I told you I'd get this out quicker! (Is it? I'm actually too lazy to check.) But if it's not, you should know I've already STARTED writing the next chapter after this one! That's right! I have stuff actually planned.
I've read over this a few times today, and should probably sleep on it and read it once more before posting, but I'm not. Aw well.
Anon. Review:
Guest: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I don't know how much time she'll have to heal, exactly, but I hop you enjoy reading this chapter. ;)
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A few days passed and Sutton worked on recovering. Except, even after a few days her muscles still felt as weak as before and there were still worrying flares of chest pains. Attempts to sleep weren't much better. Every time she closed her eyes she could only see the vast emptiness of space. Worse was when she saw Khan's stern face, that darkly amused gleam in his eye, and a planet burning while the inhabitants cursed her name.
Even Carlisle looked at her with some measure of concern. Sutton brushed aside any voiced worries. She already knew. She didn't want to think about it. The Doctor had warned her; McCoy had confirmed it. She had a feeling there'd be nothing they could do for her worn out, failing heart. And she didn't really want a countdown clock haunting whatever time she had left. No, in this case ignorance would be bliss. Or, as blissful as dying could be.
Instead she observed as the people around her started to settle into normal daily life. Or, normal for vampires, she supposed.
She didn't have much of a chance to leave the Cullen house on her own and would have drawn quite a few stares with her injuries if she had. According to the Cullens, not everyone was aware of their universe being previously unstable. It seemed that awareness only extended to those that the book had considered main characters. Perhaps it was due to all the fans focusing on a chosen few, maybe it has something to do with Sutton herself; it wasn't clear. But it didn't truly matter in the end. Sutton wasn't up for much travelling around in the first place.
The house cleared out during the day as people went back to school and work. It eventually ended up being just Sutton and Esme loitering around the house until later in the afternoons. Esme didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed happy to cook for Sutton, make sure she was comfortable when resting, and was especially content with being a conversational companion. Sutton didn't mind that either. Esme was kind and mothering and gentle. It was an aloe on a bad burn.
The burn was still there, but at least you felt a little better after treating it.
Diffused light fought its way through the clouds and windows to settle on the cool wood floors. It created an almost blue tint to the space and made the room feel like it should be chillier than it actually was. Sutton found herself bundled up under a cashmere blanket with a stack of books and an empty plate on the floor within arms reach. She hummed quietly in the back of her throat when she noticed rain start to fall outside the large glass panes in the living room.
She remembered this.
Esme was sitting in an armchair nearby and she smiled softly at Sutton after looking up from her laptop.
"You said you were originally from this area," Esme prompted as Sutton gazed up at the looming gray clouds that were rolling in.
"Sort of. A few hours away, but I've been up here before. It feels weird being so close."
"We could visit your hometown," she suggested. She perked up at the idea and Sutton shook her head quickly.
"Thank you, but, it's just not the same. I was able to pop back awhile ago and, it's just-" She struggled to find the right word to describe a world without her family in it. All descriptors seemed lacking.
"It's just empty."
Esme nodded in understanding and settled back into her chair.
"I understand," she said. "Because of what we are, we really don't get to call one place home. Instead, we've had to make family our home."
Sutton nodded silently while wishing she'd gotten the chance to make one for herself.
A few days into her stay in this universe, when everyone had returned from school and work, they decided to finally journey out to Forks just to let Sutton get some fresh air. Forks wasn't a town she had frequently visited or knew well, so she didn't object. They helped her into one of their cars and Sutton, personally, thought they could have carpooled a bit more efficiently than they chose to.
Forks was small and sparse of both people and businesses. The highway was the main road that split the town with small local businesses on either side. It was a town that people always passed through on their way to somewhere else, and it looked even more boring than the movies made it out to be. When Edward, ironically, asked what she thought of it, she snorted.
"Well, I'll definitely be able to get fresh air. I can't say much else. It looks about the same as the one I had."
Bella groaned in agreement.
"No offense, but this town is so boring."
"Wow, thanks," Edward quipped.
Sutton really hoped she hadn't altered their personalities too much.
Edward parked the car and Sutton eased to the edge of the backseat before lowering her feet to the pavement. The wind was cool, but not intolerable. She was used to this kind of weather and nostalgia washed over her as the scent of crisp wind and fresh pine surrounded her. Nostalgia? It had only been a year or so and she was already nostalgic? Was that allowed? Sutton shook her head.
