AN:
Okay, so hi guys! I'm a silent reader (well, used to be :P) and this is my first fanfic. It's also probably my only fanfic though because I don't have time to write and I'm not very good at plots!
So a few weeks ago I was thinking it would be interesting to have another 'Veritox Incident'. And I figured I may as well write it. I know it's corny and my plot is really weak but I had fun! Anyway so I hope it's alright and you guys enjoy it!
I'm gonna shut up now heh.
-
You are now Mal Fallon
You lie in bed, silently staring at the blank wall in front of you. It's paint is chipped in several places, mainly in the middle, and you can't help but think you feel just like that wall right now. You feel blank, yet torn apart at the same time. Numb. Yet there's still the dull pain as if you're doped up on cheap painkillers. Do you really want to live today? That's what you can't decide.
It is no other than Natara's wedding day. The woman you have been in love with since the Maskmaker. You didn't even realise it at first. And now, just when you've had the time to think it over? You're too late.
You're alarm clock buzzes. You set it last night, though you knew you wouldn't need it.
You reach over, gritting your teeth, and a little too forcefully smash the button. The clock's digital face goes blank.
Blank...
-
9:00am
You've managed to drag yourself out of bed, shower, and dress in jeans and a simple t-shirt. Your suit is lying on the sofa, haunting you. It's a constant reminder of the events set to take place this afternoon. At 2:15pm to be exact.
The heat rising from your second cup of coffee meets with your chin as you lean over to the mirror, examining the dark circles beneath your eyes.
Looking down at your coffee you mumble, "Where are your magical caffeine powers when I need them?"
You find yourself staring at the deep brown liquid far longer than you intended. The colour was dark and rich, the surface shiny and smooth... Just like her hair.
Slowly your mind drifts to how beautiful she's going to look. Walking down the aisle with a flowing white dress and her hair done up in a bun. She'd look beautiful anyway though. Some girls need all that stuff to be beautiful... But not Natara. Not for you.
You snap back to reality, and to your own piercing blue eyes peering back at you through the mirror.
"Dammit Mal! She's as good as married, you shouldn't be thinking of her like that!" you almost yell, throwing the cup of coffee at a wall as rage overwhelms you.
Rage that you haven't told her. Didn't tell her. And now never can.
You swear you can see it in her eyes. Something... Something missing, something longing. But it isn't your place to confront her. You want her to be happy, and if that means marrying D.A. squarejaw, so be it.
BZZZZZT. BZZZZZZZZZT. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT.
The doorbell.
You sigh, pulling back from the mirror. "Yeah, yeah-"
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!
"I'M COMING ALREADY!"
You open the door to find Kai, who quickly pulls his hand off the doorbell and, seeing you, jumps back and hides behind another figure. It takes you a second but you realise who it is when you hear the small voice of the figure Kai is now hiding behind.
Amy.
"No time for a reunion," she says, and holds up a brief case, "We need your help."
You stare at her. This whole day is completely surreal.
"With..?"
"Our awesome, super secret, and did I mention AWESOME, mission!" Kai pipes up boldly.
You glare at him.
He shrinks back.
Amy sighs. "Long story short," she gestures to the briefcase in her hand, "Veritox-" Kai holds up another briefcase "-decoy."
Veritox...
Your mind drifts back to what you now refer to as 'The Veritox Incident', though none of you discuss it. One particular moment comes to mind...
*#Flashback#*
"You're up, Mal, truth or dare?"
"Enough with this wussy truth stuff, I'm going with dare," you grin.
"In that case... I dare you to kiss Natara!" Kai chirps back.
"Oh snapaloosa!" Ken exclaims.
"S... Seriously?" you stutter.
"Hell yeah! You know you want to!"
Maria yells like an excited teenager, "Do it! Do it!"
You glance at Natara who shrugs playfully and grins at you with her perfect white teeth. You do want to do it. Kai's right.
You wrap your arm around her delicate waist, lean in, and just when your lips are almost brushing...
The lab doors open.
*#End of Flashback#*
"I don't understand..." you whisper.
You notice Amy's eyes fall on the suit lying on the sofa.
"We need your help delivering this Veritox to DARPA."
"Why me...?"
"No time to explain, just grab your keys, and uh... Maybe that suit too. This could take a while."
You're driving your car out of San Francisco - following Amy's directions to get to a secret lab of DARPA. Kai is in the back with the two suitcases and your suit.
Amy has explained that a new, enhanced version of Veritox was stolen and she and Kai got a call earlier this morning asking that they find it and deliver it to DARPA. The decoy was for fooling any other companies who might try to acquire Veritox.
