God damn, it's been a while since I last updated, literally almost two weeks… Hi hi, lil author's note here, because I wasn't sure if I was ready to say this for a while now, but I think the right time should be now.
I have been thinking about switching to Wattpad. My handle there is the same name as this one, but I have been stalling on bringing this story (and Pride Bloopers too) to that platform because like… it feels weird to copy and paste a whole story somewhere else.
Although I don't think it would hurt to bring all fifty damn one chapters over there, I'm still iffy on it; it seems lazy to me.
So yeah, I got a Wattpad page, with the same handle. I lowkey have a but I wanna warm up to Wattpad, the site seems promising for original works and I got a few in mind :).
Don't worry about what they are for now. We still gotta finish this shit, gdi.
Without further ado, enjoy this chapter!
«•»«•»«•»«•»«•»«•»
Breaking Conundrum
«•»«•»«•»«•»«•»«•»
Draco's terrain, after what was made up of mostly machines and constructors, resembled what the aftermath of the Seven Years War should have been for the entire planet: dark, grey and dreary; Buildings that were mostly black with incandescent luminescents around its outlines, and barely anyone without a somber, worn attitude walking along the streets, if any.
Within the large country, the north western part of Draco holds eight large, dome structures that were about as big as a town each. They were situated going directly vertical, horizontal, and diagonal to each other. These domes sat on the ground of a reserved 'power boosting' aura thanks to an otherworld leader that harvested a former campground's energy, and was once a host for many inhuman experiments done to a select few. That place's origins is a whole other story.
Now, those domes were used for superhuman training, one of which Shigeru was currently in. Similar to a gravity chamber, the scientists from planets outside of Desna modified these domes to simulate time as well. Those who trained in them could set the interior training room to perceive time twice to four times as fast as the norm, and for an ex-champion like Shigeru, these buildings were nothing more than a warm-up caddy for him. He dodged the simulated ki blasts, nimbly cartwheeling on the balls of his fingers and deflecting them back to the bouncing white walls. He set the chamber's time perception to be four times as fast and even that wasn't doing numbers on his speed.
The lights dimmed for a moment before becoming incandescent blue, and all of the remaining energy balls dissipated into the walls once they made contact. Shigeru stopped moving, grappled against a bearing on the wall, and planted his feet on its surface as time started to slow back down to normal. The chamber door below opened and in stepped Andrea, arms crossed as the room's strong electrical field crackled around her body but she remained unphased. If an average human entered the chamber at this time, they would have been electrocuted to death instantly.
"Shigeru." She watched Shigeru leap from the wall to the ground, a few meters away from her. He regarded her space with respect as he stretched his worked muscles. "Need I warrant you reproof?"
"What do you mean?" He stepped forward mid stretch, and then stopped his stretching completely. "I didn't do anything."
"You didn't, but one of your contractors did." Andrea raised her hand towards him. In the middle of her open palm was a metal square, that of which projected a screen for Shigeru to see just what she was talking about. The ex-champion skim-read two words that instantly brought about alarm:
Granger, and hitmarked.
"Is this what you're talking about?" He frowned deeply. "Andrea, I would not attack my own clientele, you know that. Ms. Granger has no quarrels with me."
She motioned for him to follow her out of the chamber. As they walked, she held the hologram out for him to see. "This is not for her." Andrea bought her palm towards her as the information cycled again. An image of the target popped up. "Thomas Granger; fifteen years old, attends East City's Polytechnical High School. He was found just four days ago in a concentrated room by our surveillance team, and was sent to the hospital not even two days prior to now."
The subleader had no reason to step into the details of any of her specialists, or operations managers' business matters. Seeing how she came up to him, and told him about something he didn't know of, and presented it to him in person meant that this was an actual problem.
"He's… he's still alive?" Shigeru looked elsewhere for a moment; he never sent a hitout to Rebecca or her little brother; frankly a small portion of his own team worked with the surveillance group so this should not be on deaf ears for him, especially because he spent much of his time in the chamber out of boredom.
"He was left in critical condition, not enough to readily kill him, so the boy is still alive." Andrea nodded, lowering her hand . "This was marked under your record. No one could tamper with it but you, I don't know how you could not have anything to do with this."
He can tell she was maintaining her calm timbre, such information upsetted her a lot. To her, it sounded like he was lying straight to her face because this had never happened before. All of the sectors exist as sectors because they are not meant to cross over. At least, not now. "Andrea, I had nothing to do with that hit. It was not me. I have no business cutting up people in Rebecca's personal life." Shigeru frowned. "And if I did, they would be dead on sight, not in a hospital bed."
Andrea stopped walking alongside him and narrowed her eyes. "Are you implying that you were intercepted?"
That was a very big thing to imply, one that could cost conflict and lives in their own syndicate. Everyone in this business must be tied to one another like threads to a woven sheet; to have a 'snag' would make the entire syndicate collapse. Shigeru knew he did not place any hit on Thomas, but to outright say someone else did it either suggested someone tampered with his sector, or an outer force like a shrewd client was able to hack their systems.
The second one was impossible, as the servers they use are not even the same branch as the surface Web most of Desna uses.
"I wouldn't say I wasn't." Shigeru looked down at the woman's icy blue eyes. She looked visibly angry at this point. "I'm being serious! This hit isn't like something I would construct."
Andrea casted a look away from him in quick thought. "Then who would?" She asked, but not necessarily to him. Her metal chin was tense against her pink lips as she started walking away. Shigeru watched her storm off for a moment before she turned to him. "Come with me."
Shigeru jumped at her tone and hastened himself in the blink of an eye.
•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•
"... So who was in this room before you left?"
The surveillance man frantically turned back around and searched his computer for a camera capture of what occured four evenings ago. With the operationist and the subleader behind him, he felt sweat beads build up on the very top of his forehead, getting the evidence out as best as he could. He pulled up a cam log, showing an empty room just nine hours of the aforementioned hit placed on Thomas.
"W-what is this for?" He tried so hard to keep his voice level, especially with Andrea leaning in just to scrutinize her sightings better.
Shigeru, the calmest one of the trio, explained: "Nothing personal; we just found that somebody was messing around with my operations and traced it back to your surveillance camera. Can you tell me what happened that evening?"
"Umm…" The man swallowed. "I-I-I went out and umm…"
This time, Andrea placed her hand on his shoulder. "Relax. We just want to know your whereabouts that night."
The surveillance man took a breath before he spoke. "I left this room to get something to eat. I had my keys and everything with me, and I wasn't watching over Granger's mansion that day."
"Were you ever told to watch it?" Shigeru raised a brow.
"Not at all." He shook his head. "Someone must have taken my keys while I wasn't looking and… intercepted one of our feeds. I was not the one put on watching Granger's stock."
