A/N: Okay! Here is the last installment for Paily week. Sadly, it has come to an end, but it won't stop me from writing more Paily stories in the future. I have more ideas that I've begun creating and planning out stories for. So look out for me in the future! I'm really excited about this chapter, and I had so much fun writing it. I was hoping it would be sort of a cool thing to write about, since I don't think I've seen any story like this one yet. I won't keep you waiting! So, here it is, Day Seven of Paily week, the prompt being Superheroes. And OH MY GOD THE WINTER PREMIER THAT WAS AMAZING.
Cliché Banter
Rating: T
Words: 3,805
"Babe, are you awake?"
Paige heard a small groan from the bedroom. She walked from the kitchen, grabbing her mug from the counter. She opened the door to the room, smiling lightly at the hair splayed across the white pillow cases, her body curled into a ball underneath the thick covers. Paige walked over, sitting at the end of the curled ball, placing her hand gently on top of it.
"Em?"
"Don't go…" Emily said hoarsely.
Paige smiled sadly. "Baby, I have to go into work today. I'm so far behind and I feel bad for leaving my assistant with all of my paperwork. I wish I could take another day off to take care of you, but I can't. But, I promise to be home no later than one o'clock." Paige lifted her hand to place against Emily's forehead. "Em, you're burning up. Have you taken your medicine yet?"
Emily opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a quiet, pained whimper.
"I'll go get you some water. I'll be right back, okay?" Paige stood and left to go to the kitchen, leaving Emily to miss the comforting heat next to her. Paige entered the room once more, and Emily managed to pull herself into a sitting position. "Here," Paige held out her hands, handing Emily a pill and a glass of water. Emily took them both carefully, placing the pill in her mouth and taking a large swig of the water. Her face twisted into a grimace of pain, the hardness of the pill irritating her already sore throat.
"Have… fun at work…" Emily said slowly.
Paige kissed her on the forehead and laughed lightly. "As much fun as being a Criminal Defense attorney is, I'd much rather be home taking care of you. Rest up, okay? You have to get better soon. Your players need you, and I would like to kiss you without the concern of contracting the flu." They both smiled. Paige squeezed Emily's hand before standing up and walking to the bedroom door. Paige turned around at the door and called back to Emily once more. "I love you."
"I… love you to Paigey…" the medicine was starting to kick in, making Emily drowsy. She heard the front door close, so she scooted back up into bed, drifting off into sleep underneath the heavy covers.
Paige got into her car, buckling up and backing out of the apartment complex parking garage and drove down the main road. She came to a stop at the intersection, dialing her assistant on her Bluetooth.
He answered a few rings later. "Paige McCullers office, this is Lucas speaking. How can I help you?"
"Hey, Lucas, it's me."
"Well well, boss lady, haven't heard from you in a while. Done playing nurse?"
Paige rolled her eyes. "Can it. I love taking care of Emily."
"How is she, anyway?"
"Wiped out. This flu is really taking a toll on her. She should be back up and fighting in a few days, though."
"Good to hear," Lucas sighed. "So, good news or bad news first?"
"Lay it on me."
"Okay, let me grab that from your office, Mrs. McCullers," Lucas covered, standing up and walking into the safety of Paige's office. She heard the open and close of the heavy metal door and then Lucas spoke up again. "The new parts won't be in on schedule."
"Damnit!"
"That's what I said," Lucas groaned. "They'll be here by no later than Saturday."
"I can't Saturday," Paige said with a frustrated sigh. "I'm going to Emily's game."
"I know, I know, I have the guys take care of assembly."
"So, then what's the good news?"
"Tsunami hasn't been around for a few days," Paige could hear the smirk in Lucas' voice and smirked on her own.
"Really? Is that so?"
"It is. So, not only have I completed your mass pile of paperwork, but Mad-Dog has also agreed to help fund our little project."
"Lucas, I think I love you."
The buzzing of Emily's phone on her dresser awoke her from her nap. She reached out for it with her eyes closed, smacking the wood a few times before coming in contact with her phone, tapping 'answer' and bringing it to her ear.
"Hel-"
"Emily, you can't be sick anymore. I'm coming over to heal you. Let us in in a few minutes," Spencer relayed quickly before hanging up.
"Good morning to you to…" Emily sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Not even a few seconds later she heard the loud persistent banging on her door. She made her way to the door slowly, cracking it open before she was rudely shoved aside by Spencer, followed by Hanna and Aria. "Please, come in," Emily grumbled.
"Christ, Em, you look awful," Hanna expressed. Aria elbowed her in the side to shut her up.
"Thanks."
"Well, I was just saying."
"Emily, you need to get better, like now," said Spencer, motioning Emily over to sit on the counter.
"Spence, you know I hate it when you use your powers to heal me. It always comes back twice as worse than before when I get sick the next time."
