A billion waves surround your hands, and with each one that comes forward, the pressure grows until it forces you knuckles to go white. A grit of frustration is all you let out though. Damnit, it's not easy. It's like holding two grenades that are on the verge of exploding.
So to throw them off, you turn the frustration towards Doctor Mother, not that it makes the pressure any less bearable. After all, she's just proving your point with every step as she walks back to her desk to pick up the tv remote. People are dying by the thousands, and that's all she can think to do.
That's what makes the waves shine the brightest; she doesn't even care.
The deaths that Harbinger brought up? Just a fucking number to her. And while everyone sat here, that number was going up. People were dying, and with the power that Cauldron had, you could stop it.
But underneath it all though, there was a voice asking the real question.
How?
You could rage, you could throw a mountain and grind this entire station to the ground, but it doesn't matter.
Because the honest answer was that you don't know how you were supposed to stop them.
It makes your stomach churn and your chest burn, but all the arguing in the world doesn't change facts. You could pull whatever speech you wanted out of nowhere; it doesn't change that for how horrible she is, Doctor Mother was right.
Without a plan, you could die. Or even worse, everyone in London could.
You'll do everything you can to stop it from happening, but plan a strategy isn't one of them. That's not your power.
Doctor Mother might be a heartless bitch. She might be a lier, but if there's one thing that you can trust her on, is to use everything she has to win.
And dammit, you could use some of that right now.
She'll need convincing, and even then it might not be much. So long as it saves as many as you can, you'll take what you can get.
Heroes have saved the world with less, right?
"We're still following my path, right?"
The question stops Doctor Mother mid-stride. Sher turns just far enough for you to see her eyebrow notch up a little.
"Uh… Alex," Matthew says.
You ignore him, forcing an unwavering stare right at Doctor Mother.
"Are we still following my path?" you ask again.
"Is there a point to this distraction, Mr Everett?" Doctor Mother asks.
"Yeah, and if you pay attention long enough, you might see it."
Doctor Mother's eyes narrowed to slits, and next to you, Matthew's eyes dart between the two of you, a cold sweat going down his neck. Harbinger glances expectantly at the two of you as silence ensues. Sighing, the Doctor adjusts her glasses by the center rim.
"Yes," she admits, "We are still following your path, but I fail to see how that helps us here."
"Well, I think it helps us a lot."
Doctor Mother blinks, her eyes going wide but it only lasts a second. A good thing, if it continued any longer, you probably wouldn't be able to take her seriously anymore. As if reading your mind, Doctor Mother's gaze goes sharp, but you can't shake the feeling that she's curious again.
"Alex..." Matthew starts, but a step from Doctor Mother cuts him off.
"Explain."
You risk a glance at the monitor and point a finger at Symphony. Matthew follows the motion, but Doctor Mother doesn't budge. Turning your head, you see Harbinger straighten the second your gaze stops at him.
"How many people have seen this?" you ask.
He opens his mouth, only to close it again. Snapping his head down, his fingers fly across the keyboard. A glance at the screen makes him frown, just to ignore it with the shake of his head.
"The signal was being forcibly broadcast on every channel. Satellite, radio, anything with a receiver got some kind of transmission. Whether or not people got the message is anyone's guess."
You give him a quick nod of thanks, and he takes that as his cue to go back to whatever he was working on.
"See? Pretty much everyone who could see this
did," you say, directing everything you could at Doctor Mother.
She rolls her eyes, and you once again have to resist the urge to let a wave or two smash into her.
"And anyone who hasn't seen it,
will. There's no way any news station would let something like this go, not when it's the biggest story since… I don't know long."
Doctor Mother nods, and for once she doesn't say a thing to argue that fact. The news lived for something like this. As damning and disgusting as it was, the more people that know about something, the better.
Even a dollar store getting robbed back home had at least a small article dedicated to it. You never read them, but you had to see the same set of ink painted on each of the papers as you did your route after school.
"Anyone who can get a someone with a camera to London will, no matter how easily Symphony and his friends can kill them. For the good of the news if nothing else, just give it a day, and there'll be at least one camera looking down every street in London that isn't covered by that dome thing."
"A reconnaissance force just waiting to be used," Doctor Mother comments.
You stare slack-jawed at her.
That's not… that's not the point bitch!
