Yes, I realize that the last chapter was sort of angsty. Rest assured, there will be few chapters with that level of dramatic-ness. Seeing as I intend this fic to go all the way until Gazerbeam dies, though, there will be a little more later.

Chapter Eight – To Err is Human, To Forgive, Divine

Agatha's excuse to Dynaguy and The Phylange was that her supersuit hadn't saved up enough solar power, so she couldn't get there fast enough without the use of her levitation powers. Also, she reasoned, she would've been pretty useless had she been there. Useless. Funny how some words keep popping up. She'd thought to herself.

Hours later, Agatha was at her apartment again. She called in sick, though she knew her absence would probably not be too devastating for the firm. Mr. Paladino and his associates would be in court that day, anyway. Agatha was still rather confused. She couldn't understand why Gazerbeam had made such a big deal out of finding out that she'd hidden her secret from him. It was her right, wasn't it, to hide her identity? Why did men have to be so pig-headed all of the time?

Deciding that moping around would do her little good, Agatha called up Everseer. "Everseer? It's Apogee. I need your help."

"Help? Whatever for? You know I can't fight." He quipped over the phone.

"Not that kind of help. I mean HELP. You're a shrink, right?" she snapped.

Everseer sighed, and there was a long pause. "I prefer the term 'psychiatrist', if you wouldn't mind, Apogee. And seeing as you're asking me for my help, you don't have to be so snappish."

"Are you free today or not?" she asked him.

"Yes, yes. Come on over. Oh…make sure you bathe first, you know I hate germs." He reminded her, voice dripping with disdain. Agatha had always found his germophobia hilarious. Did he not realize that bacteria were in the very air he breathed? The only way that he could totally avoid the microscopic creatures was to live in a bubble and receive pure air from a tank. No super, however, would subject himself to such treatment. Agatha grabbed a towel from her closet and went to take a shower.

--

"So, just what is your problem? Tell me about your childhood." Everseer said in soothing tones.

Agatha rolled her eyes. "I'm not psychotic, for heaven's sakes. I'm just a little confused and don't know where I am in life right now."

"Ah…it's Gazerbeam, isn't it?" he asked softly.

Apparently Everseer had hit the nail on the head, because Agatha sat up immediately and yelled, "Don't read my mind without my permission, Everseer!"

"It's my right, it says so in the fine print on the contract you signed." He grinned, holding out the multi-paged contract Agatha had signed just minutes before.

Agatha grabbed the papers and looked them over. In line 16, it stated that Everseer would and could read a patient's mind in order to help them. "You sneaky weasel." She said acidly. "Yes, it's Gazerbeam."

"You know, if it's love troubles, you might want to talk to Psycwave, instead. I'm not too good with matters like these." Everseer sighed for the upteenth time. Agatha thought of the gossip-loving, condescending, selfish Psycwave and decided to pass. Everseer, though strange, was infinitely more reliable. "You know, I wouldn't worry so much about it."

"I'm just confused, I guess. I really want answers, because I don't know how I feel, and I definitely don't know how he feels." It was Agatha's turn to sigh.

Everseer chuckled. "If you want to know how you feel, you have but to look inside yourself. If you want to know how Gazerbeam feels, it won't help talking to me. Trust me, Apogee, things have a way of sorting themselves out."

--

Agatha sat herself in the last row of seats in the courtroom. She had changed into a more professional-looking outfit, and blended perfectly into the crowd. Mr. Paladino was at the front of the room, questioning a witness who worked at Washington Energy. He looked nervous, and Agatha didn't blame him. It wasn't exactly cake going against a multi-billion-dollar corporate company. Sunglasses also were very un-professional looking, so he had to do all his work without them: at the risk of burning somebody up.

"No further questions, your honor." She heard him say, and he sat down at the prosecution's table. He turned for just a moment, and she could've sworn that he saw her, but if he did, Mr. Paladino didn't react in the least.

"This court will adjourn. We will re-convene tomorrow at noon. Dismissed."

Agatha stood up so she could catch Mr. Paladino on his way out, but he was bombarded by the news media as they followed him out of the courtroom and down the steps in the front. Agatha knew that she just had to talk to him. As Mr. Paladino was about to get into his car, she stopped him. "Gazerbeam," she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper.

The Boss stared at her. "Agatha? What is it?"

"I need to talk to you."

Mr. Paladino looked at the paparazzi right behind her. "You have to? Now?" Agatha vigorously nodded her head, and he sighed in reply. "Fine then, get in." Agatha opened the car door and got into the passenger seat. "Any particular place you want to go?" he asked, putting on a pair of sunglasses.

"Not at all, as long as you're there."

"I'm flattered. We'll go to the park, then." His voice had a strange tone, and she couldn't place it. "You don't mind walking around, do you?"

Agatha looked down at her high heels. Her feet didn't matter, really. "Nope."

They soon arrived at the Metroville Park, a beautiful haven with tall trees, flowers along the trail, and a little playground for children. If this had been a date, Agatha mused, it would've been perfect. "I'm…sorry. About last night, and the night before that, and all the other times I've been a terrible person to you." He told her as they walked.

"Gazerbeam."

"No, let me finish. I was just…so stressed out, and my mind wasn't working right. And you know, I…I don't know how to reconcile these feelings I have." His words came out stuck together, as if they were just spilling out of his mouth.

"You seem to be apologizing a lot lately." She laughed lightly. "The Gazerbeam I know would never have apologized to me." Agatha avoided the last part of what he'd said. It was too sudden. Sure, they'd been ally supers for a long time, but she didn't know him that well. There was attraction, but was that enough?

"Or anybody else, for that matter. I guess I've just been changing," he chuckled. "So have you, actually."

"I've been a little too emotional lately, for my taste." She grumbled.

"PMS?"

"Not funny," Agatha snapped. There was a silence as Mr. Paladino started walking faster and got slightly ahead. "I apologize, too." She whispered to his back. He stopped mid-step.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked, still not facing her. "You don't…I mean…"

"To be honest, I don't know." She called out. Mr. Paladino turned around to face her. There were quite a few feet between them. "I don't know how I feel."

"You know how I feel, don't you?" he asked her.

"Yes, but I don't know. I just…not yet."

Mr. Paladino shrugged. "I don't need your answer now. Just for your forgiveness."

"You have that." She assured him.

"As you have mine," he smiled. Mr. Paladino looked at his watch. "I really need to be going." He waved and started off.

"G-good luck at court tomorrow!" she tried to run after him, but tripped over something and fell on her face. Mr. Paladino turned around again and was immediately at her side. Agatha tried to stand, but her ankle was throbbing. It wasn't serious, but it hurt.

With amused exasperation, Mr. Paladino scooped her up off the ground into his arms. "Really, you can't do anything without me, can you?" He laughed, carrying her back to the car. Agatha leaned against him, feigning weakness, and in her mind, she was thanking Everseer.