Santana tried to ignore the pounding in her chest as she smiled at a customer and took a seat quietly in an empty part of the coffee shop that she was in. She had no idea what she was supposed to do next, all she knew was that her body wasn't her own anymore. The words that came out of her mouth—some of them weren't hers anymore, it was a violation like nothing she had ever felt before. She was terrified of what he would do. What he could do to her and it made her hate him for it. It made her hate herself for it; for being weak, for being powerless to stop herself from following his every whim.
She didn't even understand how he was doing it. The only thing that she could guess was that Noah was like Brittany in a way, at least he his discipline was the same as Brittany's but Brittany had never made her do things against her will. She had always believed that Charlie's discipline was the most powerful one out there. It's what Terri had led her to believe, it's what Charlie had led her to believe but she doubted that even he could stand against this.
Today was yet another example of Noah's ability. Here she was, meeting him for a coffee after giving Charlie some believable lie. For a moment she had thought that he had realized something was off, that he'd test her or do something to figure it out, but he had only nodded and let her carry on with her life. She had to wonder if she was going to spend the rest of her life worrying about how to regain control and attempting to keep her son out of this mess.
He slumps down onto the seat beside her and offers a sideways grin. "Don't look so bored, Hot Ass, we're making plans and not even that idiot Fabray can stop us."
She mentally groans, could he be any more like some comic book villain? But that's not the first hint she's had that he has some sort of history with Charlie. Resigned that she's not going to be able to do much more than this, she decides that at least she can get some answers. But she's going to have to be careful because she definitely doesn't want to piss him off. "What plans?"
Noah frowned slightly, "You really have no idea who I am? Or what he did to me?" He scowls and looks at his broken hands. "Of course not, because nothing can touch that family."
"No, I don't know who you are. I don't care to know who you are. If you have some sort of blood feud with Charlie, then take it up with him. I don't know why you need to bring me or my son into it. You have a daughter don't you?"
Noah turned to her a look of disdain painting his features. "Don't you dare bring her into this. You don't even know the real him. You don't have any idea what he's capable of, but I bet you think he's just some idiot savant or something."
Santana sipped on her coffee, trying to pick the correct words, "I never once thought Charlie was an idiot, I think that he doesn't quite know what to make of certain social situations and would rather be in his workshop then dealing with people. Again, if he hurt you—"
"We were friends once, roommates—I had his back when the others picked on him for being weird, because that's what he was. He was odd and powerful, and we're not evolved. Children can be cruel, not that it bothered him. We were destined to be the two greatest magicians in history."
"He should be grateful to you then." She surmises, trying to stroke his ego. He seemed like the type of person that needed constant validation.
"You would think so." Noah agrees and Santana's glad that she seems to at least have some sort of footing here. "He knew about my gifts and he didn't give a fuck. I was great, unstoppable. With a flick of my wrist, I could bend reality to my whims. I was a god."
Santana shivers at the thought. "But you're still so powerful—"
"Hardly. It wasn't until—" He trails off, his eyes narrowing and a fire burns behind his eyes that makes Santana shift in her chair uncomfortably, "—well it doesn't matter, because he fucking betrayed me. After everything I did for him, every damn time I stood up for him and protected him. After all of that he crushed my hands so I couldn't ever do real magic again. And then I became this." He growls as he looks down at the mangled skin around his hands. "A fucking shell of who I used to be."
Santana swallows, he wasn't going to reveal his master plan which was fine. She needed to figure out a way to alert Charlie, or someone a Fabray. "I don't know why you need me then. Charlie is—Charlie, I'm just his assistant. The only reason he'll care is because his last two assistants left which means he'll be forced to deal with people. So just let me go—"
Noah scoffed, she had no idea how valuable she was. "You're wrong. I do need you. His wards—"
Santana held up her hands to stop him. "If you think I know how to disable his wards, you're mistaken. I don't even know where he hides them," it was partly true. She knew where he hid one of them, but some of them were so big, and she had to believe that Charlie would know when someone was messing with his wards.
Noah scowled, even in his state he could feel those wards, it made his hands ache in ways that shouldn't even be possible. "You're right, he was always paranoid, it was probably why he wouldn't sell Finn the damn ingredients—" Noah pauses. "You're his assistant you'd be able to bypass any of his wards; you can bring them to me."
Shit. She hadn't thought he would be so brazen— "It's not like Charlie trusts me. I wouldn't even know where to find what you're looking for."
"Don't lie to me," Noah snaps at her.
Santana bit her tongue immediately, she had pushed him too far, and that order had cost her deeply she'd need to be more careful with what she told him. "I'm not lying; I don't know where to find what you're looking for. I just learned about magic recently, the only thing Charlie did was to childproof his store to protect me from myself, so he wouldn't have to watch me like a child all the time. So if you think I know where his powerful ingredients are then you're mistaken."
Noah inhales deeply, "Then why do I need you exactly?" He demands.
The threat hangs in the air clearly and Santana gulps. She didn't want to help him but she had no idea how far his powers stretched and she needed to think about Antonio. If she died—what would happen to him. "I don't know what happened between you and Charlie, I know he hurt you but I just needed a job to support my son. That's it, he offered me money and it was a god send for a single mother. You have a daughter—I don't know if you know what it's like to struggle but I couldn't even give him a proper birthday party. This is his first year where I can give him a party that he'll remember."
"A birthday party?" Noah presses before slowly smiling. All wasn't lost, and Charlie was far too arrogant, like the laws that governed the Magicians didn't apply to him. It was the only reason he had even found Charlie to begin with, he had been performing magic in front of children. Children who were too stupid and young to realize that Charlie Fabray was just a hack.