"They won't last a second and you know it!"
A wave breaks through your control, making the air around you blast out. Papers fly, the desk shakes, and Harbinger has to keep a hand on his computer to stop it from going over. Matthew swallowed the lump in his throat. He looks to you, and you get the message.
Letting your fingers go slack, the ring of waves slides into the background.
"But beyond that, there's another thing that you should be worrying about."
Doctor Mother notches another eyebrow, at least you've got her attention now.
"Symphony," you stress, "He's destroying any chance we have to prove that we can help."
Your eyes dart to the screen, to the madman bowing despite everything that he's done.
"He's… butchering people left and right, and no in their right mind would trust anyone like us ever again after seeing what he's done."
You tear your eyes away, forcing them back on an unmoving Doctor Mother.
"You know a lot more about how people work than I do but look me in the eye and tell me that I'm wrong about that."
She doesn't; she just stands as still stone. Only her eyes move, and it's the tiny indifference that forces you to go on.
"We both want them stopped," you agree, "But while we sit here, the idea of everyone believing in us goes away. You're the one that went on about how you needed a plan. But you really must be incompetent if you don't see what waiting means."
Doctor Mother notches an eyebrow, and a wave flashes to life behind you as Harbinger puts a hand to his chin. You don't take your eyes off Doctor Mother, but in the corner of your eye, you see Matthew nod alone.
Stealing everything you have left, you jab a finger at the screen. You can't even look at it anymore.
"If we go there now, everyone on earth sees us stop them. They see us being something other than monsters. And just like that, it's two birds with one stone. We save as many as we can, we stop Symphony from going any further, and we show the world that people like us can help. Keep your cameras, but save the people, and let the world see us do it."
You lower the hand, and glare at everything you can at Doctor Mother. You step forward, putting you barely a foot away from her and making her glow from the few waves that you can't keep silent.
"So Doctor, I'm going to ask you this once. Are you going to help me follow the best route for
my path?"
The silence that follows would've suffocated you a week ago. Matthew is as still as a statue, and you're faintly aware that Harbinger tapping disappears. Doctor Mother levels every doubt, every silent criticism she could stare at you. You expected the silence to last for another eternity, a mirror of the last time the two of you clashed. You expected a shift in her eyes, the sign that something, anything, got its way through the wall of hateful logic that you've grown to expect.
Honestly, you shouldn't have wasted time hoping.
She shakes her head instantly.
"No."
Your jaw clenches, and you feel the ground buckle under you as you round on her. Doctor Mother just gives you another flat look. A second passes as you meet it with a glare. With a roll of her eyes, she glances down at her clipboard as if looking you in the eye isn't worth the trouble.
"For every advantage that you bring up, there is an equal and greater number of reasons that it could backfire. A million eyes could see you save the world. However, the same number of eyes can just as easily see you die to an enemy you aren't prepared to face."
"People are worth the risk," you say.
"If the result is the deaths of any of the subjects, no number of survivors is worth it." Doctor Mother states.
You almost flinch back, the hell is she talking about? Is she... concerned? And for you? You throw the thought away almost as quickly as it comes up. She doesn't care about you, just what you can do.
"Being able to save the world doesn't matter if there isn't anyone in it."
"I know," Doctor Mother states, "but it doesn't change my decision."
She sets her clipboard down if only so she could have two free hands. One for the remote, and another to go into her pocket. Once she's done both, she looks back at you.
"As much as you want to help people, Mr Everett, I'm not going to let you or any of the other subjects die when we haven't even begun."
Then, there's a hint of something else. You might have imagined it, but there was something there. A hint of something other than calculation or disappointment.
Desperation.
"And lest you forget Mr Everett, you told me that you would do anything if I were to cure your cancer."
You hear yourself gasp a little; you feel the waves shift around Matthew as he covers his mouth with his hands. Doctor Mother doesn't react, not outwardly at least. She just watches as you step back, your body knowing the answer before your head can come to the realization.
"If you intend to keep your word, you will not go to London."
It's like a punch in the gut, making your stomach churn and stopping you from taking a breath. In and out, the air keeps rushing through you faster and faster.
And with each cycle, the waves glow brighter.
With each wave, your fingers curl tighter.
"Sorry," you say.
