Hey, I'm back! Yeah... I'm sorry that I'm late, but in my defense college is hard. Anyways so I thought it would be a good idea to release a new chapter, and yes I know it's short. I'll have a long one next time for sure, I promise.
Like always I don't own Marvel.
"Hey, whatcha thinking about?" a gentle whisper asked me from behind.
"How the future will be like," I replied. I was currently laying on my side, trying to enjoy one of my few days off. I've been working non-stop recently so of course on my one day off I would still wake up early. "I wonder if we're always going to be together like this, just us."
"You realize that you worry too much right?" he pointed out as he put an arm over me to pull me in close against his chest. I turned around to face him with a small frown on my face.
"Yeah, but that's because you don't worry enough."
"Hey, I'm worried about you right now. That has to count for something."
The frown on my face only deepened, so he fixed it with a soft and gentle kiss. When he pulled away, he gently kissed my forehead before saying, "Nothing is going to happen Cal. Trust me. Everything will be okay, so let's get some sleep."
"Okay."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!"
"Calm down before the landlord hears you," I snapped at him.
"That's what you're worried about? THE LANDLORD?"
"Among other things, yes, I am worried that the landlord will hear us. I don't want her coming up here with complaints!"
"Her complaints are the last thing I'm worried about."
"That's your problem! You never care!"
"If I didn't care, I wouldn't be so angry right now!"
"Oh just let it go already."
"How can I when he suggested that!" He exclaimed. He looked so angry right now, but I needed him to calm down before things get out of control and he goes and picks a fight.
"I... ugh I don't know," I said collapsing on the couch. "Look the last thing we need is to pick a fight with this man."
"Calliope, we didn't pick a fight with him, but he is starting one with us."
"Well if you would have stopped giving him attitude -"
"Really? After everything he said!" he yelled again throwing his hands in the air. There were a few beats of silence after that in which neither one of us spoke, and it held so much tension within it I wanted to scream. This argument has been going on for at least an hour now and I desperately wanted it to end, but he can't let it go. He can never let anything go.
Finally, he spoke, "Look, he docked our pay for the third time this month, and twice last month. All I wanted to know was the reason behind him doing that. I know you said not to ask, but we needed that money. Hell, we still do. Then he threatened to send child services on us... fine, I'll shut up. We don't need that kind of attention on us. So, to repay him for his kindness about not snitching on us, he docked our pay again. And then he said it..."
He looked so angry right now, and it scared me. If he goes and starts a fight, we could lose our jobs. I tried to say something, but he cuts me off again.
"No, that man needs to pay for even suggesting it. I knew something was wrong with him, but I kept my mouth shut because we needed the money. That was then, and this is now."
"I know you're angry but if you could just calm down-"
"How can I when he said that the money is no longer enough, and now he wants you!" he screamed as grabbed me by the shoulders. "What kind of sick man goes after a fourteen-year-old girl, tell me."
"A bunch of terrible men live in this world you should know that by now!" I yelled, pushing him away from me and standing back up to face him. I didn't like the situation either, but there's not much we can do.
"I'm going back there," he told me, but I grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to stay.
"No, you aren't."
"Yes, I am, and I'm going to teach him a lesson."
"How? By knocking him out? Oh yeah, that's going to look normal. A fifteen-year-old lanky boy knocking out a grown man who looks like he can take out four guys. All you'll do is cause more trouble for us, so just stop and keep your mouth shut. The last thing we need is for people to ask questions!"
"At least I say something, you never do! Stand up for yourself, Calliope! Fight, argue, just do something, or this world is going to kill you and say that you enjoyed it."
"I have been fighting-"
"NO, you haven't. Leaving the facility, that was fighting. Getting us this home, finding someone who could fake documents, getting us a stable life now that was you persevering. Now you let this world walk all over you."
"We are only CHILDREN!" I screamed, "We can't fight this world when so many people would be against us, so of course I stay silent. To talk would mean I'm ready to face the consequences, and I'm not ready for that. Sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is suffer in silence to ensure the safety of their family."
"...you're gonna do it..."
"I... no... I don't know!" I cried, "I don't want to, but I don't know what to do. Unless we can shut this man up for good, then I don't know what we can do."
I buried my face in my hands. I was so worried and scared about how this could affect all of us. I don't care about myself, I just want to protect my family. So if the only way to help is to-
Suddenly I felt a pair of strong arms encircle me and bring me in close. It felt so warm. Like I was safe, and no one could touch me.
"I won't let anyone ruin this for us, I promise. We'll find a way out of this that won't lead to anyone asking questions, bodily harm, or child-services. Trust me, Cal.
"Okay."
"Are you sure it's a bomb?"
"Really?" I asked him, "It's a large device with a clock counting down! What do you think it is? A Smoothie machine."
"Thank you for your attitude and sarcasm. Even in high-risk situations, it never fails to show itself."