"No one from their lab has been exposed to Veritox before. It's safer for us to handle it in a situation like this, so if anything goes wrong at least we know exactly what to expect if we inhale it," Amy explained, looking up from her smartphone where she had been reading directions.
"Okay... So how far out of town is this place?"
"Two hours."
Shit.
"So Malligator! Agent Hottie's wedding todaayyyyy!"
Your stomach drops and your face forms a scowl.
"Kai - can't you stay quiet for, oh, I dunno, FOUR HOURS!?" you hear yourself say. Your thoughts have once again drifted to Natara though.
"Whaaat!? That's crazy! I don't have my laptop so I can't play sims and-"
"Amy, there's a gun in the glovebox-" you threaten, but stop when Kai goes silent.
"Atta boy."
-
2:00pm
You've just re-entered San Francisco. At DARPA Kai took the Veritox in and emerged 5 minutes later, hopping in the car and exclaiming "mission accomplished!". He is now in the back seat with the fake Veritox briefcase.
You're cutting it close to get to the wedding, but you think you can make it.
You spot a gas station ahead and pull up in the parking area.
"If you want to arrive at this wedding looking and smelling better than you do now, I suggest you head to the bathrooms," you practically order, as you grab your suit from the backseat and head for the bathroom.
Kai bounds up behind you. You glance at him - his head is bent over his phone. He narrowly dodges a woman heading out the doors.
"What exactly kept you so occupied, Kai?" you inquire.
Kai beams at you and holds out his phone for you to see. "Writing a new fanfic!"
You peer at the phones screen. Displayed on it is a... Graphic scene, supposedly between you and Natara. You scowl at Kai and wave the phone away.
"Forget I asked."
With that, you walk away and hope Kai goes for the disabled bathroom. Where he belongs.
Once in your own bathroom stall you gaze at your suit for just a moment. The one day you don't want to dress up for Natara.
Moments later, you emerge from the stall and head for the door, taking a moment to study your reflection in the mirror.
You sigh. "Here goes..."
-
Meanwhile, at the DARPA lab...
A technician grabs the briefcase, delivered by the SFPD Forensic Tech, and opens it very slowly and carefully as to not set off the gas dispenser... And finds... Three weights resting at the bottom.
"Harry! Get me the number of Malachi Fallon! Now!"
-
You are now Mal Fallon
You're just three blocks away from the chapel Natara's wedding is being held at. You look up and see the traffic lights blink from green to yellow and finally red. You sigh and stop the car, checking your watch for the thousandth time. In the back Kai is fumbling around with the 'decoy briefcase'.
"What do they put in these things anyway?" Kai inquires as his fingers wrap around the latch on the case.
There's the sound of metal grinding against metal as the briefcase springs open. And then there's a horribly familiar hiss.
-
You are now a DARPA employee
You frantically ring the number of Malachi Fallon. It rings twice and then you hear yelling, before an aggravated voice addresses you.
"Yes!?"
"Mr Fallon? I'm from DARPA. Sir, it appears you've delivered the wrong briefcase."
"You couldn't have told me that just a little bit earlier?"
"I- I don't understand sir."
"It's just been released in my car. And stop calling me 'sir'. Now when can you get someone out here with an antitoxin."
"It'll be at least two hours, s- I uh, I mean... Malachi?"
You hear him muttering... Some things you'd rather not repeat, before he replies to you.
"Is it safe to open the doors? Or do we have to stay here until then?"
"The new version of Veritox will only affect those who enhale it within the first 3 minutes of it being released. However if you enhale it within that time, which I assume you have, you will feel the effects for at least twenty-four hours or until you receive the antitoxin."
"Great, just goddamn great."
And with that he hangs up.
-
You are now Natara Williams
In five minutes you'll be walking down the aisle, but you don't feel ready to. You haven't seen Mal or Kai. You've surprised yourself that you care if Kai is there, but you actually do. Weirdly enough. But more to the point, Mal isn't here.
You don't know if you can do this without him. Your knees feel like they're going to shatter and your heart aches. It doesn't feel right. Why doesn't this feel right? You have a wonderful venue for your wedding and a dashing man is waiting at the alter for you. What's missing?
Mal...
-
You are now Amy Chen
Mal has just parked his car outside the chapel. You're starting to feel kind of queasy but you think you can handle it. You have to.
"Are you sure about this, Mal?" you ask glancing over at Mal who's already climbing out his door.
"No Amy, I'm not, but I have to do this. I can't let Natara down."
With that you all slip out of the car and make your way towards the chapel. Your halfway there when Kai begins gagging.
"I don't feel too good..."
