Okay. I think I have this story figured out. I have a storyboard planned out. This will be five chapters with a very short epilogue. This is set sometime between Sleepers and Haunted. It may take me a bit to get the next chapter up because I have to do some more research to make sure I can keep things in line with the canon of the show as much as possible. But I have each chapter planned out which is always a good sign for me to finish a fic.
Thank you for reading and showing an interest!
1 week earlier
It was night. And raining. A common occurrence in Old City. Sometimes he enjoyed the rain at night, the way it makes the streetlights glow. This was one of those nights for he was meeting someone not quite like anyone else he had ever come across.
He walked to a building and stood with his back against the wall, the overhanging roof offering some shelter from the cold rain. There was a noise near him and he jumped, his heart beating violently against his chest. He was fearful tonight. Afraid of the men he had met earlier that day. Bad. That was the only word he knew to describe them. He had looked at them and saw nothing but lies, deception, and anger. A feeling of the utmost dread had come upon him the minute he had laid his eyes on them. He had seen people in their true light before, mostly those who simply didn't know how to be honest with anyone, themselves included. But, he had only encountered a man like the three men he had seen that day once before.
He heard another noise, something close by, footsteps. Definitely footsteps. His chest felt as if it were constricting in on itself and he felt it hard to draw breath. He pushed his back harder against the building as he desperately rummaged his hand around the contents of his coat pocket for some sort of weapon. Some change, a piece of paper, some lint, and…. a plastic fork. The footsteps were getting closer and he stupidly pulled the fork from his pocket, holding it out in front of him, hoping beyond hope he could buy himself enough time to run away.
"Levvy? Are you there?"
Levvy let out a breath of relief and lowered his pathetic weapon as a familiar face came in to view. Just as quickly as he caught his breath he lost it again at the sight of the woman now standing in front of him.
Looking at Helen Magnus was like looking at a constellation. All around her colors spiked like starbursts. There were brilliant hues of blue scattered among equally fantastic shades of blues and greens. Levvy's personal favorites were the tones of shimmering gold around her head like glittering treasure. There were always some colors that were more prominent, but every time he met her a different color seemed to be at the forefront of her emotions.
For that's what he saw when he looked at a person. Their emotions.
Some would argue that it was just an aura he saw but he had always been a keen to the feelings of others. It felt almost empathic at times. It wasn't until he was a teenager that he came to the realization that it was something more than an aura he could see. Most people had 2 or 3 colors visible when he looked at him, sometimes more if the person was in distress or gleefully excited. He had once watched the trial of a man accused of brutally murdering a young woman. One look and he knew the man was guilty. He tried to explain to the prosecutor that he was certain of the man's guilt. He had a hard time explaining it because it was hard to tell people that a color he saw was malicious but that is the only word for a color like the one he saw. The man had ended up getting off due to a lack of evidence.
When he looked at the men who approached him earlier that day he saw the same color as that of the freed murderer. That's why he had contacted Helen Magnus. Something very bad was happening in Old City.
"Thank you for meeting me, Dr. Magnus."
"No thanks needed, Levvy. I'm glad to help if I can."
He had to look away from her for a moment to gather his thoughts, the mere sight of the dancing light about her too much of a distraction. He took in a deep, calming breath and spoke.
"I was approached today by three men. I do not know their exact intentions but I know they are bad. And I do not think I am the first person with… abilities…. they have spoken with."
Helen's face shifted slightly and when he looked at her again colors of red flashed around her. The kind of red that meant danger.
"Do you think you could help me find them?"
Levvy felt the constricting feeling in his chest again. He did not want to go anywhere near those men or whatever they were up to. He shook his head out of instinct and pulled the piece of paper from his pocket.
"I'd rather stay out of it if it's all the same to you. But they did give me this."
He handed the paper to Helen. She took and unfolded it. This time bursts of deep purple burst about her. Curiosity, mystery. She looked up and back to him, her eyes kind but concerned.
"Come with me, back to the Sanctuary. You'll be safe there."
"I'll be alright. Thank you, though. Truly."
Subtle blue. Sadness, worry. He smiled and assured her he'd be alright. He wrapped his coat about him tightly and turned from her. He made it to the end of the street and looked back once more. She was still there. A vision as the rain made a golden glow around her. She looked like a glittering star. He smiled again and turned the corner, eager to get as far from Old City as possible.
Helen watched as Levvy vanished around a dark corner. The hat she wore helped keep the rain from her face but she could feel a chill setting in and she could not afford to catch a cold at the moment. She turned and walked to where her old friend was waiting with her car. She had told him a thousand times he did not have to serve as her chauffer but he claimed to enjoy driving. She knew he just liked keeping an eye on her. In his defense, trouble did have a habit of finding her.
She climbed into the backseat and shivered. There had been a string of disappearances lately and Levvy's experience only reinforced her fears. She had to get home and talk with the others. The address on the paper wasn't much but at least it was a lead.
"He can see… emotions?"
"Yes, Henry, but that's not the point of my outing this evening."
"But how can you see an emotion? That's impos-"
"It's very similar to what the mainstream world would call reading an aura, however, Levvy's abilities reach far beyond that."
Henry made to speak again but the Big Guy shut him up with a playful slap to the back of the head much to the amusement of Will and Kate. Even Magnus smiled a bit at the look on Henry's face but it quickly shifted back to serious as she continued speaking.
"We don't know anything other than a group of three human men have been approaching known abnormals in Old City. Levvy did not get anything from them except this address. Henry looked it up and it's an abandoned warehouse downtown. Yes, Henry?"
Sometime during her short speech Henry had started to speak again then decided against it, raising his hand instead.
"So… uh… what emotion did Levvy see when he looked at these guys?"
"It's hard to say. Levvy has a difficult time translating what he sees into words. As close as I can tell each emotion we feel emits its own color and that's what he sees. He looked at these men and just knew they were bad. That's all he knows. And I learned a long time ago that Levvy is never wrong in what he sees."
Kate started in with a question of her own when they were interrupted by the sound of Will's phone going off. He jumped up from the couch and made for the door to Helen's office. Helen Magnus did not appreciate their meetings being interrupted by the ever annoying ring of a cell phone.
"Sorry! Hang on, I've got to take this."
The room was silent a moment as Will stepped out, closing the door behind him. Then Henry looked back to Magnus.
"So what color do you think Levvy would see around me. Would he know I'm a HAP? Can being a HAP have its own emotion? How cool do you think it looks when he looks at a crowd of people?"
Magnus rolled her eyes and was about to answer when Will walked back in the room looking very puzzled and somewhat somber.
"That was Detective Kavanaugh. He's got something he wants me to look at. There was a mugging turned murder earlier tonight down in Old City. Apparently the guy was saying some weird things before he died and Kavanaugh wants me to look at the video footage."
Will looked up and Magnus could see the concern in his face.
"What is it, Will?"
He paused for a moment and then spoke again.
"He said the guy claimed he could see emotions."
A/N: I've been fascinated by auras lately so that's where that came from. Kind of weird but pretty much anything goes with abnormals! Thanks for reading!