They slowly meandered about the shops without purchasing anything, although they did receive a few stares. The Cullen's were and odd, reclusive family as it was, and Sutton was an unfamiliar face. Every twenty feet or so Sutton would have to pause to catch her breath and would try to pretend she was just stopping to look in a store window.
She was aware of the others around her as they continued on, had known when they caught up with the rest of the family, but she found herself distant from the events around her. Although it was cloudy it wasn't freezing, but the jacket she wore began to feel like it wasn't thick enough and sometimes the world around her was a bit fuzzy when she'd never needed glasses.
"Are you ok?" Sutton looked up and found Esme next to her. When had she gotten there? "Your heart is beating a little fast."
"Yeah. I'm ok. Is anyone, er, Bella hungry? I could eat."
"Um, sure." Bella gestured to a building a bit farther down the road. "That's the diner. It's alright."
"That sounds good."
Sutton was not exactly hungry. She just really wanted to sit down. But saying 'hey, I think I'm slowly wasting away and need a quick break' didn't seem like a fun conversation to start.
The diner looked to be starting its dinner rush, but they were able to get a back table without any wait. Emmett and Rosalie had decided not to bother with pretending to eat food and continued on with their walk. Even still, it was a crowded and awkward table. If Sutton had been in a more fit mood, she might've made a joke about the contrast between her and the apparent models surrounding her.
She ordered a soup with crackers and water, while Bella ordered a burger, and Edward told the waiter they'd all split a large order of fries. Jasper shifted the smallest bit with a worried glance at the waiter.
"She doesn't care that we didn't all order," Edward told him. "All she's thinking about is an exam she has to pass this week."
Sutton snorted quietly as she put her elbows on the table and propped her head up in her hands.
"Been there, wouldn't go back," she said. "I never got how you guys could do the school thing over and over again. I'd go crazy."
"You tune it out after awhile," Alice said. "There's only so many times you need to hear about mitochondria."
The mild conversation continued until the waitress came back with their order, and Sutton sipped at her soup slowly after crumbling all the provided saltines over top. Bella focused on her burger and the rest pretended to pick at the fries. Sutton thought it was a waste. She was nibbling on a soggy cracker crumb when a new voice called across the room.
"Bells?"
Charlie Swan made a bee-line for their table all geared up in his police uniform and with a look of urgency that Sutton didn't understand. Bella looked surprised to see her father and stuttered a bit before finally getting words out.
"Uh, dad. What are you do- I thought you were working?"
"I'm on break," he said. He stood at the end of their table and acknowledged the rest of the Cullens with a quick nod while awkwardly fiddling with his utility belt.
"Is this, uh… is this her?"
He looked toward Sutton, and she sat up straighter in her seat while trying to look for cues as to why he'd be singling her out.
"Yeah, yeah, this is Sutton, dad."
Sutton waved while vainly trying to suppress a smile. Even after going from liking Twilight to trying to pretend she'd never heard of it, it had been near impossible for her to pretend she didn't like Charlie Swan. It had always frustrated her that Bella seemed to constantly push him away. He was a nice dad who cared about his daughter; one who protected people, protected his family, and did his best to provide. Who wouldn't want a dad like that?
"Hi," she said. "It's nice to meet-"
Charlie reached across the table and gripped her hands in his as if he wanted to hug her but didn't want to cross any boundaries. He looked directly into her eyes and Sutton couldn't blink at the sincerity of his stare.
"Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much. You- you have no idea-"
His eyes were starting to look watery and if he started crying, she'd start crying, and she really didn't want that to happen. She gave his hands a squeeze back as well as she could and grimaced.
"It's fine. It really isn't-"
"It's everything. You gave me back my life; my Bells. If you ever need anything- anything at all-"
"Dad," Bella interrupted. She let some of her hair fall in front of her face in embarrassment, but it looked like she was still slightly amused. "Come on, you're gonna make a scene."
At Bella's tone he pulled away and cleared his throat as if remembering where he was.
"I mean it though," he insisted. "This world owes you everything."
A starship on fire and Khan's face flashed through her mind. Her bottom lip trembled.
"It was the least I could do."
He took another step back away from the table and nodded his head in some sort of finality and rested his hands on his belt. He cleared his throat again.
"I guess I better get back on patrol, then. You'll be home tonight, Bells?"
"Yeah, dad. I'll be home."
"Right." He nodded to the Cullens in acknowledgment. His eyes drifted over to land on Edward.
"And this doesn't change anything," he told him. "We still need to have a talk."
Edward nodded a bit sheepishly.
"Yessir."
Sutton watched as Charlie began to walk away. He only made it a few paces before he froze and swiveled back around.