Shigeru and Andrea took a moment to think it over. Andrea turned to him while flickering her eyes to the screen; still, no one seemed to show up. "Do you know which feed this from? Speed this up please."
"O-oh right." He turned in his seat and sped up the video, putting it in a separate window as he opened up another window revealing all the surveillance feeds. "This was from an outlier feed, not stationed in our domain." Most of them were posted around Draco but there were some watching over crime scenes, or hideouts. One in particular, named GR5560, currently showed the inside of Rebecca's stock room. Four days ago, that same feed was inactive around this time.
"Look." Shigeru nodded to the sped up video, motioning for the man to slow it back to normal. "Someone's walking in."
The three of them watched as a brown haired man quietly opened and closed this room's door, looking down at a post-it before going directly to the computers and, more than likely, tampering with the feed. They could not see what was on the screen at this camera's angle, but there was no mistaking that moppy brown head: the culprit.
"You mind turning the camera for us?" Andrea asked him. The syndicate used a trace around camera system that recorded everything in a 360 degree view.
He used the cursor to angle the camera and squinted. "That looks like her room on the screen there."
"Why is Merkel here?" Andrea raised her voice, catching the attention of both the males. Her normally cool demeanor was heavily set off at the sight of this, it made both the men's toes curl. "Did you talk with him while you were out?"
"N-no, no I did not." The surveillance man shook his head frantically. "I was with some others, but not him. I didn't encounter him at all."
"He must have slipped past and grabbed your keys, the sly bastard." Shigeru shook his head. Andrea on the other hand opened her palm and enacted her hologram, accessing panels quicker than the men could catch with their naked eyes before she threw her hand back down. Within two minutes, Merkel opened the door to the surveillance room.
He peeked his head in with a face that tried way too hard not to show how much he more than likely was shaking prior to looking Andrea in the face right now. "You called me?"
"What is the meaning of this?" Andrea threw a finger at the screen. "How, and why would you intercept Shigeru's sector to place a hit on someone?"
Merkel had now stepped into the room completely. He knew this would be mentioned, but he didn't think he'd have Andrea on his case this quickly. In fact, he didn't think she'd know about this beforehand, so it was against his better judgement to straight up lie. "The person was caught in her stock. They were not supposed to be there."
"But why is that," Shigeru was referring to the surveillance feed, "Brought here? Why did you sever and intercept that feed? And why did you get one my hitmen to run in on Rebecca's little brother?"
Merkel looked between them, and then Andrea looked down at the surveillance guy. Said man quickly got the hint, and fretfully stood up and left the room without a word.
Andrea continued, her voice now holding a calm timbre. "Not only do you risk blunder for any possible future missions, but your target was not even killed in the process." She took a step towards him, and Shigeru could laugh at how the other operationist swallowed from that. "Did you think this through?"
"I did." Merkel's hands went behind his back and he stood straighter.
"But why?" Shigeru shrugged his arms.
It took Merkel a long moment to respond, so Andrea did it for him. "Is it for vengeance?"
There was no answer. Andrea shook her head. "Does she drive you mad? Are you really not able to contain yourself knowing she is affiliated with us? The woman doesn't even cofiliate with your sector."
He bit the inner bottom of his lip for a moment. "You guys don't understand…" He was right, they didn't understand; they didn't understand the nights he had spent wondering, theorizing, comprehending how this petite young woman who looked too weak to hurt a bee, could be picking up work in an inhumane sector. They didn't understand how that has been on his mind every single day, how mind boggling it was to him, and how fucking disgraceful it was to his brother.
In a way, because he is affiliated with the dark syndicate, it felt like she was working alongside him and he did not want her anywhere near him and what he does. He did not want to know she even existed, and now… knowing she is currently trying besmirch a basketball player's name and having had her own friend beaten up, he cannot help but think that Shigeru's assumption of her 'instability' was them overlooking how skeevy, how dirty she really was. Her simplicity made her look like someone who knew nothing of manipulation, and the fact that she was doctor pushed this narrative even further.
He imagined her somehow weaseling her way into their brains, somehow swiveling them to do her bidding otherwise she'd have them exposed. He imagined this woman one day setting them up in an operation she had planned, multiple times over. Hell, this was one of his dreams, for crying out loud!
But that was too much, way too much to explain to two individuals who did not think as much as he did. Merkel, in his unsavory obsession, thought he had the higher ground by 'putting more fear' into Rebecca's newfound hobby, by rolling it over and over in his head just in case the worse does happen, and right now, those two individuals awaited the continuation of his response.
"I just… I don't like her. At all. I hate her guts."
Andrea and Shigeru looked at each other for a good moment before they straight faced him and spoke simultaneously. "We know that."
"But she's just… I don't like her tampering with our business." Merkel shook his head. "We don't know just how manipulative this bitch could be."
"That's right: we don't." Shigeru nodded. "But, that's not a bother to us. Does she have a whole fleet of hitmen, engineers, and strong people alike? I don't think so."
"What was the point of this, aside from reinforcing your hate for her?" Andrea looked Merkel dead in his eyes.
He found the courage to speak up through that hate. Even though his reasoning was as obscure as his thought process, his eyes went to the ground as his voice took on a deep, hard and gritty tone that made his fingers tense at the very thought of his answer.
"I want her shut… the fuck… down." He pursed his lips, and then faced them. "I know she is nothing more than clientele, but I want her washed off our hands because she is a skeevy whore. Everything about her reeks of trouble, and I don't want her dirt in our business. Making sure her brother gets a rut end is the beginning of her downfall, I know the little cunt wouldn't keep his mouth shut about what he saw, granted he stays alive. And if he doesn't, it's just another building block falling off of an already beaten down structure; she will surely lose her shit. Thomas was just… a catalyst to her being destroyed, and besides, I made sure the man has kept his tracks un-swatchable. They wouldn't know it was from us, but she does, and knowing she cannot say anything about it will gradually break her until she can't handle the pressure anymore."
The long pause rendered both the subleader and his fellow operationist to stare at him before Shigeru snorted loudly. "You've been spending way too much time with Duble." Andrea didn't say anything but she shook her head with a smirk, Shigeru raised his brows. "You would really risk blowing our cover if it meant her death?"
"I'm not going to do such a thing." Merkel raised his hands and shook his head. "We're still covered, you guys. Her little brother being in the hospital won't do anything to us. If anything, they'll just throw her in jail before she decides to off herself." He turned back to the door, placing a hand on it before he looked back at them with the most crooked smile they've ever seen. "And unlike my brother Bates, we're not getting her out when that happens."
