Hey babes! Back with a new chapter for ya! This one delves a little bit deeper into Inhumans, but not by a whole lot.

Also, quick note, this story is almost done. TWO MORE CHAPTERS! Yikes!

Enjoy!


"Hey, Ava?"

"Hmm?"

The brunette barely glances up at hearing her name, her eyes completely focused on the section of coding on the laptop screen in front of her. Her fingers fly quickly across the keys.

"Ava," Lacey repeats. "Ava!"

"Huh?" Ava jumps in her seat, startled by Lacey's shout. She shakes her head a little and focuses on her roommate. "Sorry, what?

"What's it like there?"

"Where?" Ava glances back at her computer to make sure she's saved her progress.

"The Inhuman Sanctuary."

Ava's brows furrow and she tilts her head. "Why are you asking? Weren't you at the lecture?"

"Yeah, I was. But I mean, you've been there before, right? Because of your parents. I was just hoping to get some more insight into the Sanctuary before going there tomorrow for volunteering. Also, I might have spaced out a little." She smiles sheepishly.

Ava sighs. "Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you much more than what they said in the lecture. Unless you're actually an Inhuman who's staying there, you don't really have the full experience."

"Did your parents?"

She shifts a little in her seat. "My mom kind of did, but it was at some place in the middle of nowhere in China, I think. But they didn't have the Sanctuary up and running when my dad Transitioned. Mom helped him the best that she could, though, when he did Transition. Lincoln helped too, since he knew a lot about Inhuman biology and was working to become a doctor. He and my Auntie Jemma are the leading doctors on all things Inhuman."

Lacey nods. "Right. And uh, I know they talked about the basics of Transitioning in the lecture, but obviously they couldn't tell us how it actually feels when it happens."

"Afraid I can't help you much there either. Mom and dad don't really like to talk about how it felt when they Transitioned. And I haven't Transitioned so obviously I don't know how it feels."

"Do you want to, though? Transition, I mean."

Ava shifts in her seat again, her brows furrowing together. "Um, maybe? I don't know. I mean, it's part of who I am, in a sense, but there's no guarantee that I wouldn't change on a physical level and look completely different than I do right now. My parents got lucky with only changing on a cellular level. Some people aren't that lucky. Mom said that there was this crazy lady she knew who was determined to go through Terrigenesis, and when she did, she ended up having spikes all over her body."

"Have you ever thought about it, though?"

She shrugs. "Once or twice. When I was younger and saw my parents using their abilities I thought it was really cool and wanted to be just like them. But then I got older and started learning more and more about being an Inhuman and realized that it might not be as great as people think it is."

"Really?"

Ava nods. "Yeah. A lot of people that are Inhuman today, they didn't really have a choice. My parents didn't. If they had their way, nobody would change unless they wanted to. But unfortunately, the world isn't that kind."

"Wow. That sucks."

"It's not all bad, though," Ava tells her friend.

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. While a lot of them may have changed unwillingly, because of the Sanctuary, they have a place to go where they can stay safe and don't have to worry about being ridiculed. It may have been a few years, and a lot of the anti-Inhuman propaganda has died down, but there are still people out there who think they're all dangerous and want them gone."

"That's awful."

Ava shrugs. "That's life. Thankfully, all the Inhumans at the Sanctuary have a really close bond with one another. They're all there for each other, like a giant, eclectic family."

"Well that's good."

"Yeah. Some of the best people I know are Inhumans. My Uncle Mack even married a lady who's Inhuman. My Auntie Elena is one of the strongest, bravest, coolest woman that I know."

"What can she do?"

"She can run really fast." Ava tilts her head. "Actually, I think it's actually that she can only move as far as a single heartbeat will let her, or something like that. And she always comes back to where she started. Kinda like a yo-yo," she says with a small smile, remembering the story told to her about how her Aunt got her nickname."

Lacey blinks. "Wow. That sounds like it would be lame."

"It does. But it's actually really cool. She used to help me pull so many pranks on my brother."

"Do they have any kids?"

"Yeah. Their oldest is just a few months behind me and Adian. She's one of my best friends. Then they have two more kids, another girl and then a boy."

"Is their oldest at the Academy?"

Ava shakes her head. "No. She didn't want to follow her parents and do what they did. But that's okay. I think their son wants to, so maybe there's something there."

Lacey nods. "And you don't have any other siblings besides Adian, right?"

"Right. It's just us." She tilts her head. "I think mom might have wanted another kid at one point, but then she realized she had her hands full with me and Adian so they took measures to prevent getting pregnant again. It's fine, though, I've got plenty of younger cousins who are like siblings, so I'm honestly not bothered by it. Plus, I had a built-in sibling when I was born."

"Well from all the stories you've told me so far, that sounds great."

