By now, most of you are aware of the incident that has occurred last night.
Let it be clear to all Arrows that injuring or incapacitating others while justifying one's behavior as maintaining Silence will not be condoned in any shape or form. I will not permit the Squad to be crippled by lack of tolerance, regardless of your personal choice. Being an Arrow is to shield, to protect. Never to harm.
If there are any questions regarding the situation, you are welcome to speak with your superiors.
- Telepathic message from Aden Kai to every Arrow over the age of 14
"She hasn't eaten anything yet." A female voice.
"But she's been awake?"
Hailey scowled. She knew that voice.
"Yes, but only for short periods of time. So far, her reflexes and reactions seem within acceptable parameters. The result of the scans turned out better than our initial prospects, but we can't tell if there's any long-term damage yet." That female voice again, her tone cold and factual.
Damage? What damage? And why did her head hurt so much?
A sting shot through Hailey's brains when she tried to open her eyes.
"When will you be able to assess the damage?" That male voice made things inside her stomach uncurl.
Hailey wanted to say something but her mouth felt like cotton and her throat was dry. Why are they talking about you like you're not here?
She tried to open her mouth.
Rustling sounded next to her. Hailey couldn't make out what it was and tried to open her eyes again. Another sharp sting in her head. A small whimper escaped her lips at the searing feeling in her mind.
"Wait." More rustling sounds. Cold, soft fingers on her wrist. "Her heart rate is accelerating."
Hailey tried to open her eyes again, the lids feeling heavy.
"Miss Logan? Can you open your eyes?" It was a question from the female.
Hailey scowled again. Yes, she was trying. She opened her eyes and closed them instantly, the bright lights painful. God, that hurts!
"Hailey." The familiar male spoke her name in such a demanding way, the fine hairs on her neck rose.
"Your bedside manner is terrible," she said. It came out like an odd and croaky whisper.
She opened her eyes slowly and blinked a couple of times.
Something poked against her lips.
"Miss Logan, you need to take in some fluids."
Her eyes focused on thebrunette dressed in a white shirt and white pants. The medic leaned forward. Hailey opened her mouth and took a few sips. Whatever it was, it tasted great against the dry feeling in her throat.
Hailey closed her eyes again, her head heavy and her mind foggy. She cleared her throat. "Why am I in a hospital?" She tried to think back to what happened and found… nothing.
"You were attacked."
Hailey turned her head to the left and winced when the sudden movement made her head throb. When she was able to open her eyes again, a man was towering over her.
A tall, blond man. Deep voice, harsh words. The feeling of his big hands on her waist.
Her eyes snapped to those of azure, the deepest blue she had ever seen. James.
James' eyes narrowed a fraction. Yes. What do you remember?
Hailey thought about that question as she fought the fog in her mind. She could recall a conversation in the kitchen…
Dark eyes flatly taking her in. Lights exploding above her. Claws shoving inside her brain.
A stab shot through her mind. Hailey gasped and fisted the bed sheets.
Hailey.
James' deep voice brought Hailey back from the cascade of images, her memories intertwining with each other. "He hurt me," she whispered.
Both of them.
She unclenched her fists, her fingers trembling.
"He won't be able to do so anymore." James' skin was pulled taut over his cheekbones and his eyes seemed to shoot fire. Hailey felt her heart twitch.
You're imagining things again…
She closed her eyes for a moment, her thoughts hazy. When she opened them, James was still looking at her. Rest. I'll keep you safe, she heard in her head, but that must have been her imagination. She probably imagined the slightest touch of his fingers on the back of her hand as well.
James walked through the door of the small room and Hailey blinked a couple of times and inhaled. Exhaling, she frowned and focused her eyes on the woman who seemed to be a nurse of some kind. She cleared her throat again. "So, what did you mean by 'damage'?"
It turned out there were several minor lesions visible in Hailey's brain tissue in the initial scan, which seemed to be a small miracle. Edyson was a Gradient 7.9 telepath whose expertise was in mental combat. The fact that he had barely torn through her shields was very reassuring, but the idea of someone tearing through her mind like that again? Hailey shivered as she pushed the dark thoughts away. She realized once more how lucky she was to have strong natural shields.
Edyson hadn't been able to do much yet when he'd tried to enter her thoughts through telepathic force, and she knew it was only due to James' timely interference that her mind was still intact. Later scans showed the small spots were almost entirely healed with help of an M-Psy.