Merkel's smirk was heavy as he left the room, the operationist looked so proud of getting out of a potential scuffle over his actions. He knew what he was doing was the right thing for both his line or work and his sanity, he just couldn't live knowing that Rebecca was sauntering around Tycho unscathed. Closing the door on his subleader and associate, he left no room for objections since he figured the two understood his motives well enough.
They did, but they watched his gait with impartiality to his ideals and his 'scheme'. They knew Merkel was too competent to let his own hatred be a blunder for his line of work, but they also know that he is crazy enough to do such a thing like this when it could potentially cause a bad rap for everyone. Good thing Andrea knew her operationists well enough to nip this situation right in the bud.
Shigeru looked back at the computer screen. The feed was still on, and he went over to turn it off. Just before his hand made it to the keyboard, Andrea pointed a finger behind her and directly at the computer; it turned off immediately. Shigeru blinked, it was not a surprise to see Andrea use her electrokinetic abilities freely in these premises. At least here, she would not be hailed like a God…
He reapproached Andrea and eyed the closed door before facing her, his expression was quite ornery. "Obsessed?"
The ex-shampion was talking about Merkel, and Andrea, now knowing that it wasn't a third party interception that did the bidding, felt less convicted to her frustration given she now knows that Merkel was the one behind it. An even lesser conviction has stricken her after his little monologue, and she found herself shaking her head and pursing her lips in… well, agreement. In some ways, Merkel was worse than Scott when it came to obsession, and that man killed his own boss to keep him away from one person.
"Yeah," She nodded, and then headed towards the door as well. "Obsessed."
•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•
The silver prison gates opened; five guards stood side by side in an almost chevron formation around a young woman. She, once clad in prison clothing, was now sporting cyan jeans and a black top. Her hair had lost most of its green hue, and her light blue eyes were fixated on the black limo in front of her. Walking in heels, the woman elegantly stepped inside of the limo; she had her hands in a church pose as the black tinted windows rolled up, only to smile at the guards right before her face was completely obscured.
South City's largest prison is a maximum security force that held a male and a female sector, both separated and heavily guarded by tranq-snipers. Only the criminals that rank from the worst to the absolute worst were brought here, whether it be serial killers, serial rapists, or high-tier hackers doing very illegal things. This woman was one of those people in the lower tier of that range; she just managed to hijack a whole bank account that belonged to Jay, who is currently her ex-boyfriend. That in itself, given the personal security advancement Desna has to offer, is a tremendous feat, and even though the money has long been evoked from her hands she still had quite a lot after leaving prison.
No, she didn't pay for this limousine. The person who bailed her out did.
Twenty minutes into her drive after taking a megaway landed her in the upper southside of West City, right in front of the destination she was supposed to be taken. The butch man beside her stayed quite the entire ride while she looked out the window, and once they parked in front of a luxurious restaurant, he handed her a pair of expensive shades. She had put them on, stepped out of the limo, and approached the entrance without a word.
Her glasses had a red lining around them that glowed incandescent regardless of light being in her premise, an easily distinguishable trait about her that the receptionist, on request, was supposed to look out for. The moment he saw her, he nodded and allowed her in without offering a seating, that was also covered for her as well. The young woman continued walking into the restaurant, looking amongst all of the wood accented tables and chandeliers, as well as the people eating and drinking and chatting. It didn't take long until she found her partner sitting alone with a glass of what looking to be a mixed drink beside her, along with a mimosa right across from where she sat. She had a full face of makeup on, and a beautiful basil colored V-neck jumpsuit with gold accents that complimented her red hair and green eyes.
Upon seeing her, her pace quickened until she finally sat down and removed her glasses to look her old pal-in-crime in the eyes. "Thanks for getting me out, 'Becca."
"Don't mention it." The doctor smiled at the woman before it quirked into a smirk. "How was it, Heather?"
Heather gave her a look. "It was ass, that's what it was." She shook her head and that earned a tiny laugh from the doctor. "Did you order food yet or…?"
"Already got what you wanted a several minutes ago." Since Heather had texted her of her meal after Rebecca sent her pictures of the menu, they both didn't have to worry about taking orders at the moment, which meant they could right into business.
"So… aside from my homecoming," Heather propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on the back of her hands. "What do we got?"
"Not anything major, but I recently got in touch with Gina." Rebecca looked down at her drink for a moment before she leaned forward, ready to gossip. "We were at a party, and I met her boyfriend; guy's a sweetheart and he's really hot."
Which is quite unfortunate for Ethan, he was dating a complete psychopath. Rebecca knew, because her older sister Heather is one too. Their family genes are quite strong in that aspect.
"Really?" Heather was invested, since she had been in jail for a few years she wanted to know what's been going on in the outside world. "What's he look like?"
"Blue eyes, ashy brown hair… he's pretty tall too. I… kinda forgot his name." No she didn't; Rebecca didn't disclose his name because she felt he would be useful, not only for a possible crime but… Ethan looked way too handsome for someone as nutty as Gina. Rebecca wouldn't mind easing his troubles of having a manipulative girlfriend for a night or two.
"Dang; maybe I'll ask Gina when I do see her around." Heather drank a bit of her mimosa. "How about your friends? Is Irene doing well and things?"
"Ohh, umm…" Rebecca shifted a little at that question. "We kind of… stopped being friends."
The ex-convict cocked her neck back. "How?! You two were separable, what happened? You guys had a falling out?"
"Well no…" Rebecca shook her head.
"When did this happen?" This was like crazy news to Heather because before she went to jail, there wasn't a day where Rebecca wouldn't be talking about Irene and vice versa. The two would hang out every week after Rebecca graduated from college, every conversation she and Heather had always mentioned some dumb shit Irene said or did. Heather could only fathom to imagine their breakup was gradual because of how close they were.
"A little under a month ago."
"No way…" Heather shook her head. "How?"
"She and I didn't agree on who she was dating." Rebecca swirled her drink with her straw. "So she cut me off."
"...Just like that?" Heather frowned. "That's not something Irene would do."
"Girl, trust me- and I'm not trying to be messy; she can have a little bit of a temper and I kinda rubbed her the wrong way because… okay, like, we both thought that her boyfriend was cheating, but it turns out that he really wasn't and she got a little too obsessive for his every move." Rebecca emphasized the last two words with her hands. "So I told her that it was not worth it if she was going to worry so much, and this was on the phone mind you; her boyfriend was there too. It was then and there when she ended both our friendship, and broke up with her guy."
Heather took a moment to process everything she was told. "That is odd… that sounds really stupid."
It was partially stupid because it was not the full story, but she did not need to know that Rebecca provoked Irene to kill two birds with one stone. Looking back on it, nobody could be hot headed enough to do such a thing, lose a moral support and end a relationship on a lie she was told to believe. Hmm... maybe Zamasu was right, stupidity is her virtue.