The scary thing is that you mean it too. Out of everything she's said, she's doing; there's some part of you that agrees. It was the part of you that wanted you were more like Clint. The side that wished you were smarter, more logical and capable of seeing how your choice will affect everything around you.
Right now though, you're glad you're not him.
Because he would agree with Doctor Mother, he would wait and see.
And no matter what you heard, you already chose not to do that anymore.
"But I can't do that. Not now."
Doctor Mother nods, another seemingly impossible display of acceptance and understanding.
"I know, and it's because of my decisions that you have the resolve to make that choice."
She reaches to her ear, pressing against an earpiece.
"Contessa, lockdown Doormaker. No one besides myself can activate a door."
She lets her hand go to her side, and Matthew's jaw drops. Harbinger's eyes go just as wide. You just shake your head, that's not going to stop you.
"I'm fine with flying," you say.
For an instant, there's a spark of confusion on Doctor Mother's face. When it's gone, she merely turns back to the monitor, making the picture shift to a news report.
"Alex," Matthew says.
You roll your eyes, what does he want? You turn at him and give him… he looks sorry, why does he look sorry?
"I regret to inform you, Mr Everett, but this facility isn't on Earth," Doctor Mother explains.
… what?
Matthew winces, and Doctor Mother doesn't even spare you a glance.
"It is Earth, another version in the infinite number of possibilities. However, this Earth is little more than a single supercontinent surrounded by water. The only signs of life are what you can find in this facility."
She pauses the tv to turn to you, just to stare with an almost casual dissapointment.
"Fly all you want Mr Everett; it won't matter without Doormaker."
No.
No
no no no no!
"It's for your own good Mr-"
A wave explodes into the air, ringing drowning out everything that she was saying.
Good.
You turn towards the door, the air around you buzzing with waves. Matthew blinks out of his stupor. He reaches out to you, but you can't stop walking.
If you do, and Doctor Mother keeps talking, you don't know what you'll do.
She's lying, she has to be. How the fuck are you getting signals? How the hell could any of this be built? You shake your head, it's just another lie. Wouldn't be the first time, probably won't be the last, but this is too cruel. Even she has to have a limit, right?
You call the elevator door, and it doesn't open. You're left standing there waiting for this stupid thing to fucking move! God damn it, go faster! You jab the button again. Still, the door doesn't open. Hell, there isn't even a wave under you! You try again, and again, but it doesn't open.
What's taking it so fucking long to open up!? You keep jabbing the button. Just work you stupid fucking machine! Every second you're standing here, Symphony is still out there.
He's turning a city to ash.
He's killing people, and you couldn't do a
fucking thing to stop it here!
So why the fuck is this thing not opening?!
Sparks fly, something drips down your face, and you still haven't caught your breath. You pull a hand back, sending more sparks into the air. Wiping the sweat from your brow, you see the hole in the wall where the call button used to be.
You slowly turn around, and the rooms what you expected it to be. Harbinger has his computer between him and you, but he hasn't even looked up. Matthew's barely a step away from you and you have to hold back a look of surprise. When did he get so close? Well, whenever he did, he wasn't the strangest thing in the room. That title went to Doctor Mother.
A mixture of controlled rage and disappointment flashes across her face. Her hand shoots to her ear.
"Door, Mr Everett's residence."
You wince as the flash of a door explodes right next to you. When you stop seeing dots, you look at your room, ready and waiting.
"Take your leave, Mr Everett; we'll inform you when a plan has been completed."
You snap around, a gold fist at the ready, only to meet Matthew's arm wrapping itself around your shoulder.
"Come on Alex," he pleads, "Just… let's just go."
Your eyes harden, but it doesn't last long. Argue all you want; you're not going to get anything done with Doctor Mother in the room. Any longer, and you'll do something you'll regret. So you let Matthew slowly spin you back towards the door, and slowly guide you through to the other room. To your surprise, he steps through, earning him a curious glance from Harbinger.
"Mr Bryant-" Doctor Mother calls.
"I'm not going to be any help planning anyway, so don't waste your time," Matthew snaps.
Doctor Mother's eyes widen, but before a word could be formed, Matthew points the finger at the door. It snaps to a close, leaving the two of you alone in the room. You hear Matthew sigh, letting his shoulders slump and gingerly running a hand through his hair. Although, he doesn't take his eyes off you.