"And, Bells. Just, all… this-" He stood slightly hunched and gestured in a circle at all the Cullens. "I know things are different now, but… stay safe?"
She ducked her head again and smiled behind her hair. Sutton decided it might not have been so awful if she'd changed a few little things.
"Yeah, dad. I'll be safe."
Sutton mumbled about the soup being hot and rubbed at her nose as Charlie left and the group resettled at the table.
"He's a- he's a good dad," she commented. Everyone around the table smiled softly and Bella chewed on her bottom lip.
"Yeah," she said. "He is."
They might have just gone back to eating except Jacob walked through the doors of the diner just as Charlie was leaving. Sutton fleetingly wondering if she was still wearing magnets for the people of this universe.
He already had the group in his sights as he made his way over to them. Sutton tilted her head in one hand in curiosity as she dribbled soup from the spoon back into the bowl.
He grinned as he saw them, his eyes landing on her.
"Hey, you're still here; cool."
Sutton ticked a brow up. She didn't know where he'd expected her to go, but teleporting out of here probably wasn't happening anytime soon. If it did at all.
"So," he said, "I noticed you were collecting stuff from the places you visit. I just wanted to give you something from here too. I don't know when you're leaving, or how your power stuff works, but," he shrugged, "I don't know."
A pang of anxiety shot through her as she remembered that she'd left her case back at the Cullen house. They had politely commented on the items inside and she knew they probably weren't interested in her possessions at all, but the thought of accidentally leaving them was still a heavy concern.
Something hung from Jacob's clenched fist, and he held it up and passed it over the table to her. Bella smiled with an amused quirk of her lips.
"Really, Jake?"
"Shut up."
It was a small wooden, circular pendant probably the size of a fifty-cent piece on a leather cord. On the pendant two images had been carved into the wood. Sutton recognized them. Having lived amongst Native American reservations her entire life, their artwork was familiar to her. Carved totems could be seen at various locations around most counties and the art style of the Pacific Northwestern tribes was fairly distinct.
An eagle was depicted at the top of the pendant while an orca was carved directly below.
"I've seen this before," she said. She traced a finger over the grooves in the image.
"It's Thunderbird," Jacob supplied. "He's the one who created the Quileute, according to legend. He's so big that he creates thunder when he flies and eats orca."
The carving was actually impressive. The lines were smooth and even while the images were spaced perfectly from the edges.
"Did you make this?"
She swore he reddened.
"Yeah. Like I said, I thought you'd like something else to add to your collection."
"It's perfect." Sutton grinned up at Jacob and kept the necklace close. "And not even wolf-themed. You showed a lot of restraint."
Jacob huffed as a few giggles came from the vampires and Bella.
"Well, we're more than just wolves. And Thunderbird is really important to us. Since he can create, and you can too, I dunno. I thought it might bring you strength."
She slipped the necklace over her head while still smiling.
"I feel stronger already," she said. And maybe it was a lie, but it was worth it to see the boy smile.
A rush of air swept into the diner and someone poked their head inside and called for Jacob. Things were getting a little blurry again and Sutton gripped the table as Jacob said good-bye, see you soon, and loped away. Did she say thank you? She couldn't remember. He was being very nice, she hoped she'd remembered to say those words.
They left the diner when Bella had finished her burger and Sutton most of her soup. The fries only appeared to be half eaten. Sutton wasn't completely sure what had happened to the portion that appeared to have been consumed.
It felt like the temperature had dropped when she got back outside, and she guessed it was around autumn based off the clouds and weather. There was the barest hints of yellow in the maple leaves that hadn't yet begun to fall from their places. She'd always liked fall.
"Here."
Edward held out his scarf to her in offering as Sutton attempted to keep pace with the two couples in front of her. She wasn't sure if he'd heard her think it was cold out, or if she'd been shivering, but she accepted the scarf only because she knew he didn't need it any way.
"Thanks."
Her voice was a bit breathy for being on a casual stroll, and Sutton used wrapping the warm fabric around her neck as an excuse to pause on the sidewalk and rest for a moment.
They appeared to be heading back to the vehicles when Alice suddenly froze rigidly on the sidewalk.
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"There's been a large continuous influx of data," Jane said. She was actually taking a small break, sitting in a swivel chair and eating an old bag of potato chips. Even if she wasn't up and moving about at the moment, her eyes still flitted from screen to screen as she spoke. "That surge could still be due to that degradation between universal barriers. Which means it's still being corroded away. The only way it's going to be able to start repairing itself, is if we get Sutton stable."