Mal groans and turns to Kai, "You feel wonderful. You've never felt better."
Kai stares at Mal for a second, "I do?"
"You do," you and Mal say at once.
As you walk ahead you don't notice Kai lean over and breathing heavily mumble, "No I don't."
-
You are now Natara Williams
Your standing outside the chapel with only a couple of minutes before you're to walk down the aisle. You notice a few figures approaching, and as they get closer you realise it's Mal, Amy, and Kai. You try to catch them but Mal just gives you a quick nod and slips into the chapel. The others follow.
You look up to see your father approaching. He hooks his arm with yours as you watch the bridal party enter the chapel in front of you. You glance at him and he smiles. You haven't seen him smile in a while.
-
You are now Mal Fallon
You're not sure what they've done to Veritox, but it's a lot worse than you remember it. You don't remember your throat clenching up or your lungs burning. The people are a mix of neon colours, barely distinguishable from eachother as you make your way to an empty seat.
Every breath you take feels hot, like your breathing in fire and you're feeling strangely honest. Like you want to open up to everyone about everything you've ever lied about. In fact, you can't even think of anything but the truth. That would probably explain the weight that used to be your stomach, because the truth is, Natara is about to walk down that aisle and become Mrs Santos.
-
You are now Natara Williams
You're standing opposite Oscar, having only just managed to walk down the aisle. Your whole balance seems to have been altered along with the regret and anxiety you are feeling. Oscar is absolutely glowing. He's holding your hands and the priest is reading aloud. Everything else in the chapel is dead silent.
As you stand there you wonder what Mal is thinking. You wonder if he's happy for you.
You glance up to see him staring at you. Something about his gaze doesn't seem normal. His beautiful blue eyes seem distant, but as you try to examine him further there is a loud crash.
Before you can even lift your head you hear frantic coughing and wheezing. A hoarse voice calls out Oscar's name and you spin around, releasing your hold on him.
Oscar's mother is lying on the ground coughing and clutching her chest. You'd known she wasn't very well but no one had expected this. Everyone on your side of the chapel is standing with their mouths wide open and Oscar's side have all formed a group around his mother. Oscar runs over and holds her hand while his dad calls an ambulance. You stand there completely shocked.
-
You are now Kai Kalaba
Some ghost just attacked Oscar's mother. Well that's what it looked to you anyway. Looked like it stabbed 'er in the chest and ran off.
Mal is next to you, smiling. You think he's probably happy the wedding has stopped. At least for a little while.
Natara is leaning against a wall with her eyes closed tight. You don't know if she's stressed or is hiding relief. Probably both. One thing you know is you have lots of new fanfic ideas from this.
You grab Amy and Mal's hands and rush off down the chapel into a room at the end, just as the paramedics arrive and get Mrs Santos onto a stretcher.
-
You are now Natara Williams
Oscar's mum has been placed in the back of the ambulance. You're standing a few feet away, still trying to process everything. Oscar steps up to you and you turn to him.
"Go with her," you say.
He nods at you, clearly unable to find words - something you never thought you'd see. The blood has drained from his face and he looks anything but glowing. You feel awful even though it isn't your fault this has happened. You watch as he climbs into the ambulance with her and then you turn away. Faces peer at you as you walk to the priest, who you have a short conversation with before he makes his way to the microphone and addresses the guests.
"Clearly this wedding cannot commence today-"
That's all you hear before you've closed the door to your dressing room.
... To find Amy, Kai, and Mal sitting on the floor smearing make up on Kai's face. You stare at them for a moment before Kai notices you and asks if you want a makeover too. You glance at Mal who laughs as he smears lipstick into Kai's eyebrows.
"... Are you guys drunk?" you ask, bewildered.
"No! We're very toxic!" Kai answers.
"He means Veritox," Amy says, giggling with Kai.
"W-what?"
"Kalaba let it out in my vroom vroom thing," Mal blinks dope-ily at you.
"Uhhhh then I guess you won't mind if I check with DARPA?" you say as you make your way to the bathroom, whip out your cell phone and close the door, not even waiting for an answer.
On the phone a DARPA technician explains the events of the morning to you, while you find it difficult to believe all the crazy things happening today.
"So you say they'll be here with the antitoxin in less than two hours?"
"That's right miss."
"And what do I do in the meantime?"
There's a pause before the technician speaks again. "Just humour them." And then he hangs up.
Fabulous.
-
You are now Kai Kalaba
Natara has been sitting with you all for ages now. Her hair isn't so neat anymore, stray bits are dangling around her face. She's changed out of her wedding dress and is now looking incredibly sexy in a pair of jeans and a shoestring top.