You return a flat look, which rips away the worry and replaces it with shock. So much so that he takes his hand off your shoulder so fast you're surprised a wave didn't do the work.
What, does he expect you to be surprised at standing up to Doctor Mother? You can barely think straight, much less react in a way that he'd expect.
So the second Matthew lets go, you're stomping towards the door. You grab hold of the knob, and it doesn't budge. A whirling crack snaps your gaze to the ceiling, letting you see the camera turn on its pedestal to focus on you.
Probably Doctor Mother again.
"Alex, I know you're steamed-"
You cut Matthew off with a flick of your wrist, turning the camera into worthless scrap metal. Matthew jumps back as you will the remains towards you. You bring your fist to a close, crushing it further until the scrap was a ball. Glancing at your door, you flick a finger, and the metal ball goes through door and lock alike. Another flick and the ball tears its way through the hinges on the other side. From there, a love tap is all it'll take.
You don't even feel the force on your knuckle as it goes down.
The resounding crash echoes through the hallway. Stepping outside, you're met with an empty hall. With the close clear you head straight towards the elevator. The trip goes by in a blink, and before you know it, you're back pressing the button for the elevator. This time, it does open, finally. You step inside and-
"Alex!"
A hand clamps down on your shoulder, and a thousand waves spring to the ready. The air between you shifts to gold.
"You shouldn't stop me," you say.
You cast your eyes back, and to Matthew's credit, he doesn't flinch, but the shaking in his knees left a lot to be desired.
A spike of pain grips your chest at the sight, and you don't even let yourself breath before you force the waves to go down to a dim. As they do, Matthew lets out a sigh he probably didn't realize he was keeping in. You glance at his hand, and he slowly, his fingers begin to loosen.
Neon lights dance on the digits, but there's nothing but defeat in his eyes as he lets out a meek, "I know."
His takes his hand entirely off your shoulder at that and takes a spot in the elevator. A second later, you wordlessly drift in after him. Once you're through the doors, they slide to a close, and you find your eyes tracing the line of buttons on the elevator panel.
"What are you trying to do Alex?"
You twist your neck just enough to see Matthew. His expression is questioning, but the look he's giving you holds nothing but concern. It's a familiar look, to familiar.
You rip your gaze away, focusing in on the panel.
"I'm going to get out of here."
You hear Matthew give an exacerbated sigh behind you.
"Doctor Mother locked down the portals," he reminds you.
"Yeah," you say, gritting your teeth as the previous conversation flash in your head, "But there's got to be some other way out of this place."
Matthew says nothing, but you get the feeling that he nodded. Hopefully in understanding. With that out of the way, you're back to scanning the long list of options of where to go. It was the second biggest question in your head after all, but you sure as hell don't have an answer. Maybe Charles built something for this situation? He seems like the type. Or how about David? If he's got all the powers that he thinks he has, one of them ought to get to London.
Maybe Rebe-You quickly shake your head. No, you're not risking that.
"So, what's the plan when you get to London?" Matthew asks, breaking you out of your thoughts with the biggest question of the day. It takes a second to answer, but you're just staring at the wall as you give it.
"I don't know."
"... you don't know?"
The words alone are enough to make you wince, but you feel your head nodding along anyway.
"That's right."
There's a scoff, but you don't look back to see the disappointment on Matthew's face. Or the surprise, either one would hurt right now.
"So… you're just going to get David to send you to London and you're going to what? Fight them off?"
"That's the idea," you admit.
"Is there a plan to go along with that idea?"
"Why? Are you asking for Doctor Mother?"
You rear around to face Matthew, his eyes a narrow line, and you swear you can see his body flicker with neon lights.
"I'm asking because you're my friend and I don't want you to die!"
And just like that, everything goes silent. Matthew shakes his head, putting his hands on his hips and pacing around the small space as well as he could. No one says a word, making the beat of the waves the only thing that breaks the silence.
Eventually, Matthew stops.
"Alex, I know you don't want to hear it, but I can see where Doctor Mother's coming from."
You try to keep the shock off your face, but it doesn't work. Matthew nods grimly, crossing his arms, and leaning his back against the wall.
"You've had your powers for barely a week. I've only had mine for a month, two for David, and for as long as I've known him I've never seen Charles in a fight."
