A/N:
This is a song-shot, using 'Let it Go' by Idina Menzel from the Disney movie 'Frozen'. I'd listen to this song if I were you, even if you haven't seen the movie, it's a beautiful song and just so damn powerful.
This is set about a month or two after the events of Technicolor, Talia has a moment of peace to herself and she starts thinking about how things used to be compared to how they are now. And... maybe things aren't always so bad.
*3rd Person POV* (its been a while XD)
Talia huffed, irritated with herself as she fell flat on her face in the middle of Scratchansniff's office. She was still getting used to the way travelling via plot-hole worked. Picturing where you wanted to go was simple enough, but the landings were still tricky. Personally she still preferred the map. But still, this was better than driving all the way to work in the middle of the night and sneaking in on foot. Well, it felt like the middle of the night, in truth it was only just coming up to 11pm. But it was still eerily dark, the psychiatrists office only highlighted by the light of the moon and the security lights outside.
She felt a chill. It was so strange being in the studio while it was so quiet and dark, unnatural. But she was only there because she'd forgotten her purse and Flynn's permission slip for his school trip was in there. She sighed in relief when she saw that it was placed on her small desk in the corner. Dr. S must have put it there for when she came into work the next day. She made a mental note to thank him as she picked it up and dropped it into her adopted hammerspace, simply her jogger-bottoms pocket. When it vanished into the depths of her pocket, a strange thought came over her.
"I'm not freaked out by this anymore..."
It was true. She had just been reminded by her cartoon sub-sibs that she'd forgotten her purse, hopped through an inky black hole in the floor to teleport across a town, and now she had collected her belongings in an infinite space on her person. Yet she hadn't batted an eyelid. She recalled a time when the very idea of doing these things scared her, or at least showing them scared her. Now... Now she wasn't only more comfortable with it, but she was close to getting the hang of it. Since her birthday, she'd taken the time to let the Warner's teach her the 'tricks of the trade' on a regular basis, and she was improving along with her siblings.
It both unnerved her, and pleased her. It was difficult to explain. She glanced over at the lounge chair that had once been a place of judgement, easing herself into it for a twisted sense of nostalgia as she held her branded wrist almost protectively. As she lay there, she could hear a faint tune at the back of her mind, smirking in mild bemusement. Of course... the toon-reflex just had to make this sappy didn't it... She rolled her eyes and just went with it. Where was the sense in fighting anymore? She didn't need to hide when there was no one around. And even if there was someone, it was most likely going to be someone who knew anyway. And she wouldn't be judged for it. She'd be safe.
But... there used to be a time when the fear was too much. When keeping people away was just so much better. Or easier. To protect herself. She glanced out of the wide window and stood up, gazing at the thin clouds stretching over the inky sky. That tune continued, and a sense of stillness came over her.
"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen..." the studio looked so empty, so dark, "A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen..." She turned away hurriedly, leaving the room and choosing to wonder down the hallway, trailing her finger along the wall, leaving a layer of frost in her wake, "The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside. Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried..."
Nothing had ever worked to keep these abilities hidden, and the danger it had put them in... It hurt her like she couldn't describe, "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be! Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know..." she turned a corner, a small smile tugging at her lips as she headed towards the exit, the frost dissolving into a vapour, "Well, now they know!"
She pushed the doors open, the chilled night air smoothing her skin as she smiled a little wider, "Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore!" She kicked the door closed behind her, seeing her target of the Water Tower and picking up the pace to reach it, "Let it go, let it go! Turn away and slam the door! I don't care what they're going to say...Let the storm rage on..." She grabbed the ladder rungs of the tower, resting her forehead against the cool metal, grinning, "The cold never bothered me anyway..."
It felt... good, to be feeling like this. Just, better about the situation. Yes, R.J was still out there and it terrified her, made her sick to the stomach at the fact. But... she was stronger now, they all were. She looked up at the Tower. The Warner's were staying at her house that night, but the Tower itself felt like a being that welcomed her.
"It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small. And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all!" She put her practice to good use, holding out her hands and grabbing a rope that had not been there a moment ago, holding on tight, "It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through! No right, no wrong, no rules for me... I'm free!" She gave the rope a tug, and the next thing she knew she was being hoisted upwards to the top of the tower by an unseen force.
She held on tight, but leant back and let the wind nip her cheeks and ruffle her hair, the ground shrinking beneath her, "Let it go, let it go! I am one with the wind and sky! Let it go, let it go! You'll never see me cry!" The rope stopped as she reached the walkway by the Tower door, she clambered up and faced the studio, challenging it, "Here I stand, and here I'll stay! Let the storm rage on!"