"You don't understand, Em. Titania has been on a crime spree!"
"You three couldn't handle it? I mean, seriously, I'm basically dead over he-" Emily was cut short when she felt Spencer's overly warm hands on her face. She could feel the sickness being lifted from her body, feeling the overbearing relief washing over her.
"There. Feeling better?"
"Sure. Now, what's going on?" Emily asked. Aria walked over, pulling a map from her bag and spreading it out on Emily's kitchen counter.
"You see all these circled places?" Aria asked. Emily nodded. "Titania has broken into and stolen inventory from all of these places that we have circled."
"The armory, the power plant, the electronics warehouse down on seventh avenue…" Hanna listed.
"Wait," Emily cute her off, pointing to a rouge circle on the far side of the city map, "did she break into… Tom's Bakery? What the hell?"
"Yeah, that even I don't understand," Spencer said, "but, whatever it is she's planning, it must be something big. You need to go after her, Em!"
"Why couldn't you three handle it!?"
"Hey, she's your nemesis!" Hanna shouted back, throwing her hands in the air.
"You've got to be kidding me. This is the only other entrance into her lair?" Emily asked, climbing across the ceiling in the sewer.
"The only one she doesn't have on lockdown yet, Em," Spencer replied, talking into her microphone. "But, hey, do you like the new earpiece I designed for you? It fits in your ear and stays hidden from anyone, plus, I can hear everything going on around you! Neat, huh?"
"Yeah, thrilling Spencer. Can this wait? I'm kind of in the middle of something."
"Okay. You're almost there. Just a few more meters north and then take a left. I'll be listening in on the other end, so just signal me if you need us."
"Got it," Emily said, crawling faster forwards. She heard muffled voices getting louder, meaning she was getting closer and closer. She got to a drainage system, seeing the light strain through the open holes in the metal cover in the middle. Emily pushed it up and over the opening, pulling herself inside and replacing it after scoping out her surroundings, making sure no one saw her. She slinked over to the large crates stacked on top of each other. Reading the side of a box, she noticed a few of them labeled as "Caution: Radioactive".
"This must be what she stole from-"
"You hear something?" one of the guards asked the other. Emily saw their shadows move closer, freezing in place. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
The guards rounded the corner, looking over at the radioactive containers. "Must have been the rats," one inquired.
"Rats make that much noise?"
"Maybe we're hearing things. We've been down here way to long, and it's getting late. Wanna make a coffee run?"
"Yeah, sure. The boss is up in her secret room anyway. She'll never notice." The two walked away, stepping into a puddle of water that leaked from a pipe above. They went to take another step, when they felt a chilling sensation consume their foot still in the puddle. Both guards were confused. They looked down, noticing that their feet had been completely consumed in ice. It slowly crept up their body, encasing everything from the chest down in a thick container.
"Sorry boys," comes a voice. The men looked around frantically, when suddenly they felt a grip on the sides of their heads. Their skulls came crashing together, hard enough to knock them both unconscious. Just then, Emily reappeared, dusting her hands off on each other, a victorious smirk on her face. She turned around, scaling the crates for a safe way up to this so called "secret room".
"Uhm, McCullers, we have a problem," Lucas said, looking up from his many monitors over to Paige, who was admiring her suit in its glass case. She turned her head; looking over her should at Lucas before quickly making her way over.
"What is it?"
"Take a look," he turned the monitor towards her. She watched as a woman, dressed in tight blue leather, smashing the heads of the two guards encased in ice.
"We have company," she said, pressing a button underneath the desk. The glass holding her suit slid open, and she took it from it confines, slipping it on while Lucas had his head turned. "Where is she?"
"She's headed this way!"
"Good, I'll meet her halfway."
Emily tip-toe quietly through the large Manor, making sure not to make a sound as she searched around for any entrance she hadn't seen before
"You know, most people knock before entering someone else's home," a voice said from behind her. Emily turned, coming face to face with Titania, who stood only a few feet away from her.
"So, we meet again."
"Ugh, god, that is really cliché. You've been gone for almost a week and you still hadn't had the chance to come up with a punch line that doesn't make me want to gag?"
"Coming up with quirky lines to use in banter with you is not a top priority of mine," she bit back.
"That's kind of how our relationship is supposed to work, you know. I tease you, you tease me, we fight, we break up, we kiss, and we make up. You know?"
"I don't ever remember kissing you."
"Would you like to?" Titania quirked an eyebrow.
"Thanks, but I have a girlfriend."
"Really?"
"What, superheroes can't be gay?"
"No, no," Titania threw her hands up in defense. "Believe me, I get that same reaction with other heroes, I would have just never guess you were. You're way too beautiful."
Emily couldn't stop the blush from creeping onto her face.