"Which is the main problem, isn't it?" Reed ran a hand through his hair as he paused to gulp out of his soda can. "You'd think it'd be easier to find her with all this, but there's just so much. Plus that weird energy blast that popped up awhile ago. The computers still haven't figured out what that was."
Jane wiped her hands off on her jeans and pulled a tablet off the counter next to her. There were various graphs displayed, and she chose the one they'd charted from the mystery phenomenon. Pinching her fingers and then flicking them out, she projected the info graph up into the air. There was something unshakably familiar about the rise and fall of the data. Something she'd seen before….
"Hey."
Axel strode forward and began poking at the various codes scrolling through the air.
"These look like they match." He pointed to chunks of code in the mystery reading and then compared it to Sutton's own code. "But why would they match?"
Both Jane and Reed scooted forward to see Axel's point. Indeed, there were patterns mimicked in the foreign data that seemed to be replicant of Sutton's own signature. Reed tilted his head.
"Wait, doesn't that burst actually remind you of-"
"The theoretical science behind a universe spawning event! Direct the computer to look there."
"If that space does match her code, we're going to get a lot of feedback and confusion. It's like it's part of her. Or born from her? I honestly haven't the first clue. This is unprecedented."
"We still have to try, right?" Axel cut in. "That could be her? It's been months since she went missing, guys. And especially after that Convergence stuff, Director Fury is getting a little antsy."
Both scientists ignored his worry.
"Let him be antsy, there's nothing we can do about that," Reed said off-handedly. Axel almost looked pale. His face, at least, had gone slightly slack.
"No, you don't understand. Director-"
"Go tell Tony that he should get down here then," Jane suggested.
"Oh no. I'm not doing that again! The guy hates me."
Jane rolled her eyes without even bothering to look up at the agent.
"He doesn't hate you."
"He kinda does," Reed said.
[I can inform Mister Stark of current developments.]
Jarvis' voice calmly cut through the conversation. That seemed to settle the debate and Jane and Reed dove back into calculations while Axel slumped back into a chair.
"Yeah, well, I'm the one who noticed they matched," he huffed. "Just remember that."
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Sutton stumbled to a stop as Jasper supported Alice as she came out of her vision. Alice
held onto Jasper's arm as she blinked and returned to the present.
"What is it, darlin'?"
Sutton couldn't quite gage her reaction from the back of the group, and Alice was a little fuzzy in her vision anyway, so she listened intently.
"They are coming," she said in a hushed voice. Edward was already stiff and holding Bella close. Sutton sighed in exasperation. "The Volturi. They want to meet...her."
All turned to look at Sutton and her eyebrows tilted in weariness as she slumped further, her spine curving down towards the sidewalk.
"I told you," she said tiredly. "Something always happens."
"Come on. Let's get home first." Edward nodded for the group to continue on, and Sutton pushed herself to keep up with them. Her lungs were burning a bit as she did so, but she worked on catching her breath while she sat in the back of the car. Edward and Bella were having a rapidfire discussion on the drive back to the Cullen house. Sutton couldn't quite immerse herself into it even though she knew she probably should. The Volturi had the potential to be just a big of a threat as any she'd faced before, but the voices in the front of the car were muffled as she stared dazedly out the window.
It was raining again. It must be close to fall. It always rained a lot in the fall. She liked it. She liked the way the fresh rain and damp soil smelled.
"-tton? Hey? Are you ok?"
Sutton blinked and suddenly Bella's face came into focus. She was chewing on her lower lip as she eyed Sutton worriedly. The question sank in and Sutton nodded. Bella turned back around in her seat and addressed Edward.
"We should probably take her back to Carlisle."
"I sent him a text already. He knows; he's on his way home now."
Sutton took another wheezing, half-breath and closed her eyes as she propped her head against the cool window.
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Tony's eyes were bloodshot and his hair hadn't been combed in at least two days, but he was zipping around the lab with all the energy he had.
"Not good," Reed called out from behind a monitor. "Her signal is getting weaker? I don't know exactly what that means, but it can't be good."
"Are you getting a lock," Tony barked. His voice was rough from long nights and too much caffeine. Reed shook his head.
"Not yet. I'm working on it."
"Work faster." Jane cut in. "Because if one of my theories is correct, that girl doesn't have much time left."
Tony's fingers fumbled on some keys, but he managed to recover quickly.
"If you want any projects funded in the future, you'll get that signal locked down."
Reed wiped at his brow and worked faster.