"It was just…" Rebecca sighed loudly. "A whole mess, like… I don't even think about it anymore. Geez…"
"Huh…" Heather nodded slowly. Rebecca was lucky she didn't ask more questions over the situation, not that that was a trait she had. It used to be a quirk she adopted from dating Jay, because he was a skeptical fuck if you were not someone he vibed with. Looks like she's lost that with time, though.
Their food came by a minute after. Heather ordered a salisbury steak with mushroom gravy, french onion soup as her appetizer and they both opted for a side of shared penne alla vodka, which Heather ate most of. Rebecca had the same onion soup but instead she ordered a dijon salmon; this was the most food she's had in one sitting in a while.
After they had finished, Heather sipped her half filled glass of water and clasped her hands together. "About that other thing…"
The doctor was thinking about the repairs that are now being done on her house as they ate. They weren't expensive as they were all minor, but she was more concerned with the fact that someone was possibly tailing her at the moment. She was also mostly concerned with Thomas, and while the stress of having her little brother in the hospital had been eating at her every since she had gotten the call from a fellow coworker, she also hoped he did not touch anything in her room; the last thing she wanted was for him to be seized by the police in his own hospital bed. Even though her frustration was enough to make her bite at her fingernails for a night, she still couldn't show that kind of worry to anyone else, because it was no one else's business, and whoever knows what they shouldn't would be killed on the spot. As for her dogs, Ollie and Loki, she had sent a team to take them back by sabotaging the fraudulent 'errand runner' and killing her swiftly.
Her thoughts were immediately cut once Heather spoke, and she continued looking as though her day was as peachy as it can be. Gotta keep the games going, right? "The other thing… yes." She drank a bit of her water. "I know you are familiar with a couple, if not a few people you were in jail with."
"The ones who were taken out not too long ago?" Heather nodded. "Yeah, I know 'em; what, are we the chosen ones or something?"
"Maaaaybe." Rebecca shrugged and giggled. "I know you're good at getting into things. There is something I want you to do for me, once I get the information I need, alright?"
Heather nodded slowly; now, if this were her years ago, she would have jumped at the idea because Rebecca was one of her really good friends. Opportunities like the one she got against Jay were hard to come by, especially because she no longer had the connection to rich people aside from her sister and her father. The years she spent in prison hardened her mentality, and since she was more of a coordinator to a prison beatdown instead of a victim, she was not so eager to take action upon request given they are not directed towards her, or people she knows.
"What's in it for me?" Heather smirked at her coyly. "I know in the past few years you've amassed a lot of money; we're friends, but I don't take bounties for free anymore."
Rebecca's brows raised, but she smiled. "You really think I'm gonna not pay you? You have a skill, a reputable one, so you definitely deserve profit once the deed is done."
Heather's smile was big. Not only did her friend bail her out of jail, but she was totally looking into a job prospect that could financially set her on for years. Rebecca had given her quite a lot to start off with, but since Heather had been appointed by the syndicate that she did not know of, she was looking at a wealthy lifestyle, just like the old days but better.
"I'll await your job offer." Heather nodded, just in time for their waiter to take their empty plates out. Rebecca asked for another mixed drink, and Heather opted for a glass of mimosa again. She changed the subject craftily. "So, you still hang out with James and his basketball crew?"
"Not at all. Like, I cut them off soon after you were put in jail." Rebecca shook her head. Heather was the only one who knew about her little affairs with almost James' entire basketball team. Irene didn't know because Rebecca been known that she was one those people; you really wouldn't want to tell this woman your secrets. She'd just tell everyone if you get her angry. "Literally all of them were a disappointment like… you would think with how athletic they are, they knew what they were fucking doing." She groaned. "All of them were sad fucks at night. I had better sex with Adrian when we dated in highschool and he was a damn virgin at the time."
"Celebrities aren't all that, honey. Trust me." Heather shook her head. "You still hang out Adrian and them?"
"Not really. Not Adrian but I am friends with one of his friends." She smiled. If this happened several months ago she would be fawning over Jay, because she had a crush on Jay for the longest. Her fantasies have subsided, but… keeping him around was quite nice. She didn't have any plans to make dick appointments with him so that's a genuine plus.
"Who?"
"Just somebody he knows. You're not familiar with him." Rebecca waved a hand dismissively. "Why ask?"
"You don't usually becomes friends with guys like that, girl." Heather squinted. "I know how you do; is he gonna be a one-night stand?"
"No! Not at all, I actually kinda respect him a bit." Rebecca playfully hit Heather's arm. "You bitch."
"I kid, I kid. It's a nice change though…" Heather looked at Rebecca as she said that with a slow nod, really thinking about the concept of Rebecca being non-sexual friends with a man. "I hope he treats you well."
"Heather, I'm not dating him."
"I know, but you always had like… a hate thing for guys."
And girls too. Some of them, but that 'hate thing' Heather said was sort of a euphemism. Heather knows about her hardships of holding a functional relationship, one that either didn't make her sabotage the guy or where she wasn't being abused. Rebecca always had a hard time finding that middle ground, that 'sweet spot' when it came to romance and sex.
Rebecca knows that she can't just hope for that given the recent choices she made. Her life must be devoid of that sappy shit.
"It's not that serious. He's just a friend. That's it." He's hot, too. Like there was no denying that Jay was damned fine, and Mandalan men weren't even her type. Not that she thought about it, all of the guys in the immediate squad were fucking fine, even Zamasu. It would be way too much to imagine that green god gripping her with the dominance he showed when he used to live with her. Oooh, chile.
Heather shrugged. "Regardless, I hope it stays that way."
And it will, probably. Until Rebecca decides to end it, which is bound to happen. She looked at their food tab on the table's kiosk, and decided to pay electronically. After the both of them finished their drinks, she left a copious tip on the table, and left the restaurant to drive Heather around for a bit. It felt good to reintroduce her to the rest of the world, especially because in hindsight, the only people they truly have on their sides, is eachother.
This woman, as she knew it, was the only friend she can viably have and confide in now.
•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•
"Thomas..."
The male voice sounded like it encased the entire room or… was this even a room? Thomas felt like he wasn't laying on anything at all, as though his body was suspended in midair. His eyes were still closed but strangely enough, he could now see where he was. Maybe his mind's eye was looking around the area for him, and from what he saw, it was dark and vacant. There was nothing around him, no walls or floors, no lights or candles; he was in complete darkness.
Then the voice called out to him again. "Thomas? Can you see me?"
