Author's note: SORRY! Work and school had taken over my life! D:

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Chapter 16: Maybe

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Francoise stepped daintily up the low sand dune, gingerly avoiding the marram grass. The light breeze blew, sweeping her skirt and jacket. Reaching the top, she looked out onto the strand.

"Good idea on choosing the best vantage point for this show," came Joe's soft voice. Francoise did not turn around and instead, sank down onto her knees.

"I don't think this is a good idea," she whispered, her hand rising up to her temple.

Joe crouched down beside her. He followed her gaze, seeing Lily clad in her navy uniform with Jet and G Jr. a few feet behind her, also in uniform. Albert stood about ten feet from Lily, his arms crossed as he looked in the direction of their beach house. The rest of the team were not in uniform and sat nearby in the sand alongside Professor Gilmore.

"Well, Professor Gilmore said it's best to test her new ability in a controlled environment. And Sunita is the one who can show her how to utilize those new powers."

Francoise looked at Joe and titled her head.

"Do you trust Sunita?"

Joe bowed his head slightly. "Yes. I think she is rough around the edges but she has shown no reason for us not to trust her. I wonder if she will stay with us."

Francoise looked back out at the sand. "I just don't know what to make of her yet. Anyways, we have enough to worry about with Lily. Do you think she and Jet will ever recover?"

Joe rubbed the back of his neck. "Eh, it's not looking good. He has already moved all his stuff back into our old room. I am just glad I am not sharing with him anymore and he has the room to himself."

"Did you try talking to him about it?"

"Yes but it didn't go well. He was muttering something about Lily saying that her heart and head are not matched up, and there was no way they could share a room. He had tried to hug her and she is not comfortable with it." Joe blushed slightly. "It didn't exactly help when I told him you and I are now in a relationship and are staying together."

Francoise nodded as her cheeks pinkened. "Yes, not exactly the best timing."

Joe reached out and took her hand lightly, stroking her fingers.

"Sunita is coming," Francoise stated flatly. "Let's hope…. She'll behave."

…..

The loud splash of water startled Lily and she stopped fidgeting with the gold buttons on the front of her jacket. Sunita appeared a couple of feet in front of her, her grinding stop causing her raven hair to fan out, covering her face.

GB dashed out in between the two. He had somehow acquired a microphone and threw up a fist into the air.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentleman and welcome to Clash of the Cyborrrrgs!" he hollered.

"Really, GB?" Albert snapped, raising an eyebrow.

GB turned to him and shrugged. "Come on, Albert, we need to lighten the mood somehow." He turned back to rest of the team and cleared his throat.

"Today, we have a very special show! A display of skills, strength, and power." He threw out his arm, gesturing to Lily. "Innnnnnn this corner, hailing from New Orleans, standing 5' nothing we got Lilyyyyy Silvaaaaaaa! Due to her memory loss, Lily is going to relearn everything there is to being a cyborg. Don't let her cute face fool you, this southern belle has surprise abilities. She'll probably surprise herself!"

Lily turned towards Jet and G Jr. and shrugged, giving a lopsided smile. GB then extended his arm towards Sunita.

"Aaand in this corne- what? Ow! OWWW!" Sunita grabbed his microphone and smacked him on the head. A huge bump popped out of his temple as GB collapsed to the ground.

"You are not amusing," Sunita mumbled flatly as GB morphed into a seagull and took off, carrying the microphone in his beak.

"Alright, here is how this is going to work. First, we'll spar. If you don't activate your powers, then I will attack properly. You got that?" Sunita crossed her hands in front of her chest.

"But, I don't know…. I don't know how to fight properly," Lily stuttered, suddenly very hot in her uniform.

"You do, you just don't remember. You'll act on reflex."

"Oh, okay then. Well le-hhheEYY!" Lily was flung back and rolled, heels over head on the sand. She pulled herself up and shook her head. "I thought spar meant non-contact!"

"We are cyborgs. Spar means not kill each other," Sunita responded deadpan as she stood over Lily, her fist raised. Lily sprang up and back flipped out of the way. Landing on her feet as she struck a defensive stance.

"That's more like it," Sunita smirked and then accelerated, disappearing from sight.

"Lily! Use your accelerator too! The switch is in your back left tooth!" Jet called out. Lily looked over at him wide-eyed but was then thrown back, as a force knocked her off her feet. Sunita appeared before her again.

Lily ran her tongue at the back of her teeth and felt the switch. She clenched her teeth, hearing a click and then a low fizz, like air from a bottle of pop. She launched herself off the ground, seeing Sunita move in slow motion, her leg raised to come down on her. Lily grabbed her by the shoulders, swung over her and then planted both feet on her back, pushing her down into the sand. Lily then ran away, now taking in how the world looked in her accelerated state. Everything was moving slowly, sounds echoed in her ears, as though they were full of cotton wool.

As she looked at the waves glistening with droplets of water hanging in the air, Sunita crashed into her forcing her into the water. The impact of breaking the water's surface felt like shattering glass. Lily winced as she went under, pulling Sunita with her.

Sunita pulled at her scarf and headbutt Lily, and then landed a punch into her stomach.

Jet stepped forward only able to see the splashes of water and not the two women fighting.

"She is going way too hard on her!" he cried.

G Jr. put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you feel it or do you just think it?" He asked quietly. Jet's shoulders dropped. "Think," he muttered.

Sunita pulled at her scarf and headbutt Lily, then landed a punch into her stomach.