After three boring, long days in the infirmary Hailey was allowed to return to her cabin. Since there was nothing physically wrong with her, she could continue her training with the medical advice to take it slow. That was fine with her. She'd rather be out of bed than caged by the four walls of the infirmary. She had visits from several teenagers who were eager for her to start classes again. Isobel and Zaira had also swung by several times.
Zaira had informed her Edyson had spoken with Aden and had chosen to retire from the Squad, his mental state unhinged in the aftermath of twenty years of service to the Arrows and the changes rippling through the PsyNet.
A week after her release from the infirmary she met James on the small target practice field in the forest. Besides a slight headache she was back to her good old self, and was ready to go full throttle again.
Hailey was happy to practice in private. She felt like a bit of a freak show since the kitchen incident. She hadn't seen James since the day she woke and figured he had probably been on some mission.
Hailey sighed as she placed a large floor mat on the grass, providing extra cushioning for when she invariably fell during their training. Narrowing her eyes, she decided to try and see if she could figure out what James did when he went away. He never told her when he was leaving and always just turned up after a couple of hours or days.
But he doesn't have to answer to you now, does he?
Shaking her head at that thought, she looked at James as she blew a tendril of hair out of her face. He was standing there all tall and silent, watching her pull the heavy mat into the right place.
"Well now, I do believe I owe milord thanks for helping me, a poor damsel, out with this damn heavy mat. So nice of you to stand there, arms crossed and eyes watchful. Thank you for having my back just in case a tiger decides to jump out of that tree over there." She gestured at a tall oak when she finally got the mat in the right place.
After securing her hair in a messy bun, she looked at James again. He had simply ignored her small rant and now unfolded his arms. "You could have used your Tk."
Oh…
He had her there. "You're right," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "How was your week?"
He gave her a flat look. "Fine."
Not done with needling him just yet, she rolled her eyes and asked, "Why does it have to be martial arts? Why not painting or writing or learning to play the guitar?"
"Because martial arts require discipline and focus," James said coolly, her questions and behavior having zero effect on him whatsoever.
Hailey nodded. "Right, just like learning to play an instrument or learning about art, then."
James locked eyes with her, sending shivers along her spine. "No," his tone was hard in rejection of that apparently ridiculous statement. "Martial arts are useful and not some frivolous nonsense to waste time with."
Hailey decided she wouldn't let James overwhelm her with his rude and standoffish behavior. He'd caught her off guard when he'd rejected her. She wouldn't let him wound her so easily now, even if the sight of him made her heart clench.
Don't forget, he was in the infirmary to check up on you.
Shutting up the stupid voice in her mind, Hailey bit back at his equally stupid remark. "Jesus," she exclaimed, "does speaking asshole come naturally to you, or do you have to try very hard?" She narrowed her eyes at him, but since he didn't respond, she decided to unleash a little more. Bracing her hands on her hips, she continued.
"I really don't understand why you feel the intense need to show me you have testosterone in your body, thus being crude and coarse all the time. Real manly behavior of you." Her eyebrow arched. "If you don't want to work with me and teach me, say so. You know, use that big mouth of yours since you're so tough and eloquent. And you know wha-"
A shrieking gasp emerged from Hailey's throat as she flew through the air and landed firmly on the mat. James crouched over her, pinning her down with his hands. One held both of her hands above her head; the other was placed just below her throat.
James' cold voice seemed in direct contrast to the warmth of his hands on her skin. Wearing only a tank top and sweatpants meant direct skin-to-skin contact with this statue of a man.
"Don't let your opponent bring you off balance."
Heartbeat irregular, she clenched her teeth and fisted her hands. "Get the hell off me," she hissed, angry at herself for letting her temper get the best of her.
His impenetrable gaze lingered on her, but this time there was almost a shadow of anger she could see. Satisfaction sparked inside her for inciting a reaction.
No, Hailey. Don't think you can read him, she reminded herself.
When he still didn't move, she tried to use her Tk to push him off, but he only strengthened his hold on her.
"Try harder," ice in his voice.
He wasn't hurting her. His grip was firm but not painful. He would never hurt her. He always only tried to guide her–in his hallmark harsh and curt way.
Hailey decided to follow James' order and started to squirm to get free, kicking up her legs as she attempted to roll over on her side.
Only it wasn't working. He had her locked in an iron-tight grip and kept on staring with that intense, detached gaze that made her shudder.