The voice, with how it filled the abyss he was in, made him scrunch up his face. It was so loud, that it felt like how loud music would vibrate through his body; that's exactly what this voice was doing, but it was calming, comforting…
"Uhh…" Thomas felt strange, now his own voice was just as loud. Again, it sounded like it came from the entire premise. He mustered up the courage to speak, now feeling his body vibrate intensively. "I-I can't see you. I can't see anything…"
"Relax." The voice told him, and Thomas' body was now vibrating so loud that he could hear it. The low ringing in his ears confiscated every other sound he could potentially catch other than the man's voice, which strangely sounded familiar. He just couldn't place it due to how it bounced around this 'abyss' he was in.
There was a pause before the man sighed: "You're panicking. Stay calm."
"How? How do I? Everything is so loud and my body feels weird-" It felt like mush with how it rattled, Thomas felt his head raise in his lying position.
"Take a deep, easy breath. Just one."
And so he did, and suddenly, the teen was no longer cold and vibrating. His body was still and undisturbed, the ring disappeared completely, and he felt a light breeze on his face. "What… what just happened?"
"Open your eyes."
"Aren't they… open… already?" Thomas' eyes were closed but… he could still 'see'. He could faintly make out blurry visages of a sky and the grass colliding together.
The man laughed a little at the silly question. "Yes, but actually open them."
Now that the voice was less reverberant, Thomas could better place the familiarity of his timbre, and upon actually opening his eyes, he saw… he saw paradise. He was in a beautiful garden, with a bright sky and even brighter leaves. It was quiet aside from the natural ambience, and there was no building in sight. As for the man, he stood a few meters away from him, and Thomas could gasp at the figure watching him come to his senses.
"Zamasu?" Thomas only moved his eyes, the rest of his body felt heavy. "Is that you? How are you- where am I-"
Zamasu nodded. "You're in a secluded realm, away from Desna for the moment."
"Am I dead?! Did I die?!" The teen's eyes went wide, and again Zamasu chuckled it off.
"You're not dead." The Kaioshin shook his head. He came closer until he sat down right next to Thomas with his legs crossed. "You can move around, but it will take you time. You haven't been in this situation before." Thomas had never had a lucid dream before, that was what Zamasu was referring to.
"I feel… odd. My body feels heavy." Thomas' whole body felt like television static. He could barely lift his arms up. "What happened?"
"I pulled you out of your body so that I can speak with you." The God briefed, and he watched Thomas' face grow even more incredulous.
Just what did that dude shoot him with? Why am I hallucinating?
"You're not hallucinating. You're also not physically here either."
"And you're reading my mind too?!" Thomas found the energy to prop himself up on his forearms. "Why am I here? This is crazy..."
Zamasu looked at him with the most serious, paternal expression Thomas has ever seen. The only time he was ever look at like that was by his dad, and Zamasu was not joking around with what he wanted to know. "I went to your house just after something happened. I know you are in the hospital right now."
Thomas looked around, reminded of the fact that he wasn't physically in this elegant garden. "What time is it?"
"Here? There is no time, but in Desna you were hospitalized not too long after the incident. You are in a coma as we speak." Zamasu told him. "What exactly happened that led to you being injured like this?"
The God could pry it out of Thomas' brain right now, but he wanted to practice patience, and if Thomas wasn't going to say anything on his free will, he will get his answers whether the teen liked it or not.
"Umm… some guy tried to kill me." Thomas spoke shortly. He felt uncomfortable.
"Why?" Zamasu leaned forward. "I want you to relax around me. If you get too nervous, you'll be sent back to your body."
Thomas looked at him. "Will that hurt?"
"Not at all." Zamasu shook his head. "Now, why was he trying to kill you?"
There was no point in acting like he wasn't running the events over in his head, but that question had two answers. One, was that he went into Rebecca's drug room and saw things that he was not supposed to see. The other, being more personable, was that he didn't know specifically why he had to be killed. "I don't… know."
Zamasu looked to be a bit impatient with his reluctance. "Yes you do." That shut Thomas up from making any excuses, just with his tone alone. Zamasu continued. "Describe to me what you saw in that room."
Thomas felt like he was a criminal being interrogated. Zamasu softened his body language the moment Thomas thought that. Yup, this guy was reading his everything. "I saw a lot of drugs… like really crazy ones that looked illegal."
The teen suddenly clasped his hand against his own mouth, he did not mean to say the last part, as he wanted to remain impartial, but his body and voice were acting out of impulse.
"It is not impulse. When you are in this state of being, everything you do is your true actions. You cannot lie to me, you cannot hide anything from me especially since I am a God. You speak and do your truth in this realm."
Thomas looked at Zamasu as he stood up to walk away, and the teen felt a knot build up in his stomach. "Please don't-" He couldn't stay it, but Zamasu knew what he was going to say.
"Why not?" the Kaioshin turned to him. "Why not confront her over this? It has been several hours since the invasion and she has not been in the hospital to see you." Zamasu's frown was deep. "Shouldn't that raise some suspicion in you, Thomas?"
"I-I just don't want… I don't you to be mad…" Thomas was so weak and vulnerable in this state, and he felt more emotional than he should especially because the memories were starting to impact him now. Zamasu's stern voice was not helping either, and it made his face hot; was he starting to cry?
Zamasu sighed and came back to him. He put a hand on his shoulder to show Thomas that he was not mad at him. "I do not want you getting hurt without knowing the culprit, Thomas. Understand this."
Now the warmth and comfort from the God is what was making him emotional. "Okay…"
"I won't let this stand." He released the trembling boy. "But I won't lambast her the way I want to if you don't want me to."
Thomas could see Zamasu cornering Rebecca, making her spit out and spill her true intentions and actions but he didn't want to face the repercussions for knowing something that could get her in trouble, and could have him dead.
Zamasu stood back up. "I want you to know that you are in good hands back there."
Thomas wiped his wet cheeks. "Back where?"
"In the hospital." Zamasu nodded. "Terry is mainly taking care of you, and you bet he'll want to know everything you told me."
Oh boy, he definitely was going to haul his ass with questions given the injuries Thomas suffered. He wouldn't be surprised if the very first person he sees upon waking up is Terry looking down at him. He heard Zamasu's boots rustle against the grass, the God was walking away. "I barely said anything to you."
Zamasu turned to him, and smiled. "You've showed me enough." He continued leaving and Thomas slowly felt his body vibrate again, albeit less intense. The wind blew for one last time before the teen departed from the realm. "Bye, Thomas."
That interaction, he didn't exactly what time it had occurred, but he knew it happened within the first day of him being comatose. He spent three more days, a total of four, completely unconscious and unaware of what was going on. Unbeknownst to him, due to the nature of what the forensic team found, his room was under heavy watch just in case if a fibby person walked in when they weren't supposed to. As instructed by France, the halls leading up to his room were empty aside from a few security guards put in place of watching the vicinity.
