Kindred Spirits

Chapter Five: Killer Instinct

~ o ~

There are different sides to every person.

Some are great. Some are bad.

Others are terrifying enough to scare even the person themselves.

~ o ~

"In position." I said.
"Keep those sights of yours on Aiden." said Sombra.

I switched on my visor, causing it to encase my head and granting me clear sight on just about everyone around the property. Just as Sombra said, there were a large number of black ops agents around the property. Thanks to my visor, I was able to see them even though it was very dark outside.

"To lower the risk of blowing our cover, take out only the ones that are in the way. You ready mijo?" asked Sombra.
"Moving in. Get ready." replied Aiden.

I used my scope to zoom in on Aiden, who was making his way through the forest, leaping from tree to tree as he approached the site. Once he was within range, I saw him reach into his jacket and pull out a pistol. He then fired two quick shots, each connecting with the two guards ahead of him. Once they slunk to the ground, he ducked behind the bushes before raising his hand to his earpiece.

"Three guards ahead. Can't progress further." he said.

That was my cue. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, my perception of time seemed to slow as my scope hovered over my intended three victims. I unconsciously smiled to myself; the thrill of the kill was still very much intact. Once I was satisfied with the shot's angle, I squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew silently through the air and struck the guard furthest to the right. I quickly aimed at the second one and fired once more, killing him on the spot as the bullet lodged itself in his temple. The third guard attempted to reach for his radio but I fired once more, sending him to the afterlife before he could even press the button. I pressed my finger to my earpiece.

"All targets neutralized." I said.
"That's my cue. Wait for my signal before going in mijo." said Sombra.

I looked to the right to see that the hacker had silently made her way to the back entrance of the house. I then noticed a guard approaching the door. I prepared to take him down, but Sombra raised her hand, telling me to wait. I stayed my hand as the door opened and once it did, she turned completely invisible. The guard that came outside did not have a thermal or infrared visor, allowing her to slip past him without him even remotely noticing. I had to switch to infrared to see her...and she moved very quickly, cutting through the rooms on the ground floor and easily dodging each and every one of the patrolling guards. She paused briefly in a room as she turned visible again, hiding behind a large bookshelf as she waited for her cloaking field to recharge. Once it was restored, she quickly made her way to the mainframe room.

"I'm at the target position. Hacking in now. The door is sealed so once I get in, I can reseal it and they'd be none the wiser." she said.

It took her less than a minute to finish the hack but she finally managed to get inside of the room. After sealing it shut, it was no longer possible for me to see her with my visor as there was too much electrical interference for me to get a read on her. I turned my scope back to Aiden, who was still waiting patiently though he had taken the liberty of moving the bodies of the dead guards.

"Just as I thought. The room's wired to just about everything electrical here. Communications, alarm systems...the whole works." she said.
"Where is Nicole?" asked Aiden.

Sombra was quiet for a few seconds before she spoke up.

"Top floor. The room with the balcony. There are two men in there with her." replied the hacker.

The assassin got to his feet and began to make his way towards the room. Now, it was my turn to have some faith in him because at this angle, I could not provide covering fire and it would be dangerous for me to re-position considering how many guards were below me. I kept my rifle focused on the entrance that Aiden just arrived at, keeping my visor on infrared in hopes that I could relay the positions of the guards.

"Three in front of you. Two coming down the stairs and one coming in from the kitchen." I said.

The assassin quickly rolled inside through the open glass door and hid himself behind a large wardrobe. All three guards met up and began talking. I so very badly wanted to pull the trigger...but at this point, anything that pierced the house's walls would likely alert anyone within earshot. I had no choice, but to stay my hand.

Aiden however didn't wait long. He quickly dispatched two of them with his pistol before grabbing the third one in a chokehold. He then wrenched his arms sideways, snapping the guard's neck. He then quickly hid the bodies in a closet before making his way up the stairs. I continued to follow him with my sights as he swiftly made his way to the room Sombra specified. Finally, he arrived at the door.

"Is there anyone of importance in there?" he asked.
"Running facial recognition scans now." replied the hacker.

It took several seconds until she snickered softly.

"Both of them are pretty high up the food chain. The cabron in the middle is the one in charge of the research project as well as the head of security of the Talon operation in France. The other one is..."

She paused...and I heard her gasp.

"What? What is it?" he asked.
"The other one...is the one who ordered your wife to be assassinated and the one who organized Nicole's kidnapping in the first place." she replied.

For some reason, I felt a chill go down my spine. Now that I thought about it...this was looking too easy. There's no way those guards would've been so simple to take out, not to mention how easily Sombra got inside of the mainframe room. Both men suddenly got to their feet, one of them grabbing Nicole by the neck and laughing. The other pointed a rifle to the door.

"Maldicion! It's a trap!" cried Sombra.

~ o ~

"Come out Mr. Beuclair. If you want to see your daughter take another breath that is."

I let out a heavy breath as I raised my hands and approached the door.

"Drop the gun." ordered one of them.

I let my pistol fall from my grip as one of them opened the door. He had a rifle held up towards me.

"Well now. If it isn't the prodigal son." said one of the men.

I remained silent as the other man ushered me inside. I heard Amélie cursing loudly over the earpiece, which only I could hear thankfully.

"Bring them closer to the balcony...I'll end them." said Amélie.
"Not a chance mija. If they so much as catch a whiff of you, that masquerade we've created of you being dead is all for nothing." warned Sombra.

I could imagine the look on Amélie's face; it was no doubt difficult to keep from pulling the trigger.

"I suppose you're here to take your daughter home? Where you think she'll be better off?" asked one of the men.

I remained silent, giving him an ice cold glare.

