Get ready for some Hermes and Anke in this chapter :D

Quinn's POV

When we get to OWCA's reception, I spot my brother and his girlfriend waiting for someone. They see us as we come further in.

"Quinn!" Hermes calls, rushing over and giving me a hug. "I heard about what happened from Mom and Dad, are you okay?"

"Mostly."

Anke comes over and greets us too. "Teddy and Hazel are upstairs in their offices, I think," she says. "Your parents are out on a mission, though."

Hermes then suddenly bursts out, "Why didn't you join OWCA?"

Anke glares at Hermes. "You can't just ask her that!"

"It's okay," I say, even though I really don't want to have to explain it again. I've been explaining it so often to Perry and Priya and Pearl and Teddy and Hazel and it gets so tiring after a while. But at least this time I'm not repeating myself; Hermes and Anke don't actually know why I didn't join OWCA. "I've always favoured a more peaceful life where I have just a few jobs and lots of time for my art. I don't have any enemies and I don't have to rush off at a moment's notice to go on a mission from which I might never return, so I'm happy with my life."

"That was a rather negative view of OWCA, there," comments Anke.

"So you've never considered becoming an OWCA agent?" Hermes asks.

I shrug and shake my head. "Not really."

"Oh, okay." Hermes smiles. "Hey, we were about to have a training session with the other Bionics. Wanna watch?"

"That might be cool," Knox says with a glance at me. "You want to see them using their powers?"

"Okay."

Hermes's POV

When we get to the gym, I see Adrian, Lateysha, and Noah are already there, along with Lydia and Laurence, who are holding hands. Berry is also there, standing next to Adrian. "Where's everyone else?" I ask.

"The others were sent on a special mission to one of the facilities," Lateysha replies. I see her eyes flicker to Quinn and Knox, who are holding hands and standing behind me.

"Knox!" calls Berry. She runs up to her brother and hugs him.

"How come you're here, Berry?" Knox asks.

"I'm here with Adrian," Berry replies, blushing.

Knox raises an eyebrow but says nothing.

"Okay, time for training." I clap my hands. "Lateysha will spar with Laurence, Noah with Lydia, and me with Anke. Okay?"

Everyone nods and splits off into pairs.

Quinn's POV

I watch as Hermes and Anke get into positions. I know Knox is curious to see my younger brother's powers, as I am I to see Anke's.

Hermes picks up a crate lying by the store room door and throws it at Anke, who creates a forcefield of pink energy, which the crate bounces off. Hermes then stretches out his arm with his palm towards Anke. A second later, almost fifty shot putt balls come flying out of the gym's store room and fly towards Anke, who creates individual forcefields to deal with them. She doesn't hold up one forcefield and let the heavy balls bounce of them, like she did with the crate. She actually creates small, individual forcefields that each individual ball bounces off. I'm mesmerised by the speed in which she deflects the heavy balls.

When they're all done, Hermes flings the crate into the air again, which comes down over Anke's head. As I watch, an image of a heavy stone falling on my head flashes before my eyes. I feel immediately terrified and my heart rate increases. I don't get to see what Anke does because my vision goes dark and I can feel myself collapsing. As I hit the floor, I see Hermes and Anke running towards me, and then I pass out.

When I wake, I open my eyes blearily and see the fuzzy forms of my boyfriend and my younger brother.

"Is she okay?" Knox's voice asks, sounding fuzzy to my ears.

"She just fainted, I'm sure she'll be fine," comes Hermes's voice. "Look, she's already woken up."

I groan as Hermes and Knox help me into a sitting position. "How long was I out?" I croak.

"A minute or so," Hermes replies. "You gave us all a really big fright, though."

Knox helps me stand up. I lean against him and cough a couple of times. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

I look over at Anke and immediately the feeling of terror comes back to me with the memory of watching her and reliving my own traumatic experience. Now all I can see is the stone falling on my head. I instinctively duck but there's nothing there. My stomach is churning with fear but my brain knows I'm safe. Despite this, I can't convince myself that I really am safe. I feel sick.

"I need to go-," I manage, before I have to run off.

Because I wasn't able to finish my sentence, they don't know where I'm going. I burst outside and run to the nearest bush, where I kneel down and wait to see if I'll be sick. I don't throw up, but my stomach continues to churn.

After a minute or so, I stagger out of the bush and stand up straight. I take deep breaths in and out, close my eyes, and feel the breeze on my face. All of these things help to calm me down.

"Quinn?"

I'm so caught up in my calming that I failed to notice my parents coming up behind me. They hurry towards me and hug me tightly. Probably for my ordeal last night.

"What are you doing here?" Priya asks.

"I'm here with Knox," I reply. "He wanted me to let you know that I'm okay."

"Grief doesn't go away overnight," Perry says doubtfully, looking me in the eye. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I realise suddenly I desperately want to tell my parents the thing that I wouldn't even tell Knox. "No," I sob suddenly. "I'm not okay. I keep reliving the horror every time I close my eyes for more than a second. I keep seeing the stone falling on top of me, I keep seeing Alex dying in front of me. I wish it would stop!" I end up sobbing.

Priya takes me into another hug. "It's okay, sweetie. Your father and I have both been there. It hurts a lot, and that's okay. It isn't going to go away for a while so all you have to do is bear it, and it will get easier."

"I want it to go away," I sniffle.

"I know you do," Perry says, rubbing my back gently. "But sometimes things have to get worse before they get better."

Aww Quinn's relationship with her parents is slowly getting better :)