Thomas woke up to seeing his leg in one of those weird machines that he didn't know the name of. He couldn't feel anything on his leg as it was numbed, but he felt a lot less weaker than he thought. You would think, with the amount of blood he lost, that he wouldn't even be able to open his eyes fully. Laying on his inclined hospital bed, Thomas could comfortably move his limbs without feeling all that exhausted.
But on God's ten fingers, he was really freaking hungry.
As if the world decided to answer to his stomachs prayers, the door to his white room opened. Terry entered with a full tray of some baked macaroni and cheese, a cup of water, and a chicken caesar salad. Those were all his favorite things to eat, and his stomach impatiently protested.
"Good evening, Thomas." Terry, being the paternal friend he is, set the food down on his beds tray and took a seat to sit by him. He folded his hands but they rubbed together; he always does that when a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. "I brought you some of your favorite grub because I know you'd be starving. How are you feeling?"
Like hell, he was starving. "I'm… I'm fine, uhh…" Thomas propped himself to sit up more, eyes pretty much glowed at the sight of the steaming, ready food in front of him. Hospital food was always banging. "Wait, it's evening? Have I been out for a whole day?"
"You've been out for four days."
"The fuck?!" Thomas exclaimed, leaning forward to emphasize how fucking crazy that was. Wow, he's used that word a lot, hasn't he?
Terry raised a finger, disapproved. "Language, boy."
"My… My bad." Thomas subsided, he sunk back into the bed. The events of his escape ran through his head as he looked around the minimalist E-room. His gaze traveled down to his injured leg, not knowing what the lit up machine that encase his leg from the knees down was. He couldn't even see his own leg, and that made him freak out a bit. "Am I gonna get my leg amputated? Is this a prosthetic?"
Terry chuckled despite the shakiness of the teen before him. It was a silly question to him because he was a doctor, he knew what that machine was. "Thomas, if you were having your leg amputated, that would have been the first thing that I'd propose to you." He gestured to the machine, and Thomas' eyes followed. "Your leg is in a BMT converter. Bone, Muscle, Tissue, of course; while you were in a coma, it was speed repairing all the damaged nerves and muscles in your leg."
Thomas raised his brows; so that's how people who get shot in a limb get it completely healed back, as if they were never hit in the first place. Technology is quite the Desnian feat. "How come I don't feel like hell right now?"
"We immediately added neuron adaptors to your body to speed up your blood production, so that you wouldn't bleed out beyond your legs repair." Terry explained. "You're really lucky, the ambulance came just in time to save your leg. You'll be all healed up and ready to walk within several days."
That was a relief, Thomas exhaled happily. Not that getting a prosthetic was a bad thing, but from what he read it could take over three weeks to fully process a mechanical leg, and months to relearn how to walk again with it. You bet he's not trying to miss months worth of dodgeball.
"Here." Terry rotated the tray of his food so that it could be situated in front of Thomas. "I'm surprised your eyes weren't glued on the mac and cheese."
Thomas casted a look at the older doctor. "I have a lot of self control, and I'm not that hungry."
No he didn't, and his whole stomach was cursing at him for not immediately vacuuming his food tray upon Terry releasing it.
"Sure thing." Terry nodded, totally believing him. "Eat up."
So he did, and Thomas felt blessed by the gods the very moment he swallowed his first bite of the baked Mac and cheese. He thought back to his… out of body experience? That was an appropriate term for it, he seriously thought that he was sent to heaven, but ended up in a field that may have resembled it. Zamasu had pulled him out of his body and extracted his experience before leaving, and he wondered what the God did in the span of four days with what he knew. From how angry Zamasu was, he was sure this guy had to call Rebecca out upon seeing her at home. He might even be angrier upon seeing that the dogs aren't there.
Where are they, anyway? Were they taken from home? Holy fuck… Just what had happened to them while he was out cold, are they still alive?
Thomas could feel two eyes just staring at him. No one other than Terry was in the room, but with how intense those Mandalan eyes watched him eat, it felt like a whole crowd was awaiting the teen to speak up. The doctor was waiting for him comfortably finish, and Thomas debated on eating slower so that he can drag this out. He knew that Zamasu knew, but he didn't want Terry to get involved with this mess. He also didn't want Terry to have a fucking heart attack, the man cared too much about his personal safety.
Even though he spent twenty minutes eating a meal he could finish in five, Terry was not called to do anything in that time, and he did not move from his seat. Once Thomas finished eating, the teen pushed the swivel table away from him and sighed fully sated from his supper banquet.
"So what really happened?"
Thomas' whole breath hitched upon Terry's voice cutting through the heavy silence in the room. Welp, he had some explaining to do.
How was he meant to make a euphemism out of the situation? He can't just tell Terry he 'fell' and 'got really injured' by means outside of someone shooting at him. The proof was in the pudding, and it begged for a rightful explanation. Though, he still couldn't bring himself to want Terry to get involved.
So he settled for not outright telling the truth. "Umm… some guy broke into Rebecca's house."
"Oh, I know that." Terry nodded. "And we know that they were sent there over a payload, and that both your dogs were taken coincidentally before they broke in." He noted Thomas' expression changing. "They are not in her house at the moment but are on petwatch in East City."
Petwatch is akin to daycare for domesticated animals. Terry continued: "That is what my friend told me had happened. He is a detective, and from what we know this was an inside attack. Now, judging from how quiet you are about speaking out, there is a bigger reason as to why you were targeted, and only you know this." He leaned forward. "Tell me: what did that man say to you?"
Terry should have been one of those FPICA interrogators with how intimidating he is now, and that is very unlike him, at least unlike how he normally is. Just goes to show how serious he is about both him and Rebecca, especially his sister. Thomas swallowed hard: he felt shaky again, if he said even a word of what hid behind Rebecca's black room (that's what he'll coin it), then he could face possibly being tracked and killed.
"Your life is not in jeopardy, Thomas. We can nip this in the bud if you let us know what prompted this attack. You're in good hands."
Despite the sense of deja vu he felt from the last statement, Terry was more than right. The only person who knew about this ordeal aside from him, was Zamasu, and he was certain the God had checked up on him a few times while he was out cold. Still… The feeling of knowing somebody is out to kill you was overruling the amount of security he knew he had.
"Thomas?" Terry tapped his shoulder, his stern voice now pouring concern. "Why are you shaking?"
Because he was terrified of the worst case scenario, and couldn't bring himself to speak out. However, he knew that all of this secret keeping was going too far, given his leg could have been amputated had the ambulance arrived a minute late. He steadied himself and took a deep shaky breath before speaking: "I'll tell it… from the beginning."
He told Terry about the mystery behind a room Rebecca never used. He told him that he was curious, and decided to open it to see what was there. He told him that he saw a wide array of… Things that he did not want to specify, and kept his findings elusive by saying they were illegal. He should have known better, because Terry was quick on what those findings entailed.