"Yeah, it's been pretty fun. For the most part. Every once in a while I wonder what it'd be like to not have a twin, but he's always been there, so it's hard to imagine life otherwise." She takes a deep breath. "So, anymore questions about Inhumans or the Sanctuary? Like I said, I probably won't be able to answer them all very well, so choose wisely."

Lacey laughs quietly. "No, I think I'm good for right now. But I'll let you know later if I have anymore questions."

"Okay." She gives her roommate a soft smile before turning back to her laptop and opening the lid again, her mind already running a mile a minute through the different lines of code she's going to try in the program.


Holding her cell phone up to her ear, Ava leans back against the wall behind her bed and lets out a breath as she waits for the person on the other end to answer. She grabs one of the smaller pillows and holds it in her lap, fiddling with the edge of it.

"Hello?"

Ava smiles. "Hi, mom."

"Ava, sweetheart, so good to hear from you. What's up?"

"Not a lot. I was just calling to say hi."

"Well I'm glad you did."

"Me too."

"Spit it out, Ava."

"Spit what out? I'm not even eating anything."

"Ava, honey, you know what I mean. What do you need to tell me or want to ask me?"

Ava sighs. "Damn."

"Language."

"Sorry. Um, what was it like when you...Transitioned?" She bites her lip between her teeth nervously.

"Ava..."

"I know, mom, I know. You and dad don't like talking about any of this."

"You're right. We don't. Why is why I'm curious as to why you're asking me about it."

"We're going to the Sanctuary this week, so we had our lecture the other day. But I guess Lacey wasn't paying attention or something and she was asking me all these questions about being Inhuman but I couldn't answer too many of them. At least, not in any way that would have been really helpful."

"That makes sense."

"Yeah. But then I realized that even though I've been to the Sanctuary a dozen times over because of you and dad, I don't actually know what it's like to live there. Or what it's like to Transition. And I know you said you don't like talking about it, but I was hoping that maybe you could just tell me a few small things?" She bites her lip between her teeth again as she waits, hoping she didn't just upset her mother in the worst way imaginable.

"It was one of the worst moments of my life."

She lets out a breath. "Wow. Really?"

"Yes. I didn't really know a single thing about Inhumans, let alone that's what we're called. I didn't know what was happening to me and I was absolutely terrified. I could hear your Uncle Trip screaming my name from the other side of the chamber wall. I thought I was going to die, that I'd never get to see your father again and spend my life with him. All of those feelings ran through me in what felt like hours but was really just a matter of seconds."

Ava swallows thickly. "Do you...do you know if it was like that for dad, too?"

"I don't. Neither of us have ever really talked about it. But I do know that it actually took him a few hours to break out of his cocoon."

"It did?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I thought it only took a few minutes."

"The majority of the time, yes. For some, like me, it only takes a few seconds. And for others, like your father, it takes a few hours. It varies from person to person."

"Oh, wow. I wonder why they didn't talk about that in the lecture."

"Probably because they don't want to traumatize the young cadets. Even as an adult it can be a pretty scary thing."

"Right, yeah. That makes sense. I'm sorry that you and daddy had to go through something so traumatic."

"Thanks, baby. Now, don't you have some schoolwork to do?"

She shrugs. "I mean, I guess."

"So then go and do it."

She sighs. "Fine. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart."


"Adian?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you know that it took dad hours to break out of his cocoon when he Transitioned?"

Adian pauses his ministrations on the punching bag in front of him, panting heavily as he stops the bag from swaying. He looks over to where his sister is sitting against one of the walls near him, her knees pulled up and her laptop open in her lap. "What?"

"When dad Transitioned," she repeats. "It took him hours to break out of his cocoon when he Transitioned."

"How do you know that? He and mom never talk about that stuff."

"I called mom earlier."

"How'd you get her to talk about it?"

"I asked."

He quirks a brow. "You asked?"

"Mm-hmm. Lacey was asking me about the Sanctuary, and what it's like there. I told her I couldn't give her a solid answer because I've only ever visited there. So I called mom and asked her."

"And she just told you straight up what it was like?"

"Yeah. I mean, I could tell that it was a little weird for her to talk about it all, but she still told me."

"Wow. I'm surprised that she did."

"So am I. I was honestly expecting her to dodge the question and subtly change the subject to school."

Adian laughs quietly. "She is the master of changing subjects."

"That she is." She shuts the lid of her laptop. "Now, if I'm not really needed here, then I'm going to go back to my room." She stands from the floor and tucks her laptop up under her arm, letting out a breath. "Alright, I'm off."

"Okay. We still on to FaceTime mom and dad together this weekend?"

She nods. "Yep. See you then." She gives him a quick hug, crinkling her nose a bit at the his sweat, before turning around and making her way out of the gym, letting the doors swing shut behind her as she walks.


So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!