James didn't know it, but it was one of Hailey's biggest fears to be overpowered like this. The fear that someone could take control and do what they wanted with her triggered awful memories.
Just like what almost happened in the kitchen. And that night…
She felt the panic building with every failed attempt to free herself, not sure if James would release her if she asked. He would never harm her but he was most likely unaware that trapping her like this was hurting her, nonetheless.
She tried to use her Tk over and over, tried wrenching her wrists out of his hold, but he blocked her attacks and kept holding on to her. Somewhere in the back of her head she knew her wrists would start to show marks from her struggling attempts to get free, but with the panic growing, she didn't care.
Breath coming in ragged pants from exertion, she tried to speak. "Let me go," her voice sounded strained and husky from anxiety.
James' response was brutal. "Try harder."
Even though his hand laid flat on her chest, it felt as if he was choking her, all the air disappearing from her lungs while fear clawed at her. "James," she pleaded breathlessly, but there was no mercy, no sympathy, no understanding in his expressionless face.
He really is Silent.
Tears stung in the corners of her eyes, her heart slamming in a wild rhythm. Unwilling to surrender, Hailey fought harder. She growled as she tried to wrench free again.
Tapping into every ounce of telekinetic energy inside her, she let it burst out of her cells with a single goal and something snapped taut inside her mind.
James saw the moment Hailey's anger turned into something more vulnerable, but he could not let her go. He needed to see, needed to know what Hailey would do when truly pushed to her limit. He had to make sure he was right about his suspicions considering her powers. And this was the only way to do it.
Hailey wouldn't have understood if he'd told her, she was too stubborn and always tried to argue with him. Besides that, James didn't think his plan would work if she knew what he was trying to do. The entire point was for her to be pushed to the extreme limit.
Seeing panic seep into her eyes was as numbing for him as it was for her. The shadows behind the shields of ice in James' mind lunged at him, shouted that he should let her go, that he was hurting her and hurting Hailey was unacceptable. But the rational, calculating part of his psyche knew he had to hold on.
So he pushed, held on to her, caged her. He met the fire in her eyes with ice, unsure if he would break something inside her after her encounter with Edyson, but he had to see what would happen to be able to help her.
She probably wouldn't believe him if he told her he didn't want to hurt innocents anymore. Not after what Ming LeBon made the Squad do. Not after the people he'd taken in for disrupting Silence. Not after the dozens of hits that turned out to be business competitors or otherwise annoyances to Ming. Innocent people he had murdered. There was no excuse for that, nothing that could wash away the sins he'd committed. But James believed in Aden's words, believed the Arrows could be more than an army of assassins.
The day Aden took over, James had vowed not to hurt the innocents, the vulnerable. He'd vowed to protect them from harm. And today he had to break that promise.
Watching the woman he held turn from a Valkyrie to a small, trapped bird was breaking something inside him he didn't know could be broken.
You have to be sure.
He focused his attention to Hailey again. Sweat shone a fine layer over her skin, her breath choppy and knuckles white. James deflected every physical way she tried to fight him, solely holding her hands and pinning her down at her chest. He could feel her heart wildly slamming against her chest as the anxiety rose, her breathing close to hyperventilating.
Then Hailey pleaded, whispering his name, and James could feel her light extinguish. He saw her eyes shimmer, her lower lip tremble and the luscious caramel of her skin pale. Gritting his teeth, he tried to focus on his goal while he kept on holding her, no matter how hard the darkness raged within.
You have to do this so you can help her.
James never wanted Hailey to look at him with fear in her eyes again and he wasn't proud that what he was doing was scaring her.
Her frustrated growl filled the quiet air–all the birds had disappeared when she'd first used her Tk. The darkness inside coiled away at the fear in her eyes, clawed at him to stop. He almost lifted his hands off her, unable to stand the look she gave him, unable to listen to another one of her jagged breaths.
Then it happened.
It was as if everything around them exploded, Hailey's Tk bursting as the trees cracked and snapped under the sheer power she exuded. James felt a pull inside his mind as the targets were blown off the field and smashed against the ground and nearby trees. Leaves, branches and other debris filled the air. Hailey's body arched upwards and James was pushed away, only this felt nothing like her other attempts.
That was when she opened her eyes. All warm brown was replaced by glowing jade sparking with gold. James had no time to watch the uniqueness of her eyes, because her Tk slammed full force into his chest.