"What did you find?"
Thomas immediately backtracked: "Well like, they weren't illegal but like- okay, I don't know what they were exactly so I c-"
Terry grew exasperated. "What did you find, Thomas?"
There was a pause, and Thomas looked down at his hospital bed sheets. "I found… Drugs." As soon as he said it, he miraculously found the confidence to say more. "A whole lot of them just… Organized all over a deep section of the room."
Now that was a dot Terry did not expect to connect. As one of the head doctors, it was normally not his vocation to note the influx of prescriptions and things given to patients, but word has been going around a lot lately that there was an increase in prescriptions within the past month. The numbers from K. Greinhardt and other hospitals around the world were high enough to raise brows but not enough to warrant anyone alarm. From what Thomas told him, that meant Rebecca, in some way, shape or form, was getting these drugs from other patients which sounds dumb as hell.
No, Terry thought to himself: the young woman, despite being outwardly innocent, was shrewd. She knew better than to outright steal prescriptions and think she'd go unnoticed. She must have been enlisting multiple people, under fake medical records, in order to get these drugs with ease. Not only was it a dangerous but effective move, but she also got them for free, and is more than likely making money off of it.
But… How would, or rather how could she do this? Why?
"This is what you saw." Terry moreso said rather than asked. "Why hide this from us?"
"I don't want my sister to go to jail… And I don't want to get killed." Thomas fidgeted, speaking slowly. Rebecca and he had a very weird siblingship: they could go months without saying a word to one another, but Rebecca sort of employs him as of recent times. She has grown distant with him, now that he's grown a bit, and isn't as knit with him as she used to be. Regardless of that, it's still way too hard for him to accept that she is doing some heavily illegal shit, and she has to know that she is with the amount of drugs he actually saw in that room.
"Has Rebecca… Seen me yet?" Thomas had to ask, she had to have come in here at least once to see him. If not…
"Not at all. She has not been able to work for the past week."
...Then it had really hurt his feelings. He potentially almost died, and Rebecca hasn't thought to check up on him at least once? He should have expected it, she was pretty cold as a person at most times.
"Hold up… past week?" Thomas frowned. "She always told me she was going to work for the whole day when I have to pet sit."
"She may be right." Terry looked to the screen on the opposite wall of the room. "But her job may not necessarily be in here…" He stood up, and Thomas, out of instinct, reached out to grab Terry's coat which made the man stop. He at first didn't know why he did that, and it confused the both of them for a short while. Terry looked down at the teen, whose lips were pursed for a moment.
"Is she gonna be in trouble?"
Terry swallowed, not out of fear, but because he can understand Thomas' reluctancy. That was his sibling, and Thomas had a big heart much like he did. Terry wished he could tell Thomas a more likeable answer to that… but he had to know that this wasn't refutable.
"I cannot promise that she won't be, Thomas." Terry shook his head. "Breaking into classified medical feeds and administering drugs to fake clients in enough to land you in jail for 25 years alone. The fact that you were assaulted with the possibility of it relating to the drug trafficking increases that sentence by a lot."
Thomas looked heavily dejected, but Terry sat back down to console him. This was hard, and heavy news for the fifteen year old, and he started to fully realize just how… apathetic his older sister was. How could she be dealing dangerous cards without knowing it could affect this poor boy and his livelihood? Did she not think of her dogs? Did she not think of him? This made him sick to his stomach.
"I'm not saying this to scare you, but," Terry squeezed Thomas' shoulder a little, "It is the truth. Have you tried speaking to her lately, at least a little?"
Thomas felt a little queasy at the idea, he was afraid to even face her after he saw all those drugs in her 'unused' room. He hadn't seen her face for a couple weeks but they have texted over the phone. He didn't want to know what her response would be if he kindly asked her 'What the fuck is your problem?!'
"Well no, but…" The teen started. "We only text and she leaves little for a conversation, so I can't even ask how her day was or anything."
Ugh, Terry casted a look downwards; she even distances herself from her own family, this woman is insane. "Goodness… This is unfair, for you..." And he meant that; Thomas didn't deserve such an influence. Thankfully, the young boy was comfortable enough to confide in him. Lord knows what would happen if Thomas didn't know him at all… Terry didn't even want to imagine it.
"Zamasu knows too." Thomas said, lowkey switching the subject. "He like, intercepted my dreams or something. So umm… it might not be the first time she's gonna get a hearing. I dunno if you're gonna speak with her too."
"Oh nooo, umm… due to some circumstances, I kind of can't." Terry can, but he didn't want to see her pristine, pretty face anymore. Given how she tried to make him culpable for approaching her at the party. "Don't worry about it."
"TMI?" Thomas said, and Terry frowned before he realized what the teen was saying.
"Oh, uh, yeah…" He scratched the back of his head while Thomas snickered to himself. "Don't make fun of me because I don't speak your youth's butchered language."
"Oh gee, you said butchered. My gosh…" Thomas' sarcasm dripped through his voice, they were joking around finally, they both knew they need that. Terry looked at the door for a moment; even if Rebecca might be doing some underhanded business, there was no way she was going to leave this scot free; this kind of crime is not only heavily illegal, but suggest that she hired, or has previously hired a backing force to supervise her stock… like a criminal syndicate...
Mark and his investigative team are gonna have a field day with this information.
•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•
After speaking with Thomas that same night, Zamasu had set out to Rebecca's home the next morning. Ollie and Loki were not there, but the Kaioshin's meditation session allowed him to see where the dogs are, and they were in a daycare center. He didn't find Rebecca at her house, and also, her partially wrecked car was taken a couple days after the incident. He knew this, because he came back at that time to see if she was there. She wasn't, and Zamasu noted how both of her cars were sitting on her lot untouched. Now, almost five days after Thomas was hospitalized, the God was getting more and more irate over how difficult this has become.
Here's a thing about Zamasu's ability to transmute himself to others; he can only do so if they either have a ki signature he can sniff out (most Desnian humans are weak, and they all hold a similar signature so it'd be hard in a crowded area), if he was talking to them through digital or telepathic means, or if they uttered the word 'God' while he is nearby, weirdly enough. Rebecca was not strong, nor did she have a different ki signature, and he cannot reach her mind from wherever she may be right now. He has tried stooping down to mortal means by calling her, but her phone apparently was out of service or no longer ran. In the past four days, he has been setting out to find this damn woman and so far he has been unsuccessful. At one point, he sat in Rebecca's house for an entire day waiting for her to show up, and yet she was absent.
What's even more weird is the fact that he was literally unable to sense her; it was as if there was some sort of barrier keeping him from finding her outside of physical means. He would be damned if Rebecca kept note of his abilities, and was using an object to keep her ki hidden.