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Her shoulders were moving, there was a gentle pressure around the left socket accompanied by a melodic voice. Sutton's eyes fluttered open to find herself once again the focus of many golden gazes. She was back on the couch in their living room. When had that happened? She didn't remember getting out of the car.
Carlisle was leaning over her and taking her pulse, and she remembered waking up in a similar situation before.
"You fell asleep in the car," said Edward. "We brought you back inside the house."
Sutton's face skewed to the side and she eyed Carlisle with narrowed eyes. She tried to speak, but was hit with a burst of coughing before she could get words out.
"You're not cold," she finally managed to say. "What did you do?"
Carlisle's lips thinned slightly as he continued to assess her.
"I'm afraid that may be poor circulation on your part," he said. "Sutton," his voice was suddenly wavering, "there's no simple way to say this-"
"I know already." She noted the roughness in her own voice. She could feel her chest thrum with a heartbeat that didn't feel right.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump. Thump.
Her heart actually hurt as it beat too fast in her chest. She sucked in another breath of air.
"There is a way." Carlisle hedged; Sutton saw the reddened face of Rosalie.
"No!"
"No." Sutton breathed at the same moment. "Thanks though. I'd just rather-rather not be a vampire. No, no offense."
Bella was either fuzzy or teary-eyed. Sutton limply felt around herself, even making an effort to sit up as she searched around the couch. She didn't have her case. She needed that case.
"My things," she muttered. "I need my things."
One person out of the group disappeared momentarily before reappearing with the silver case. They handed it down to her and Sutton took it with a nod of thanks as she leaned back into the couch. It felt better to have it with her. There was nothing anything in the case could do to help her, really, but for whatever reason she wanted it right now. It felt like the right thing. A tiny, niggling voice in the back of her head tried to argue that maybe everything was fine. Maybe she was just going through a rough patch, and maybe she'd get better. But the cold and the stuttering in her chest argued strongly against that.
Still, she couldn't shake the voice. And she couldn't completely shake that unsteady hope. The fingers on her right hand were splinted, so her left hand twitched instead.
"I don't think I'm dying this very second," she whispered. The group around backed up a few paces and looked sheepish and torn. "Can I- can I get a sharpie?"
"A sharpie?"
Was that Emmett? It sounded like it was.
"The girl wants a sharpie, just get her one."
She felt a thick marker being placed in her grasp, thankfully already uncapped, and she struggled to write on the case with her non-dominant hand.
Tony - Thank you. Just in case, the watch.
Flipping the case over, she wrote on the opposite side too.
Mom, Howard, Tyrese - I love you.
She might have written more, but writing left-handed was difficult as it was, and she couldn't lift her arm very well after writing just those short sentences.
What would happen to her body when she died? Would it stay here, no longer in a state of unbalanced flux? Would it zap back home to the horror of her family?
She decided she didn't like thinking about it.
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"We're losing her signal!" Reed frantically moved about from monitor to monitor. He smacked one screen a bit ruthlessly and growled through gritted teeth. "We have to do it now!"
"No! No!"
Tony was moving quickly. He'd forgotten to do something, he knew he had. Something important. But his head was swimming with lack of sleep, numbers, and adrenaline and it was hard to think. He moved even more quickly than Reed around the room, his fingers danced across screens as sweat gathered at his brow. His gaze flickered over one console before it came zooming back and he remembered.
"Not yet," he snapped. "I don't have coordinates set! She-"
"It's almost gone," Jane shouted. Her face paled as the little blip on the screen before her began to fade.
"I'm sorry Tony. It has to be now."
"No! Wait!" The console was on the other side of the room. His legs couldn't move fast enough.
Jane hit enter. The machine roared to life.
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Sutton felt a familiar tugging beneath her skin and her stomach fell. On top of the chest pains and everything else it was searing to the point of almost making her numb.
Soon. It was too soon. She wasn't strong enough.
There wasn't even enough air in her lungs to scream. Her eyes stretched wide and taut and a small puff of air made it passed her lips. She clutched the silver case, fingers shaking and vibrating as she shoved it down into the waistband of her jeans where it sat tight against her hips.
Safe.
Her skin was tearing again. Someone shouted, someone else choked. Golden gazes turned to stars. Sutton saw space once again.
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Mwahaha. Yes. I would love to hear what you guys thought about this chapter! :)
And if anyone is disappointed she left so soon, I had never planned on her staying long in the Twilight universe. I had mostly thought this plot point up for my own amusement, and then thought, "hey. What *would* happen if an author didn't have this "potential". So... yeah.
Thanks for putting up with me.
