(Normal P.O.V.)
For the majority of the day, all contact with Zeke - and Toi for that matter - was lost. She didn't answer her phone, we had no idea if she ever made it home or where she had gone in the first place, and because the apartment belonged to someone else it wasn't like we could've busted the door down to check. Well, Kevin could've, and probably would've if Gwen hadn't been the voice of reason. She summed it up as being the work of a Sunday; maybe Toi and Zeke were bonding over some preacher at church.
Yeah, that theory just about self-destructed
The three of us had been about to split off for the remainder of the day to do our own things when my phone rang. Initially, we thought nothing of it - just a phone call, probably Julie or someone else. It wasn't until I checked the name on the screen that, mid-step up the driveway of my house and just before Kevin could take off, that I actually reacted. Practically throwing myself at the car, I hit the answer button - promptly ignoring Kevin when he complained about my weight denting his baby.
"Zeke!" I exclaimed as I held the phone to my ear, "Where have you been? Are you okay?" It took a careful reminder on my part to slow down. After all, everyone was entitled to not answer their phone from time to time. Kevin and Gwen looked at me expectantly. We were all waiting to see what our little friend had been up to.
Her voice came out fast and distressed, the exact opposite of what we had been hoping for. In fact, at first all I even heard was my name. Zeke panted a few times before she could speak again, talking in fast words, "Ben, where are you?! Please tell me you're close by or something - it's terrible!"
"Woah, woah..! Slow down, Ze, I'm in front of my house. What's wrong?"
From the other end was the hot shriek of flames, hitches of breath. Gwen pushed open her door and pointed down the street, calling a quick, "Over there!"
Zeke was never the type to fly with her flames. That's why her arrival from around the corner was such a surprise. The fire that had swallowed her feet was stomped out as she hit the ground running, still holding her phone to her ear like it was some kind of lifeline. I hung up first and just about tossed my phone into my pant pocket before running to meet her halfway.
If she sounded distressed then she definitely looked the part. Her eyes were red as if she had been on the verge of tears, her skin was clammy, her face was pale, there were dark marks under her eyes and, the dead giveaway, the lower parts of her pants and the wrists of her shirt were slightly singed. Her control over her flames had been slipping, probably because of her emotional state. Desperation had Zeke tackling into me, words flying from her mouth in tangled strings. In return I tightly gripped her upper arms and held her out at arm's length. She was frantic, like twelve degrees above distressed. I managed to catch onto her words mid-sentence.
"-and it's not like I meant what I said, I was just upset and I don't think-! No, I definitely didn't mean for her to leave, I'm such a jerk but I don't think she just poofed either, there was too much stuff and I-"
"Zeke!"
I caught her by surprise. The blonde shut up in a heartbeat, looking up at me with wide, hurting eyes. Well, by that point it was pretty obvious that something was wrong so I didn't have to ask. Gwen came up beside me, radiating that soothing aura she usually had about her. When I wasn't being super cool or leader-like or even heroic, I was pretty sure the energy I gave off was anxious as hell; I was grateful for the support.
With a small breath I returned my attention to Zeke who, by that point, had calmed down enough to catch her breath. My grip loosened, hands lowering to her forearms. "C'mon," I encouraged carefully, "start over, but this time do it like 200% more slowly."
She nodded, able to keep her voice steady as she responded, "Toi's gone."
~#~
What we arrived at was nothing shot of a crime scene. The end table was smashed to smithereens, the coffee table was broken in half, and there was a painful shatter on the TV screen. As Gwen, Kevin, and I wandered around for additional clues, Zeke was following me around like a lost puppy. I don't think I could've blamed her, really. Toi was gone, stuff was broken, and of course there was the backlash of the stuff Zeke had said last night. Throw everything together and you had the perfect concoction of guilt and shame. It's happened to me a few hundred times before, so I get it.
All of us converged back in the living room, as there was nothing else but the damage dealt there. Kevin, casual, tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Think she rampaged and went home?" he wondered aloud. Zeke's head lowered.
"If she did," I countered, "then where's the ID mask? She can't go flying with it still on."
"Good point."
"Besides, if she wanted to rampage I'm sure she could've punched a hole completely through the TV and not just break the glass."
Small, detective-like comments was pretty much all that any of us said. The biggest thing, I believe, was that no one really believed that Toi would rampage or get angry like that. Both Gwen and Kevin had even said that she was sitting on the couch when they left, calm and far from angry. Gwen reached her hand out and squeezed Zeke's shoulder, offering a warm smile as she said, "I'll feel around for her energy. I've been around her long enough to at least recognize it."
She closed her eyes, the rest of us stepping back to give her space. With her hands lifted gently and her breathing slowed, it didn't long for her eyes to glow neon pink. I noticed it occasionally, but whenever Gwen spread her energy out like that, I could practically feel it flow around my heart like a warm river. Maybe it was because I had a little of Anodite in me too, as tiny as it was.
A shudder suddenly raked through my cousin's body, forcing her to jolt out of her state of focus. Kevin was at her side in an instant with a hand hovering over her shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she answered, "I just wasn't expecting..."
She turned to face Zeke with a stern expression. Gwen began to explain, saying, "I can still feel Toi, but there were other people here, too." Thanks to her detective expertise, we were directed to the window that opened out to the fire escape and found that, not only was it unlocked, but the securing notch had been scraped against by a sharp object.
Kevin examined it carefully, occasionally with a thoughtful nod to back up his prodding. "Classic technique," he finally announced, "Old hook-lock meets thin enough blade to knock it open from the outside. Good for a sneaky break-in."
For the first real time since we got to the apartment, Zeke spoke up. "What, so Toi got abducted? She could kick their asses no problem - she's an alien!"
"Shall we go pay them a visit?" I offered. Turning my head, I looked over my shoulder at Gwen. "Even without a physical item, once you've got a lock on her energy you can follow it, right?"
One nod was all it took to send Zeke - and the rest of us - for the door. The painfully obvious guilt that had been radiating off of the blonde was replaced with anger. I smirked, making a mental note to tease her about it later. After all, she totally did care.
