to diagnose the problem, Armand." He replied, sounding exhausted already.
Armand sighed theatrically and bowed. "What appears to be the problem, doctor?"
"Her accelerated healing seems to be burned out to the point where natural recovery is non-existent."
"And?"
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "The rest I can deal with, but not until I have a clear idea of how to treat her. Will you take this seriously?"
Leaning over her, Armand sniffed and wrinkled his nose. Then snapped his fingers and pointed at her feet. Tim rolled his eyes and moved to undo the clasps and pulled them off while the doctor loomed over him. Alice winced when he gently peeled the soaked sock off one foot, then the other.
"Signs of infection." He muttered thoughtfully. "How's her breathing?"
"More labored than it was when we set out." Tim answered.
"Any wheezing?"
"Some. Barely audible."
He tapped his chin with a finger. "Bruises covering most of her body. I'm assuming that's from the armor she arrived in?" He circled around her, his eyes lingering at the scar around her neck. After nearly five minutes, he shrugged. "Antibiotics and bed rest."
"That's all you have to offer?" Sebastian asked angrily.
Armand spun on his heel before straightening. "You come into my lab, uninvited, get me to make tea for you, and expect me to give you a crash course on thirty years of research and development all so you can patch it up and send it back out there? Why?"
"Because we're asking nicely, Armand." Veronica said from the couch, holding her cup out. "Four people here are still capable of killing you."
Clint stepped forward and tipped the teapot, refilling her cup while looking completely lost as he did.
"Ah! But, you'll lose what little chance you have of getting your answers if you kill me." He tapped a long finger to his temple. "Though, if you take my blood, you can open the vault at A-Corp. That would have the information you require. But it's unlikely you'll be able to do so before this flawed product succumbs to her injuries. Even more unlikely you even make it to the gate if even a fraction of what I've heard is true about what's happening on the surface. Try again!"
"'Flawed product'?" Tim snarled.
Armand turned. "Don't take it personally, lad. I lost faith in you fairly early on in the project. Glad to see my technology was being put to use instead of collecting dust." He said dully, shaking his head dismissively and looking back at his brother. "Two more swings, batter."
"So this is the game. You give us three tries to convince you to help us." Sebastian said, his eyes narrowing. "What is it you want from me, Armand? Do you want me to beg? I don't have the money to pay you and I don't have any specimens for you to dissect."
Armand paced quietly, tapping his lips. "As much satisfaction as I'd get from watching you grovel at my feet and prostrate yourself before my genius, no, I don't want you to beg. I want you to convince me."
"How? You seem to have your mind made up that you won't help us. You just called that poor girl a mistake, so you clearly don't give a shit that a person is suffering in your presence. I never understood you to begin with, Armand, so I can't even guess what would appeal to your merciful nature."
"I never said it had to be you specifically, did I? I was simply speaking to you when I made my conditions clear."
"Then who?" Veronica sighed. "Who's the one who must grovel at your feet and prostrate themselves before your genius?"
"The one who wants my help more than the rest of you." Armand said with a shrug. "Simple enough, right?"
Eve walked over and grabbed his coat collar and lifted him off the floor. "Enough games, Doc. We don't have the time."
"No, you don't." He replied calmly, raising his eyebrows as he spoke. "Tell me, those wounds around your eye look self-inflicted. Whatever could've possessed you to cut it out so viciously?"
With a noise of disgust, she released the doctor and walked back over to the bed. Armand simply smoothed out his coat and looked around expectantly. "Any other takers?"
"D'you remember those horrible meals you used to feed us in The Program? Highlight of the meal were the cookies. They weren't especially good or sugary and they tasted like cardboard, but we all looked forward to them. We made sure to take our time eating dinner to build up the anticipation for that cookie like that would somehow make it taste better. It never did, but we kept doing it." Tim said calmly.
Armand nodded slowly, looking over at him. "As I recall, you and Jacen never ate yours. You passed yours down the line to Alice while he shared his with Lucille."
"I think those are my favorite memories. Those rare times where we can do something childish, not realizing the larger implications of our actions or understanding the feelings accompanying them. Maybe Porter and Lu had it figured out before we did given how they act around each other now."
