Rachel had used her telekinesis to protect herself from the collapsing Hellfire Club and attempted to follow Nur. Considering he'd taken everything she'd thrown at him, she supposed she should hardly be surprised that he got out as easily as she had. She spared a glance back to the pile of rubble before looking around. The area looked clear enough, but sirens were ringing out in the distance. There wasn't a lot of time.
Looking down at herself, Rachel realized she probably shouldn't wander in this form as she started to move away from where the club had been.
Why not?
Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she muttered under her breath, "What do you mean 'why not'?"
She definitely didn't have time for stupid questions like this, especially not when she was supposed to be plotting someone's murder. She was essentially a walking shadow on fire. There was no way people wouldn't notice her and flip out.
They won't if you don't want them to.
Rachel ducked into an alley and leaned back against one of the walls. The texture of the bricks caught the fabric of her dress as she slid to sit, reminding her that she really wasn't appropriately dressed - not for hunting murderers down nor sitting in dirty alleyways. She didn't give her clothing or cleanliness much more thought, deciding to puzzle out what she'd just been told. However, she was having issues with that. Now that she was out of imminent danger, she felt dazed, her mind attempting to catch up with everything that had just happened.
Focus, the voice instructed.
"Focus," Rachel breathed, a look of confusion taking over her features as the fire and darkness receded. What was she supposed to be focusing on? Josh was dead.
Not that.
"Shut up," she ordered as she drew her legs up to her chest, resting her forehead against her knees and squeezing her eyes shut.
There had been so much blood - a small pool surrounding his lifeless form, gleaming in the light along with his golden skin. Her stomach turned as the memory played out in her mind again. Rushing to uncurl, Rachel twisted to the side, barely missing her lap as she lost the contents of her stomach.
Rachel drew in a shuddering breath and scrambled to scoot over a bit, swiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. He was dead. Actually dead. She was… shaking. Badly. Still nauseous.
Right. The thing… The voice whispering in her head… It'd been right. She shouldn't focus on that. If she focused on that, she wouldn't move. She'd lay on the dirty pavement, cry, and probably end up sick again. Plus, she'd lose Nur. Well, even more so than she already had. There was also the possibility of being caught before she had the chance to finish him.
Pushing down the lump in her throat, Rachel tensed as she actually tuned into what was going on around her. Her face twisted as her mind was flooded with thoughts. Gawkers despite the time of night, reporters, emergency crews, law enforcement, and S.H.I.E.L.D were all just around the corner.
The voice rang clear in her head, despite the fact that it was little more than a whisper, forcing all the other thoughts into the background, making them little more than white noise, Move. No witnesses.
Rachel dumbly nodded as she worked to collect herself. She grasped at the bricks in an attempt to pull herself to her feet, realization dawning on her. She could make anyone think they were seeing whatever the hell she wanted. That's what it'd been getting at.
As she made her way back toward the opening of the alley, she managed a bitter smile. It was time to start taking the voice in her head far more seriously.
