A/N: Asher's POV because he's my favorite. :)
012: Dead Wrong
"Sybil!"Asher hissed. "You said she would be alone."
"You," the man Asher knew as Boxer spat at them. "What are you doing here?"
"Boxer?" Red asked from behind him, clearly unsure.
"Hm," sounded Grant, stepping toward the duo. "Sybil, we'll talk later," he said without looking at her. "Hello, Red."
"Answer me!" Boxer shouted, not taking kindly to being ignored.
Royce snorted.
"Quiet," Grant commanded Boxer, once again turning his attention to Red. "You like many others, Red, hold quite the influence over this city and its people. For that reason, we would like you to…come with us." He held out a hand.
She inched a little closer toward them. "You're the Camerata, aren't you?"
"Ah, you've heard of us," Grant said, straightening his vest with the smallest of smirks. Asher tended to notice little things like that in his husband.
He tapped a foot nervously, helplessly watching the confrontation between them. He shifted uncomfortably; he hated when things didn't go according to plan. The Process were already giving him a reason to itch.
Grant clapped his hands together. "Perfect; we can skip the formalities. Royce," he called back. Royce nodded and stepped forward, handing Grant the key. The paintbrush. The Transistor.
Red's eyebrows knitted together, staring at the glowing sword. She stepped forward until Boxer put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Red, don't."
She shook her head. "Hold on, it's okay," she whispered. They obviously want something to do with me. Let me just… talk to them." He looked into her eyes for a few moments, and it he stepped back, nodding almost imperceptively.
"What do you want?" she questioned, attempting to sound confident.
"I just told you that," Grant replied simply, not giving away the annoyance that only Asher could notice.
Red crossed her arms. "Fair enough. Then what is that?" She pointed a finger at the Transistor.
"This is what is going to save our city," he said dreamily. Asher was sure Grant was picturing Cloudbank just as he had always imagined—just as they had always imagined.
"I don't understand."
Grant smirked. "You don't need to." Before Red could react, Grant lifted a hand in the air, commanding the Transistor to float upward and point at Red. Asher turned to gauge Sybil's reaction; she was biting her lip anxiously. Grant's hand made a swift movement outward, and with that, the Transistor flew forward toward the singer.
Red stepped back, shocked, and did little else to prevent her fate. However, Boxer leapt in front of her, taking the blow and crashing to the ground, much to everyone's surprise. Well, everyone's except one person's: Sybil. She must have noticed Asher looking at her because she quickly wiped her relieved expression from her face and replaced it with that of shock. Then, Red screamed.
"Boxer! No!" she sobbed, kneeling down and taking him in her arms. She cupped his face tightly in her hands, ignoring the presence of his assailants. "Stay with me, stay with me, please!"
Asher almost couldn't bear to watch. Typically, he wouldn't care; the Camerata had taken care of other people such as Preston Moyle, and he hadn't given it a second thought. Though, when he watched those two together, he couldn't help but imagine losing Grant in such a manner. His stomach twisted.
Boxer locked eyes with Red for a few moments, looking as though he had a million words left to say to her. She gazed back at him, tears streaming down her face and dripping from her chin, when Boxer's head lolled back and he went limp in her arms. At that moment, every event afterward seemed to happen all at once.
Royce began to rush forward before anything else could go wrong; the Transistor began to glow brightly, and the entire room was filled with a blinding light; Red, Boxer, and the Transistor were all gone.
"No!" Grant and Royce both shouted. Royce stood in shock, while Grant turned swiftly on his heel and glared at Sybil.
"Sybil. Explain yourself. Now!" Asher cautiously approached his husband, placing a hand on his upper arm and squeezing lightly. It seemed to calm Grant slightly, but the others didn't seem to notice. Sybil stared for a moment. She shrugged innocently.
"I… I thought she would be alone."
"You were wrong," Grant fired back at her.
"Dead wrong!" Royce shouted, still in dismay over the missing device. "How could you not know about this?"
Asher sighed. "Can't we discuss this another time? The Transistor must be out there somewhere; we should be looking for it." There was a tense few seconds of silence before Grant huffed.
"Asher is right. Let's go." He stepped away from Asher and took the lead in the search, heading for the exit. Royce followed suit, while Asher lagged behind with Sybil.
"You knew, didn't you." It could hardly be a question if they both knew the answer.
"When everything changes, nothing changes. But nothing changes if nothing changes." She walked forward at a quicker pace to catch up with the other two, and the conversation was over.