His hands were yanked off her body as the telekinesis crashed into him again. This time James was the one helpless to Hailey's power as he flew backward and landed roughly against one of the trees surrounding the field. He heard something in his body snap, probably a rib, but was too focused on Hailey to bother.
Hailey rose from the ground and walked towards him. With every step she took he felt the pressure increasing, as if every inch of his body was being squeezed until he couldn't move, until his muscles and bones started to give in.
Arrow training had always been excruciating. James had watched while his bones had been broken multiple times without responding. He'd been burned during training, just to be healed and burned again. He was intimately familiar with pain and–like all the adult Arrows–had a very high pain threshold. But he'd never experienced anything like this.
He tried to use his Tk to block her, realizing too late that his hypothesis about Hailey's abilities was right. Unfortunately, that meant he was now powerless against a woman he had provoked and caged only seconds ago, after the trauma she'd already gone through with Edyson.
This wasn't your sharpest move.
Even though he had requested back up in case his hypotheses had this outcome, James had ordered them to keep their distance and only respond to his request. He now found he was unable to telepathically reach them, due to Hailey's abilities.
Gritting his teeth as he felt every millimeter of his body being crushed under extreme pressure, the pain excruciating, he used the one thing he had left.
"Stop." He made it a command so it would incite a reaction from Hailey, hoping she would snap out of the surge of power. It didn't work. She kept coming closer, straining his body to the limit, eyes blazing jade and gold. Something in the way she looked at him made his heart jerk.
The absent stare, the lack of life in her gaze… this wasn't Hailey. This was the survival mechanism that had saved her and had caused her powers to erupt once before. She wasn't present and wasn't aware of what she was doing. She was only focused on eliminating the threat. Eliminating him.
James felt blood trickle out his nose.
"Hailey." His voice sounded thin as the pressure continued crushing the bones and organs in his body. A groan escaped his throat when he tried to speak again, but he was unable to form words, unable to make her stop.
Aware that his body was on the verge of shutting down, James reached for the last straw and spoke to her with his mind, even though his telepathy had been cut off. And somehow, their pathway was wide open.
Hailey, stop. You're hurting me.
Relief surged through his body when she froze as the glow in her eyes dimmed. He felt her hold on him slip. His body slid down the tree and he landed on the forest floor with a dull thud.
"Oh God!" Hailey exclaimed. She ran the final distance towards him and fell to her knees, cupped his face in her hands. "Oh God!" she said again, her hands shaking as she pulled his body against hers. "No, this isn't happening!" She enclosed him in her arms, stroked his hair off his forehead.
James could feel his mind going sluggish, his body giving in, the edges of his vision darkening more and more.
"James, what the hell did you do to me?!" Tears streamed down Hailey's face, her voice a whisper.
All James could think about was that he should apologize for making her cry, for hurting her, but he realized he wasn't able to bring words across his lips.
"I don't know how to help you." A tremor ran through her voice. "You idiot, what did you make me do?" She bent over him and held onto him for a moment as James fought the murky haze that was tempting him to close his eyes and exhale, to fall in endless blackness.
Hailey's tears fell onto his cheek, slid down his jaw, her forehead resting against his temple. "I'm so sorry, James. I'm so sorry," she kept whispering.
James tried to lift his hand to touch her cheek and wipe away the tears, to stop her from hurting, but couldn't find the strength to make his muscles move. Something inside him uncurled at her concern, at the feeling of her hands on his skin, her scent in his breath. You've reached your full potential.
The last thing James remembered seeing was confusion and anguish reflected in warm brown eyes devoid of jade and gold. The last thing he remembered thinking was that it would be a shame if he'd never get to hold her again.
Hailey felt the hot tears run down her cheeks as she kept holding onto him. James had passed out, a slither of blood streaming from his nose.
You did this. You've hurt him.
Uncertain what had happened, she yelled for help. The next moment Zaira stood next to her, shooting commands at different Squad members who appeared from nowhere. Everything from there was a haze.
All Hailey knew was that James had been teleported away and she was alone in her cabin after several hours of questioning.
The thing was, Hailey didn't know what happened. She remembered being pinned down, fighting James, and after that… nothing. She explained that to the Arrow interrogators but they didn't seem to believe her.
It felt as if it happened in the blink of an eye, yet when Hailey was finally lucid enough to check the time, she saw it was late at night. Still wearing her work out clothes, she felt dirty.