Everybody's looking pretty bored, and you know just what to do.
"Truth or dare anyone?"
-
You are now Natara Williams
The DARPA techs should be here any second. You've just got to keep them all (mostly Kai) entertained for another few minutes.
"Natara! It's your turn!" grumbles Kai.
"Huh..? Oh sorry," you say, snapping out of your daydream, "Uh... Mal? Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
You know just what you want to ask. But you don't know if you should. You've wanted to ask for a long time but you had to be positive he'd tell the truth. Is it worth it?
-
You are now Mal Fallon
You wait patiently for Natara's question. Can't be that bad.
"You remember the couples' retreat?" Natara begins.
Your heart skips a beat. "... Yeah."
"And..." Natara pauses, thinking, "your ruse?"
Your heart skips another beat. "Yes."
"Was it true?"
There's a battle going on in your head, but before you can even finish a thought you hear yourself speaking as if you're in the next room from yourself.
"Yes. Yes Nat. It was all true..." your saying, "I'm in love with you."
Natara's eyes widen but before she can reply DARPA technicians burst in and grab you, Amy and Kai.
-
You are now Natara Williams
It's been over an hour since the DARPA technicians took Mal, Kai and Amy to give them the antitoxin. They're probably all recovering in their apartments right now.
Your still at the chapel, gathering your things. Your almost done but you don't really want to go home.
*Riiiiiiiiiinnnnng*
You see that it's Oscar and you pick it up.
"Oscar... How's your mum?"
"Heart attack. It was pretty severe. They're not sure if she'll make it through the night..."
"I'm sorry... Are you staying there?"
"Yeah. Listen, I heard about Mal and the others."
"Oh."
"And Kai gave me a ring. Said something about Mal and you-"
"Oscar-"
"No Natara. I know your not happy with me... I guess I just thought... I don't know, that we could make it work. But that's not right. I guess I'm trying to say, if you don't want to go ahead with the wedding... I'm okay with that."
You break down a bit. "Oscar I can't do that to you."
"Yes you can Nat, I just want you to be happy."
"B-"
"Go see him."
The phone makes a few beeping noises, signaling that Oscar has hung up.
-
You are now Oscar Santos
You place the phone down next to you and glance at your mum. She looks peaceful and you think you can even see a slight smile on her lips.
You smile too, though you don't feel particularly happy, and you know this is going to be hard, but at least Natara is happy. That has to count for something.
-
You are now Mal Fallon
You sit in your apartment, about to crack open a beer. The veritox antitoxin took affect an hour and a half ago. You feel normal besides a slight headache.
The words you spoke to Natara keep playing over in your head. You don't know if you should be glad you said it or horrified.
There's a knock on the door. You place your beer down on the coffee table and head to the door. Throwing it open you find Natara. A little shocked you step back, unsure of what to say to her. She doesn't speak. You watch her step forward and close the door behind her.
"Nat I know I uh... Said someth-" you begin, but she places her finger over your mouth.
What she does next surprises you even more. She steps up to you, wraps her arms around your neck, and the next thing you know your lips are dancing together. Her scent streams effortlessly up your nostrils as her lips delicately brush against yours. Gradually the kiss becomes more intense.
You lift her up and press her against a wall, not breaking the kiss. There's no space between you. She pulls away and you gaze into eachothers' eyes.
You begin nuzzling her neck lovingly, breathing in her perfume. She moans softly and wraps her legs around you. You take this as a sign for more, caressing her whole body you carry her to the bedroom and lay her carefully in the middle of the bed.
She grabs your face and kisses you hungrily. You elevate the upper part of your body over hers with your arms as you let her lips smother your own. You roll her over on top of you. She keeps kissing you as she undoes a few buttons on your shirt.
And then Kai's fanfiction comes true. You couldn't be happier. You've always known love was powerful, but this is larger than anything you've ever imagined. It's far more than just a fling. Words can't even describe it. Mostly because we misuse the word "love" so often. But now, you finally understand.
As you fall asleep with Natara resting on your chest that night you glance up to see the wall you threw that coffee cup at this morning. The same wall you were staring at this morning. Now it has that splash of coffee. That splash of Natara.
Cheesy ending there, eh? I know haha, I actually planned it from the beginning but it turned out lamer than I thought. Not that I really care that it's cheesy xD
So I kind of rushed it from about the middle. I had left it for ages and then I came back and rushed it. Hope it turned out alright though. I also changed who's point of view I was writing from a lot, sometimes for extra detail or plot developments but also because I'm not very good at writing for long without a different perspective every now and then. I hope that didn't get confusing. Anyway I hope you liked it and please review (even if you didn't like it).