Armand shook his head. "Jacen made her laugh when they first arrived. From that first giggle, those two became inseparable. But you say they're an item now? How interesting."
"Yeah, it's actually kind of weird." He said with a smirk. "Sometimes I look at Alice and I feel for her how my parents felt for each other. Other times, it's like I'm trying to figure out what this feeling is. It's a strange dichotomy. She feels the same way, so I think we probably still have some growing up to do the old fashioned way. But, I'd like to do that growing up with her."
Armand studied Tim for a few minutes as he looked down at Alice's now unconscious body. His long fingers tapped idly on his lips as he thought. Finally, he splayed his fingers and shrugged. "Close enough."
"What?" Tim said, looking up at him.
"You sold me. I'll help her. Sebastian, if you'd lend me your medical expertise, we'll get started."
"I already told you-"
"You may have studied my work, but you've never done my work. But never fear, I leave her care in your more than capable hands. I simply need your involvement so I can work without concern."
"What's wrong with her? Why isn't her accelerated healing working?" Rebecca asked.
"Somebody fiddled with her brain chemistry and messed up the careful pathways and conduits that allow for the speed of her recovery. As well as the haphazard way she was reconstituted. My instructions must be followed to the letter or anomalies will present themselves." He explained as he and Sebastian scrubbed their hands and donned gloves. "If you'd be so kind as to press that green button, Tim. Thank you, lad. One of those anomalies is the damage to her throat and vocal cords. Unfortunately, that's beyond repair at this point."
"I did work in her brain not long ago." Sebastian said as sterile tools slid between them while the table raised their patient.
"And I'm quite certain your work was not the cause. Like myself, you've always worked at a level beyond perfection." Armand said, pointing at another button, which Tim obediently pressed. "You undid an error in judgement and you have my thanks."
"I'd like to talk to you about that error in judgement."
"I'm sure you would." Armand said dismissively. "Pity we never will. Now, once this procedure is over, it'll take her time to recover. She was a strong, healthy child the last time. This time she's malnourished, riddled with infection, and injured beyond the body's capacity to survive. But the Phoenicks brothers will achieve nirvana with this procedure! If you'll excuse us."
A curtain dropped from the ceiling and surrounded the bed, blocking out visuals and sound from the outside. Tim stared blankly at the curtain before sighing and joining Eve as she walked over to the living area where Rebecca and Clint finally sat down.
"So long as we can trust the brothers Phoenicks and Alice's recovery fully restores her, we've got another Kurokawa." Veronica said. "Putting Eve back in the armor will afford us three capable of fighting at the level we'll need moving forward. Rebecca, you and Clint will act as support."
"If Alice still wants to fight. She only helped us out at the Spire because it was to survive." Rebecca said pointedly.
"This whole thing has been about survival. We're in the lion's den now, sweetheart. Survival couldn't come with less of a guarantee." Her mother replied. "But, we're still out-manned. Our small numbers right now give us cover, so we need to use that to gather intelligence. Not just on the enemy, but possible allies. I was considering making use of a certain organization that we've previously investigated before."
"Gaia's Chosen? They're terrorists." Clint spat, folding his arms angrily.
"But they're also a powerful ally to have if our interests align. Don't forget that Lin worked with them for a time."
Rebecca blanched. "They tortured her, mom. Then left her for dead when she couldn't give them what they wanted."
"Beggars can't be choosers. I'll go and speak with them, myself. Tim, you can be my attache." Veronica said decisively.
The teen looked back at the curtain, then to Veronica's expression, which left no room to argue and sighed. "Yes, ma'am."
"Roberts, you and Rebecca are at Armand's disposal. Try to win him over. We'll need a place to call home for the time being while we reinforce our numbers and solidify a plan once we've gathered the requisite intelligence needed to form one." She said, looking over her shoulder. "I've no doubt that he wants us gone as soon as we're able. Change his mind."
"What should I do?" Eve asked.
"Train and rest. We'll need you at your best, especially with that armor. Alice has worn it enough that she may be able to help you tame its beastly nature."
"Copy, ma'am." She said, looking over at the pile of mismatched gear.