Numb, she walked through the sliding doors straight to the small bathroom and turned on the shower. When she looked in the mirror, she saw a ghost of herself staring back. Face pale, eyes puffy and red, dirt streaks across her cheeks and a faint red mark in between her collarbones, just underneath her throat. She held up her wrists. Dark pink and blue bruises were colored shackles around them.
Feeling both angry and sad, she pulled off her clothes, unraveled her hair and stepped underneath the scalding hot shower. More tears came. She was angry at James for causing this. Angry with herself for losing control and hurting him so badly. Scared because she didn't know what had happened and if it would happen again.
Guilt weighed heavy on her heart. What if James never recovered from her attack?
Slamming her hand to the wall, she let the water wash away her fears, doubts and insecurities until she felt wrung dry. Just as she finished drying herself off, she heard a gentle knock at the door.
"Just a minute." Her voice was barely recognizable to herself, the sound raw and hoarse as if she'd cried for hours. Quickly braiding her hair, she walked out to the bedroom area to put on jeans and a grey sweatshirt.
Not knowing what to expect after the hours of questioning, Hailey opened the front door to find a woman her own height with shoulder-length curls gleaming blue black in the lamplight of the cabin. She had a pretty face with captivating copper eyes. Hailey had seen the woman walk around the Arrow compound before but had never spoken to the head of the Empathic Collective.
"Hello, I'm Ivy Jane Zen," the empath introduced herself. "You must be Hailey."
Hailey nodded. "Yes," she replied, her voice a whisper. Not knowing what to do next, she asked, "Do you want to come in?" She looked at the kitchen unit. "I could make some tea."
Ivy shot a look to her right. Only then Hailey became aware of the tall man standing guard outside her door. It was the same man who'd teleported her to the valley. Vasic, Hailey remembered, was Ivy's husband.
Of course they're going to guard you. You're a danger to everyone.
Ivy and Vasic shared intense eye contact, and Hailey was aware there was a conversation taking place that wasn't audible to her when Ivy scowled. After a moment, Ivy returned her attention to Hailey and smiled. "Yes, tea would be lovely," the empath said as she entered the cabin and shut the door behind herself.
As Hailey prepared two mugs of tea, Ivy sat down on one of the chairs in the kitchen.
"How are you doing?"
The soft question threatened to make Hailey tear up again. She took a deep breath and exhaled as she put down the drinks on the table before getting seated herself.
"I'm not sure what happened. One moment, James was holding me down, the next I–" Hailey's voice cut off and she stared at the mug in her hands.
"I heard some senior Arrows already tried to talk to you about it." Ivy scowled. "I don't agree with the way they chose to do it, but I see why they treated you as a threat."
Hailey looked up. "I am a threat." She swallowed. "They have every right to question me, to lock me up. The truth is, I don't know what's happening to me either."
Ivy looked at her with sympathetic eyes, making the copper in her irises stand out.
"Is James… is he okay?" Hailey lowered her head and stared at the dark liquid in her mug, not being able to bear the thought she permanently hurt him, even if he was infuriatingly rude and made of stone. No one had the right to hurt someone else like that.
And you've done it three times now, she reminded herself.
Suppressing a shiver, she took a careful sip from her drink.
"He's badly injured, but the M-Psy said he will make a full recovery," Ivy answered. "It will take a few days to heal all the breaks and bring him up to full strength, but he will heal."
Relief flooded through Hailey's veins as she released a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding in. Looking up at Ivy again, she shook her head. "God, I hate him sometimes when he's ordering me around during training, but I'm so glad he'll be alright."
Ivy scrunched her nose and smiled a little. "Well, he can be an arrogant man, but I'm glad he'll be better soon as well."
That comment got a shaky smile out of Hailey. "Can you stay with me for a while?" she asked Ivy. It wasn't much of a surprise that the presence of the other woman calmed her down, considering that Ivy was a powerful E-Psy. That wasn't the reason why Hailey had asked. She just didn't want to be alone right now.
Ivy nodded. "Of course."
Hailey gave her a wry smile. "I think he might have finally felt something when it happened." She stared at her hands. "His voice…" Hailey couldn't find the words to describe the way it had sounded within the walls of her mind.
Ivy watched her a few moments, then shook her head. "It's not for me to say, but I believe some Arrows are what a lot of high gradient Psy are without Silence." Her features softened. "They're scared of what they will become when they lose control."
That statement resonated with Hailey more than Ivy could ever know.