"Would you shut up and help me disarm it?"
"And how are we going to do that? Are you a genius because I know I'm not."
"It doesn't take a genius to disable this bomb."
"What are you talking about?"
"Christopher focus, tell me what you feel."
"Anxious, stressed, worried-"
"Not that you idiot! I mean, what do you feel?" I asked as I grabbed his hand and put it flat against the device. I said nothing for a while as he tried to grasp something within the machine, and within the next second, his eyes widen. He felt it.
"That's radiation."
"Exactly, I felt something powerful when we entered, but I thought it was Aardwolf. When we came closer to the bomb, I felt that sensation grow. There is a vast amount of radiation within the bomb."
"So, is he going to Nuke the city?"
"If you were Aardwolf, would you want to nuke a city? Destroy your place of operation, or would you want everyone to become like you. The need to hide would no longer be an issue, and if people die, then that's enough of a distraction to get away with a whole lot of things. Mass panic."
"We need to leave."
"We can't evacuate the whole city, Christopher."
"No, but we can at least get Christina out of here."
"And leave the innocent to die?"
"Are they really that innocent Cal?"
"There are children here, Christopher. Do you expect me to leave them here to die? We can survive it but they can't. How many kids did we witness dying horrible deaths because of the radiation they were exposed to? We have to help them."
"Calliope, we only have a few minutes left. We can't save everyone. At the end of the day, someone is going to die, and I rather it be them than us."
I looked at the boy I have been in love with for so long, and when I see him, I'm reminded of the pain he has gone through. The pain that will always haunt us until the day we die, and I say, "I don't want anyone to suffer as we did, do you?"
"No... I don't."
"Then let me do this."
"DO WHAT? Cal, we don't know-"
"The radiation you idiot," I pointed out once again. "We can control it and fire it, but we can also absorb it."
I saw Christopher touch the bomb once again before pulling away. He said, "That's a lot of radiation. More than either one of us has ever absorbed."
"I know, but it's the only way. If we take the radiation away, then the bomb is essentially useless."
"True but if we aren't careful we could accidentally set off the bomb, and the explosion mixed with the radiation can still do some damage."
"Then you have to make a barrier of sorts."
"What?"
"Create a barrier around me and the bomb, that way if it goes off you can stop it and either try to absorb it or direct it upward and away from the city."
"You really are a genius aren't you Cal," he marveled as he grabbed me and pulled me in for a quick kiss. He held me in his arms, but something was wrong. He wasn't letting go.
"I'm not dumb either Cal. Which is why I think it's weird you gave us the wrong jobs."
"Wh-"
"Calliope, between the two of us, I was always better at absorbing radiation. While you had the upper hand when it came to guiding radiation."
"I-" I held him close to me. Only a few minutes left. He needed to let me go.
"You're trying to save me. If something goes wrong, you're trying to make sure I live, and you die."
"Is it so wrong that I want to save you?" I asked him as tears began to form in my eyes. "Let me save you."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Is it so bad that I want to protect you, Cal?"
I shoved him away from me. I looked him in the eye as I said yes. Yes, it is bad because he doesn't deserve to be put at risk. I made the plan it was my job to make sure it worked. I told him all of this, and yet he still had the audacity to grab me once again. He held me close, with his hands on my face.
"Cal, You need to take care of Christina," he reminded me. Darn him, he knew she was my weakness.
"You say that as if you can't. I know you would help her no matter what happens to me. You love her."
"I do, and I love you too. But let's face it, Cal, she needs you, not me."
"But I can't lose you," I said as tears rolled down my eyes.
"You won't I promise, just trust me, Cal," he told me as he brought me in for a soft but short kiss.
"Okay."
It's been months since I lost Christopher to his mutation. He's nothing more than an empty shell, and yet, here I am standing in front of his cell. To be honest, I don't know why I'm here. This is the first time I've seen him since that awful day. The day I lost everything I ever loved.
As I looked at the man I once loved, all I could do was think about all of the days we spent together... happy, sad, frustrated, but in love. I couldn't think of one point in my life that I wasn't in love with him, and now here he was in chains before me. He was so close, and yet I knew in my heart he wasn't there anymore. He wasn't mine anymore.
Tears fell from my eyes as I looked at him, but I refused to speak. I knew he couldn't understand me, so why am I here?
"...I miss you," I whispered without realizing it. "I miss your smile, your laugh, just you. I miss every part of you and the life we had together. You were always there for me, even when I didn't want you to be. You became an essential piece to my life that I don't know how to function without you."
I looked down at my hands, which were still in cuffs as my tears continued to roll down my cheeks. "Please... come back to me... please... you promised."
Authors note: I realize that we have a long way to go in the story so I'm going to try and update more frequently. But on the bright side, the Science bro's will be appearing soon, so I'm exicted about that. Well until next time bye guys!