She drank in the air, adrenaline coursing through her. Not having to hide as much, not having to be scared all the time, knowing that she was protected... It made her feel powerful. And she wanted to learn more. The more she learned, the more protection and security she could give back. That way if R.J did return, she'd be ready. She'd stay free.
"My power flurries through the air into the ground. My soul is spiralling in frozen fractals all around!" Her brand tingled from the exercise it was getting, and she lifted an arm to look at it properly, memories flashing through her mind at a dizzying rate, "And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast!" She shook her head, turning around and suddenly finding herself standing on the Tower roof where the toon-speed kicked in, "I'm never going back, the past is in the past!"
She smirked, going out on a whim and threw her arms out, eyes widening in shock when the clouds dispersed to let the moon glow down and the stars burning like spotlights, "Let it go! Let it go! And I'll rise like the break of dawn!" Looking down at herself, she noticed that her joggers and jacket were replaced with a sparkling cami and jeans. She rolled her eyes, but grinned all the same, "Let it go! Let it go!" Her eyes dropped to her wrist, "That perfect girl is gone! Here I stand in the light of day!"
Bring it on world, she thought, I've taken everything you could have thrown at me. I'm ready. We're all ready!
"Let the storm rage on...!"
"Talia!"
The music in the air around her seemed to screech to a stop when someone called her name. She froze. God damn it, she thought, I had one more line in me... She swallowed thickly, her throat dry from that last large note and glanced down, finding a familiar face looking up at her in both worry and awe. She wasn't sure if she was thankful or irritated at this familiar face, but it was there all the same. She didn't make any motion as if she was going to get down from her spot.
"I was having a bit of a moment there, Jack." She sighed.
"Yeah, I uh, I heard."
She didn't mean to flush, but who wouldn't at being caught out in mid musical number? "So I wasn't finished."
"Sorry... I just, I didn't think it was safe for you to be up here alone."
"Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine."
"I heard that too."
"What're you doing here anyway?"
"A lot of paperwork to get done. I've only just finished now. Can you come down here please? It's difficult talking to someone on a roof..." he said dryly.
Then don't, she thought, but sat down to slide off the roof of the Tower and back onto the walkway in front of him anyway. She noticed him glancing at her tooned-up outfit, and for the sake of his ego she chose to ignore it. Instead, she just folded her arms and waited expectantly. Maybe it was the toon-reflex, but not being able to finish a music moment made her agitated, like something wasn't right.
"You've been practicing your toon powers I see."
"Yeah..." she shrugged semi-playfully, "Nothing to hide anymore and I couldn't have my brother and sister outdoing me now could I?"
"God forbid," he smiled, "You... You seem happier too."
She was about to make a stalker comment, but she couldn't. Instead, she actually returned the smile somewhat, "I guess I am... Weirdly enough. I'm still worried if... if he comes back but... I don't know."
His head tilted, "You're not scared of him anymore?"
"I'm terrified..." she admitted, "But if it happens, it happens. And it's like... Even though I'm scared of him, I'm not scared about facing him, if that makes sense."
"You rarely make sense." He smirked, a hand falling on her shoulder gently.
Instead of shrugging him off, she just rolled her eyes, "Look who's talking."
"But I do understand. And... I'm happy for you, really."
She looked up to study him, and not finding a trace of sarcasm or falseness in his eyes. There was still a fragment of doubt that she harboured for him, and it was almost irritating to feel it dwindling. The syringe filled with the toon-cure was still locked away safely with her. Sometimes she thought about giving it back to him. But he'd refuse, as always. He was keeping his promise to help her. And yet she still couldn't fully trust him. And... for some reason that hurt her.
"Thanks. And... and are you, you know, happy?"
He smiled, his hand on her shoulder warming slightly, "I am."
"Good." She nodded, the adrenaline rush calming down to let her feel the chill in the air once more, "It's late... I only came back for my purse."
"Don't you just hate it when those soundtracks catch you on errands?"
"Don't get cocky." She scowled, but it wasn't cruel like it could have been.
"Stubborn as always." He returned, releasing her and watching as she pulled out a plot-hole from her jeans and dropped it on the floor, "Hey uh, do you need a coat or something? Like you said, it's late and..."
Talia paused, now she was mocking him in a smirk, but only mildly, "I'm stubborn remember, I'll be fine." She turned her head to him, giving a small shrug, the last line of her song able to break free as she vanished back into the comforts of her home, "The cold never bothered me anyway..."
A/N:
God I love that song so freaking much! XD