"Well well, Tsunami, didn't think I had that effect on you," Titania grabbed her wrist, pulling Emily against her body. She trailed her fingers up Emily's arm, and Emily couldn't control herself from melting into her touch. Just before it got any good, Emily's breath was knocked from her body as she was slammed down on to the ground on her back.
"Cheater!"
"There are no rules for this game," Titania smirked. She pulled her fist back and launched it forward, Emily dodging it just in time.
Emily rolled to her feet, watching as Titania cloned herself, now being enclosed with six of the same figures, not knowing which was the real one. She ducked under each fist flipping a few clones (or Titania, she couldn't tell) over her shoulder. She lunged forward, tackling one to the ground, watching as the others dissipated.
"Found you," she said, pulling water from the nearby fountain and freezing Titania's limbs to the ground.
"That was pointless," Titania started, "I'm going to break out of it."
"You should at least tell me what you have planned before you do it, though. That's a rule."
"There are none!"
"Well, there are now."
"Fine," she huffed. "If you must know, Tsunami, I'm planning on building a ray gun."
"And you called me cliché?"
"Oh, it's not like the others."
"What does it do, turn everyone into mindless zombies that follow you around and complete your every demand?" Emily placed a boot down on Titania's chest.
"No, but that sounds awesome." Titania broke free from her icy bounds, knocking Emily back. Before Titania could attack, Emily disappeared. She smirked. "I like a challenge."
Titania stood up straight, her black leather glowing from the nearby fireplace. 'She has a nice butt' Emily thought, perched from above a large book case.
"Oh Tsu-Tsu, come out come out wherever you are!"
Emily climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling, carefully inching closer to the villain on the ground below her.
"My ray gun is actually radioactive. It'll be used more as a threat, though, considering it would melt someone on the spot if they were shot with it. Kind of interesting to watch, really. I already used it on a few knuckle headed guards."
Emily dropped from her spot above, landing on top of Titania, effectively rendering her helpless as she squirmed beneath Emily's tight grip.
"One would think you'd be more attentive for a super villain. And while I have you here, I gotta ask," she flipped the leather-bounded woman under her on her back, pinning her hands above her head, "why did you rob a bakery?"
Titania chuckled evilly. "What, I can't enjoy a few scones as I craft my ray gun? Just because I like people obeying my every command, doesn't mean I don't enjoy a nice pastry from time to time."
Emily was kicked into the air, being grabbed in flight and slammed to the ground, being knocked unconscious.
When she opened her eyes, she took in the sight before her. A large, deathly looking machine was aimed directly at her. Emily tried squirming away, but her arms and legs were bound to a large metal table. She craned her neck up, looking around the room for a means of an escape.
"Don't bother, Tsunami," she heard Titania call from the ledge a few feet away, "I have you strapped down tight. Now, I can have my way with you."
"Gross."
"It was a joke, lighten up. Besides, I'm sure my girlfriend would mind it if I seduced you."
Emily gawked. "Are you serious?"
"What?"
"You have a girlfriend? Like, she can actually stand to be around you to actually do those things with you?"
"Hey, you don't know me at all. Behind this mask, I'm a really lady killer."
"Take off the mask, then, and show me."
"Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha. Funny. You take off yours and then I'll take off mine."
"An eye for an eye?"
"More like an identity for an identity, but you get the picture."
"I'd love to, but," Emily tugged her arms upwards, reminding her captor that she was kind of stuck.
"Oooh, see, now I'm conflicted. If I let you loose, one of two things could happen. One, you'd free yourself and escape before I even get the chance to know you, and two," she stepped closer, close enough for Emily to see into her eyes perfectly. She hadn't realized how beautiful the villain's eyes were; they were a deep brown, and the light hit them at an angle that made them sparkle just the tiniest bit. 'Those eyes. They look familiar. Too familiar.' Fingers snapped in her face brought her from her trance.
"What?"
"God, were you even listening?"
"No, I was… distracted."
"I said, that you would actually pull off my mask instead and turn me into the police, which wouldn't be good for me."
"You'd be correct," Emily agreed.
"Good thing that isn't happening then."
Emily turned her attention back to the extremely large ray gun aimed at her, and the anxiety of her undecided death reclaimed her mind. "Are you gonna…"
Titania looked over to the gun and shrugged her shoulders. "Haven't decided yet. It's kind of, damned if I do, damned if I don't. Plus, it takes for-ev-er to heat up just to fire one time."
"You're lazy, you know that?"
"I prefer, prolonged thinker."
"Just let me out so I can kick your ass!"
"Tempting. Truly, it is."
"Can we bargain?" Emily asked.
"What? Bargain?"
"If you let me go, I won't destroy your gun."
Titania thought this over for a few seconds. "No." She turned her back and walked over to a desk of monitors.
Emily looked all around the room. There had to be something somewhere that she could use to escape. She heard the faint droplets of water from a pipe in the distance.
'Bingo'.
Just then, a noise cut through her ear and created an itching feeling.