He pauses for a breath, and from the look in his eyes, the hope that you'll bring something up. But you've got nothing, he knows more about this than you do. A resigning sigh escapes him as he continues.
"I've seen us do some amazing things, but I don't know if all of us could beat them, nevermind the fact that you're ready to go there
alone. If you do, there's a good chance that you'll die."
"I know," you whisper.
Matthew rears back, then the neon lights flash in his eyes.
"Then what the hell are you trying to do!?"
"The one thing in my life that I can!"
Matthew stumbles back and you stare at the floor, your strength leaving you as soon as it comes.
"It's stupid, I know,
but the truth is…"
You turn, leaning into your arm and letting your head slumps down. And nothing, not even the elevator makes a noise.
"Back when I flew for the first time, I did it because no matter what, I wanted to save myself."
Saying that doesn't take anything, after all, it was a fantastic feeling. The water beneath your feet, the clouds rushing past you. It was like living a dream. The kind that your father used to tell you, only this time, it was something other than a hollow promise.
"From then on, I wanted to be something other than a doormat. Someone that would take a stand, and do what they thought was right."
You pause, shaking out the worry and waking up the small part of you that had frozen since you watched Symphony appear.
"At the time, I didn't know if I could be that, but for the first time in my life I had the power to at least try."
You lift your head, and you catch your reflection in the shining surface. A line of sweat is running down his face, and he smelled like he hadn't had a shower in a few days. But he was smiling, and you couldn't be happier that he could.
"When I convinced Doctor Mother with Rebecca and David, I was so happy. I never did anything so big in my life and the fact that people were pushing me to do it, letting me know that I could do it… It's more than I've got up till now. Then I went to get Harbinger. One thing lead to another, and a mountain ended up falling on all three of us."
Matthew gasps slightly looks like it was the first time he heard about it.
"A lot was happening, even before that," you explain, "But even with a mountain about to crush me all I could think about was that
I was the only thing keeping them alive. And even with me there, they had just accepted that they couldn't get out."
And what's worse, it was a look that you knew well. Your fist goes tight, and your teeth start to grind together as another memory comes in. The smiles of those Doctors in the hospital, the way they would leave Rebecca looking so defeated. It wasn't fair. They could lie to you all they wanted, but she didn't deserve that.
"I saw that kind of face every day for six months, and goddamn it, I wasn't going to let that be the last thing I saw."
A wave shines in front of you, echoing before you,
begging you.
"So I did something that Alex Everett couldn't do before."
You reach out, grasping the wave and forcing it to your will. In an instant, it was under your control, ready and waiting to enact your will on the rest of its kind.
"I fought, I
pushed, and I saved them."
Slowly, your fist unfurls, and the wave shines as it returns to the world. You smile as you follow it towards the ceiling.
"And for once it didn't matter what they said to me after that. No matter what they said, I still helped them."
You bark out a little laugh, and you feel a tear run down.
"Me, Alex, the useless Everett, actually did something
good."
You whip the tear off your face. Your back straightens on it's own, your chest swells with air and pride, and in the steel, you see yourself smiling back.
"I'm more scared of this than anything else in my life up till now," you say, "But there is a world of people who are more scared than I ever could be, and I can make it so they don't have to be."
The waves above you wink out, fueling your fingers as they slowly dig into the metal.
"And no one," you promise, "Not Doctor Mother, not my brother, not even you, can stand there, and tell me that I have to ignore the one thing in my life that's made me worth anything."
The waves above you shut down, and silence reigns. Matthew glances around, his face contorting in frustration as he wrestles with some thoughts, so he doesn't even notice as your fingers dig themselves out of the wall to reach for the elevator controls. A small victory.
Hopefully, it's not your last.
[] Head to Charles' Lab. The tinker has to have some sort of project that can get you out of here. It's a long shot, but if he's willing to help, it'll be worth it. Plus, having some gear to have with you can't help.
[] Try to find David. He's got to have some power that can get you to London if he was able to teleport you away before. And honestly, having someone as powerful as him would be good.
[] Search for Manton. The Doctor is one of the smartest people in the station. If he can't get you out of here, he's got to know how to get this Doormaker working for you again. Having a brain to think up a plan wouldn't be too bad either.
[] Find Rebecca. She's smarter than you'll ever be, and you can't do this without her help.