Unknowingly, he was right. Shigeru had met with her one day and she asked him for an amalgam that would render her ki undetectable. Rebecca knew her Kaioshin very well.
Unable to call, he chose to text Jay asking him if he has seen Rebecca lately, specifically within the past four days. Jay told him that they hung out just yesterday, further verifying his inference. He asked how their hangout went, and Jay gave him the most normal sounding debrief when compared with the craziness going on in her house.
Jay: We went to watch a movie and then afterwards I opted for a trip to the bakery, you know, the one we went to before
Zamasu felt so kiddish frowning at his phone, but he didn't care. Do you know where she went recently?
Jay didn't answer immediately, so Zamasu went to decompress by making a cup of tea. When he plopped down on Irene's couch, there was a message.
Jay: Uhh, she said she will be heading out to the West City airport pretty soon.
How soon?
Jay: Like, maybe early in the morning tomorrow.
Did you just ask her? Zamasu wanted to know how Jay got this information.
Jay: No… actually uhh… it's a little creepy
What do you mean?
Jay: Like you texted me that question right, literally two minutes later she hits me up telling me this exact ass thing
Okay… that was not a coincidence. Zamasu even stopped sipping when he read that whole thing. Really? He sometimes wished cellular devices were better at showing how actually shocked he was.
There is, it's called emojis, and Zamasu still doesn't know they exist.
Jay: Yeah like… look I'll show you. Jay screenshotted his message list, to show Rebecca's name and her message timestamp, which was within the eight minutes Jay didn't respond. Then he sent a screenshot of their own chat to show the time of Zamasu asking him where she could be, that was exactly two minutes before Rebecca's recent message.
...Zamasu was convinced that Jay's phone was being 'spied on'. That's… that's strange.
Jay: Ikr… wait, why ask? Did something happen?
Zamasu didn't want Jay to fiddle with this mess, especially because Rebecca's home could be searched and seized at any given day. What Jay told him was just enough, and he knew where the West City airport was because he took Ethan there once. I was just curious.
Jay: Riiiight, curiosity has a very fast lifeline, and you were asking way too many questions.
Well… Jay was also somebody who wanted reason over everything too. She hasn't been home for a while and I was concerned. He felt his throat go acrid at that; yeah, he was concerned, alright. Since you two talk to each other the most I figured I should ask you.
Jay: oh nah, she isn't at her house. This made Zamasu pique up. She was staying at The Ultrapolitan for the past few days and is leaving tomorrow.
Now that was even better. He was so ready to crash her little lax-party, all he had to do was look up the Ultrapolitan's location. Oh… I see. Thank you.
Jay: No problem. Real touching of you to check up on her lol.
The only touching thing he'll associate with that doctor is his fist running across her face… okay, maybe he won't hit her outright, but Rebecca cannot leave unscathed. He left his phone on the coffee table before teleporting out of Irene's living room and heading to the North. The Ultrapolitan was a luxury hotel suite located in North City, by its far east vicinity. He zoomed forward at a speed that would make him look like a shooting star from above, his physical body would be undetectable by human beings under his heavy white aura.
However, as he crossed the outskirts of the North, only one individual who happened to be star watching spotted the odd looking, rapid zoom of a white trail flying across the sky thousands of feet above before it started to quickly descend. Getting up on two feet, with a single squint of her eyes, before the person smiled at the white trail flowing, still obscuring the body encased in it.
"Zamasu!"
The God could faintly pick up the sound of someone calling his name once he was around two hundred feet from the ground. He stopped zooming ahead and his white aura disappeared as he looked down. Two unmistakable pigtails and a cheeky smile greeted him with a wave. He'd be damned…
"Alma!" He yelled from above. "Good evening to you, sweetheart." Since when did he call people sweetheart? Even though Alma is a sweetheart, he wouldn't call anyone that. Weird…
Matter of fact, how the hell did she know it was him flying, from thousands of feet above the clear sky? He was certain no one would be able to indicate his body from how high he was flying.
Alma tilted her head. "Where are you heading?"
"Umm…" Zamasu pursed his lips for a moment. "Up North."
"Are you going to go see my uncle?" Alma asked. "He lives in the big forest."
"I'm going in the opposite direction of your uncle." Though, he thought, I would take you to him after I settle this debt. "Towards the east."
He could hear Alma saying 'oh' to herself in regards to his statement, looking down at her tiny feet. She looked back up at him. "Is it important?"
Technically, Zamasu didn't have to go to Ultrapolitan when he knew Rebecca was heading back down to West City. If anything, he could spend some time with Alma and then wage a torrent on Rebecca for her despicable doings, you know, like the calm before the storm.
"...Kind of…" Zamasu yelled back, but he felt bad; maybe Alma was lonely again. The Kaioshin descended fully, his feet touching the ground with no sound. He can't just leave her alone. "Do you want to talk with me?"
"A little." She sounded timid, but she was looking at him and even though he was resolute in his self-made duty, those big eyes still held him from quickly making his affirmative decision. "You don't have to stay if you need to leave."
Zamasu fought in cross with himself. Alma was so sweet, he… he couldn't just say 'no' to Alma for god's sake, so he descended to little girl's smiling face and decided to abide to her, and her company for the very short time being...
l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l•l‾l
I think Merkel is one of the intrinsically interesting villains, not even because he's a little screwy (understatement lmao), but because of the fact that… you can agree with him. I'm assuming that a number of you find Rebecca to be malignant, and there's no way you didn't think you'd want her to stop her train of crime. While Merkel only wants her canned because he hates her existence, we want her to stop because we know it is not of her nature to do any of this.
...Or do we?
Looks like Terry has found the most pieces to the puzzle, and with Thomas having two weeks to heal in hospital, Terry could use this time to tell Mark what Thomas told him, and get the detective into the room so he could get a concrete briefing from Thomas himself. The teen's room is under intensive surveillance, just in case someone attempts to come in and kill him. Just know… there will be justice for him.
That is why Zamasu, by the luck of time, came and saw what had transpired. Rebecca at this point, is going to find herself cornered with this turn of events. Just how will she attempt to slide past?
The reason why Rebecca is heading to the West City Airport is because Heather's house is in Efilia. While she was in jail, her father was paying it off so it wouldn't be foreclosed, and Gina co-owned the home in that time. Since that is her only friend that she could truly confide in, Rebecca would be hanging around her a lot. The both of them have nothing other than looks, money, and crime going for them; the best company they can have is indeed each other.
However, with such a dichotomy present, it's only a matter of time before one of those three attributes cause conflict between them. Let's see how that goes.
Zamasu may have been stopped by his child companion, but in the next chapter he will seek out Rebecca. But will he be successful? Hmmm…
I'll be catching y'all hands in the next chapter. ;)