"Emily, its Spencer. Are you okay?" Emily remained silent. "Wait, Em, hold on. Let me see if I can… okay, I've hacked into her system. Look over to your left; you'll see a camera moving around." Emily looked over to her left, nodding at the camera as it turned towards her. "Okay, free yourself with that water, and I'll see what I can do to grab her attention."
She could feel the water pulsing through her veins as she collected the droplets into a puddle. Slowly, the puddle snaked its way across the floor, coming into Emily's vision. She inched it closer and closer until it was sliding up the table, resting next to her head.
"What the…" Titania was staring intently at her computer screen.
"What is it, darling?" Emily teased.
"None of your business. Don't move I'll be right back." Titania stood, dashing out of the room and slamming the large metal door shut behind her. Emily took the opportunity to move the water onto the leather belt bounding her to the table. She froze the metal locks, tugging her arm upwards until the metal snapped and her right arm was free. She reached over and unlocked her other hand belt before sitting up and unfastening the ones on her legs.
"Spencer? Can you hear me? I broke free. I need to know what damage I can do to the ray gun and have time to escape before she gets back."
"Emily? It's Hanna. Spencer had to pee, so I took over."
"Hanna, I don't think-"
"Okay, so go over to the control panel on the ray gun. It has a tiny yellow triangle painted on it. Lift it up, and pull the red wire."
Wow. Hanna knew what she was doing. She dashed over to the gun, pulling off the control panel and looking at the wires inside. She groaned frustratingly.
"Hanna, THEY'RE ALL RED!"
"Oh... well, just pull them all. Something's bound to happen."
Or maybe she didn't know. Either way, Emily reached in, taking a handful of wires and yanking them loose, sparks flying everywhere. She tossed them onto the ground and stood up, walking over to the desk full of monitors and smashing a few with her foot. The lights in the room started flashing as she continued breaking electronics.
"Okay, that should be good enough. Hanna, where's the nearest-" suddenly, and had grasped the back of her neck, slamming her face down onto the desk and holding her in place.
"I told you not to move," Titania growled.
"You're not the boss of me," Emily snorted, trying to ignore the serious headache that was threatening to take over her head.
"You've ruined my lab! I leave you alone for two seconds and this is what you do?"
"Let go!"
"No! You don't even realize what you've done! This whole place is going to blow! You ripped out the cooling wire system for the nuclear reactor in my gun!"
"Oh…" Emily didn't know what to say.
"Oh? OH? Seriously?"
"We have to get out of here," Emily tried to squirm away, but Titania held her in place.
"You're not going anywhere," she growled. But Emily had other plans. She hooked her foot underneath Titania's leg and pulled it out from underneath of her, knocking her onto the floor. She kneeled down, pinning her beneath her, her tight grip making it impossible for her to escape.
"You either leave with me, or don't leave at all," Emily shouted.
"Fine, just go! We need to get out of here!" Emily yanked Titania upwards.
"Where?"
"The roof! I have a parachute!"
"A para-"
"JUST GO!"
The loud beeping from the alarm alerting them from the impending explosion rang through her ears. Emily pushed through the crumbled rubble on the ground, springing up the stairs and onto the roof. The cold, open air hit her skin, and she was immediately aware of how high in the air she was. Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted and before she knew what was happening, she was freefalling from the side of the building. She couldn't scream, she was too in shock to let any noise escape her lips. She felt hand grip her hips and then she jerked upwards, noticing that she was now slowly gliding down towards the ground.
"Titania?"
"Yes?"
"I thought that it was supposed to explode," she looked back at the large penthouse.
"Wait… me too…" just then, Titania's earpiece buzzed, and Emily heard a few words exchanged over the line.
"What happened?"
"We may have… over reacted…"
"It's not going to blow up?" Emily asked, slightly annoyed as the two of them touched the ground in a large alleyway.
"Nope. It never was, apparently," Titania shrugged. Just then, the villain's phone buzzed. "Oh crap, it's one o'clock!"
"What's so important-" Emily began, but was immediately sucked into a large gaping hole in the ground. She reached for Titania, who pulled with all her strength to bring her nemesis back to the surface, her strength was not enough, and Emily slipped from her fingers, being swallowed into the dark hole in the ground, closing up once her entire body was inside, nothing but complete blackness consumed her.
Emily awoke to the sound of keys hitting the counter and the bedroom door creak open.
"Paige?" Emily rolled onto her side, watching as her girlfriend kick off her shoes and take off her blazer, climbing into bed behind Emily and wrapping her arms around her.
"Go back to sleep, babe," Paige whispered. Emily relaxed in to the embrace, smiling softly to herself.
"Okay, I will. Good night, Titania."
Paige listened as Emily's breathing evened out, feeling her heartbeat go steady and her chest rise and fall underneath her hand.
"…Titania?"