Jet stepped forward, only able to see the splashes of water, not the two women fighting.

"She is going way too hard on her!" he cried.

G Jr. put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you feel it or do you just think it?" He asked quietly. Jet's shoulders dropped. "Think," he muttered.

Sunita threw Lily out of the water and then rammed into her, driving her back onto the sand. Lily exited her accelerated state and gasped for breath. Sunita stood over her. Lily looked up, her hand obscuring her vision. Lily gasped, now seeing that Sunita's skin had turned silver.

"You need to change like this," Sunita stated, holding out her palms. "Just breathe deeply. You'll feel it."

Lily blinked several times and then closed her eyes. She took several deep breaths and then shook her head.

"Then I'll force you to change," Sunita growled and grabbed her by the neck, pushing her down into the sand. Lily's eyes went wide as she struggled to breathe.

"Stop that!" Jet shouted and ran to them, flanked by Albert.

Jet felt like his heart was going to burst. He could feel Lily's heart beat uncontrollably as the image of her being choked by R-03 cut through his mind. As he was about to grab Sunita by the shoulder, she was thrown off and over Lily. Sunita crashed headfirst into the sand and Lily rolled over onto her side. Jet dropped to his knees put his hand on her arm.

"Lily, are you oka-" his voice trailed off as he took in Lily's silver face and hands. In a split second Lily was back on her feet. She stretched, arching back and then flipping over, landing gracefully.

"This…. This feels amazing!" she cried out as she accelerated out of sight.

Sunita looked up and smirked. She then accelerated and chased after Lily. They exchanged blow after blow but this time, Lily felt nothing. Sunita was quicker at landing hits on Lily, however Lily deflected as many as she could. She was still smiling.

"Sunita, this feels incredible!" she announced.

"I know, it's another level," Sunita responded and grabbed Lily, putting her in a headlock. They both left the accelerated zone and Sunita squeezed her arm around Lily's neck.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I win," she smirked.

"What? No fair, you didn't say that at the beginning," Lily whined. Sunita released her and then sat on the ground beside her.

"You need to work on being able to activate your next state, when we turn silver like this. To return to normal is the same, just breathe deeply," Sunita instructed.

Lily closed her eyes and did as she was told. She felt her body cool down. Opening her eyes, she noticed her hands were back to normal. She turned them over examining them and then rubbing them.

"Oh, that was pretty easy," she mumbled.

"Now, try reverting back. Again, deep breaths," Sunita explained calmly. "Fill your stomach with air as you breathe and focus your energy.

Lily drew in a deep breath, filling up her stomach as Sunita suggested. Slowly, she felt her skin tingle and heat up. She watched in amazement as her fingers slowly started to turn silver again.

"Well done. Looks like you got the hang of it," Albert stated warmly. Lily nodded at him. She picked herself up back on her feet. Considering that Sunita had beaten her, she felt no aches or pains anywhere in her body.

"Thank, you Sunita. For showing me this. Even though you scared me," Lily tried giving her a weak smile as her skin reverted back to normal. Sunita's skin was also back to its beautiful tanned hue.

"You're welcome. We should still train again before I leave," she added quietly.

"You should consider staying with us for a while at least, Sunita. We can monitor from here, especially after that mythos fiasco, you never know what Black Ghost might send after us later," Albert spoke, causing everyone to turn to him.

"We'll see," Sunita responded flatly as she walked away. "Thanks," she added weakly, seeming like she was doing her best to sound nonchalant. Lily stared after her.

"Well done, Lily! Next time, I am sure you'll win on Clash of the Cyborrrgs!" GB grabbed her arm and raised it up in a mock victory. A white bandage covered the bump on his forehead. Lily giggled at his dramatic tone and he gave her a wink.

"Thank you, it's all pretty surreal, having this ability. At least now I know y'all haven't been telling me lies," she smiled.

"We all better head back to the house and start monitoring," Albert added. Professor Gilmore nodded. "Yes, and I'll like to run a few tests on you, Lily. Please stop by my lab later," he requested as he walked away, leaving only Jet and Lily standing on the beach. Lily turned towards him.

"Hey," she greeted softly.

Jet looked at her, somewhat coldly and then dropped his gaze. "I put all your bags into your room. All the papers are there too, as you wanted."

Lily felt a lump form in her throat at his tone. "Thank you, Jet" but he had turned and began walking away. "Hey, please wait!" she called out, walking after him.

Jet continued walking.

"Jet, please! I want to talk," she pleaded.

He slowed to a stop but did not turn around. "Talk about what?"

Lily stopped, standing behind him. "About us."

"There is no us. You said so yourself, your heart has not caught up with your head," he answered bitterly.

Lily felt her stomach drop, recalling those words. "Yeh, I mean yes. But, we still have to talk. You can't be upset about this, I have no control over it."

Jet turned around towards her. "You're right. You have no control over it. You can't control how you feel about me and I can't make you love me the way you did."

"Maybe that will change, maybe we can be-"

"I don't want to hear maybes. I grew up listening to people's maybes and broken promises. Right now, you look at me like I am stranger. What we had is gone."

Lily's shoulders dropped. "You told me you are here for me, no matter what."

Jet's frame shook slightly. "I don't know if I can be. I'm sorry." And with that, he pushed down into the sand and his jets ignited, pushing him up into the air and out of sight.

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Author's note: Argggggggh the feels! What will they do?! Let me know what you think! :DDD