"Silence. That was one of the reasons why you were such a good candidate for the training program. You were born to be a killer and it feels like a waste to have to kill you now...when you could be doing so much for Talon." he said.

The man who held his rifle towards me suddenly hit me in the stomach with it, causing me to collapse to my knees and Nicole to scream.

"Daddy!" she screamed.
"The way I see it Mr. Beuclair. You have two options. I'm more than willing to overlook all of the men you just killed to get in here and I'm also willing to forget all of the sabotage you've wrought upon our plans. All you have to do...is come back to us. Be The Eagle once more." he said.

My eyes narrowed as memories of all of the innocent lives I took in the past came rushing back to me. The sorrow, the horror...the pain.

"Don't be a failure like Ms. Lacroix." he said.

I immediately glared at him.

"What do you know about her?" I demanded.

He laughed loudly before shrugging.

"I am Ronard Alenski, the head of the training program for all Talon assassins. Who do you think was the one who ordered her kidnapping in the first place?" he chuckled.

My eyes widened and immediately, I felt anger begin to boil within me.

"Gerard was a stubborn man. Always found a way to avoid even our most skilled assassins...even you. So rather than to focus on him, we turned to his sweet, beautiful wife. No one would expect such a woman who loved him more than life itself to be the one to end him." he cackled.

My fists clenched and it wasn't long before I felt my old instincts begin to take hold.

"Now that Widowmaker is dead, we can move forward with our plans. Overwatch is coming back and we cannot allow them to interfere with our vision for the world: freedom at whatever the cost." he said.
"You took her away from Gerard because you saw her as nothing more than a tool?! A means to an end?!" I bellowed.

He raised his eyebrow and shrugged.

"She was useful to us. She completed a lot of important contracts for us and there is no way we would've come this far without her. But she was weak. Just like anyone who isn't willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. Though I regret her having to die, we have no room for emotional attachments." he said.

He then released Nicole, though kept his gun fixed on me. She ran to me, grabbing me in a tight hug.

"Bring him just a little more forward. I have a clean shot through the window."

I hesitated; if she fired now and killed him...all of the work we've done to hide her will be for nothing.

"Did you listen to me mija?! They believe you're dead. You do NOT want those guys after you." cried Sombra.
"Aiden. Trust me."

Amélie's voice softened ever so slightly. Though I knew how badly she wanted to end this man; he was the source of all her pain, all her confusion and everything horrible that's happened to her thus far. He was also the man responsible for Gerard's death...but for some reason, I felt as if I could fully trust her. The question is...what would she do.

I leaned my mouth to Nicole's ear.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

She nodded into my chest.

"I want you to close your eyes. Don't open them for any reason and once you hear someone fall down, run to the closet and hide in there. Don't come out until I say it's safe." I instructed.
"W-W-What are you going to do?" she whispered.

I kissed her forehead before getting to my feet and looking Ronard dead in the eyes.

"You say you want me to come back to Talon. What's in it for me?" I asked.
"You were the best assassin we've ever trained Mr. Beuclair. You can rest assured that we will do everything in our power to accommodate you. All you have to do is ask." he replied.

I looked down to Nicole, placing one of my hands on the back of her head before holding the other one out towards him.

"As long as you guarantee the safety of my daughter...I'll do what you ask." I said.

Just as I had hoped, the man behind me lowered his rifle as Ronard clapped his hands with joy.

"A wise choice! It will be good to have the most dangerous weapon in the world back on our side." he said.

He began to make his approach towards me, just as I planned.

"Sombra. Get ready to move." said Amélie.
"Everything's ready. All files downloaded and demolition charges are set." replied the hacker.

Ronard finally reached me and before he could touch my hand, I retracted mine and immediately turned on the man behind me. In the next instant, I heard the whistle of a projectile flying through the air and in the next instant, Ronard fell to the ground. Nicole obeyed my earlier instructions, bolting to the closet and locking herself inside as I slammed my attacker to the wall. Before he could mount a counterattack, I slammed my fist hard into his right cheek and gave him a savage knee to the stomach. I threw him to the ground and before he could gather his senses again, a second projectile hit him, rendering him in the same state as Ronard. I examined both bodies to see that they had Sombra's knockout darts in their necks. I pressed my finger to my earpiece.

"...Thank you Amélie." I said.
"Don't thank me yet; we still have to get out of here." she replied.
"I adjusted the frequency of the translocator to allow four people to be warped. Get moving; it won't be long before the rest of the guards notice something is off." urged Sombra.

I opened the closet, only to be immediately greeted by another tight hug. I smiled, feeling true happiness wash over my heart for the first time in what felt like decades.

"It's alright ma fleure." I whispered.

The girl continued to cry softly into my chest as I removed the translocator from my jacket. I threw it as hard as I could through the window. I then removed the beacon from my jacket and placed it on Nicole's.

"We're leaving. You ready?" I asked.
"Wait Daddy. I need my notes from all the research." she replied.

I nodded.

"Make it fast. We don't have much time before they realize something is wrong." I urged.

The girl nodded and immediately began to jam all of the papers on a desk next to the bed into a briefcase.

"What's taking so long mijo? Those guards are coming!" cried Sombra.
"Guards are making their way upstairs. Hurry Aiden." said Amélie.

Nicole then approached me with her briefcase in hand.

"Let's go!" she said.

I led her to the two fallen Talon members.

"Put your hands on them. Don't let go." I instructed.

The girl nodded and did as I requested. I then heard footsteps coming up behind us. I grabbed onto her.

"Sombra. Get us out of here!" I said.
"Translocating."

Twenty Minutes Later

"How is she feeling?" asked Sombra.
"Still asleep." replied Aiden.

Widowmaker leaned off of the doorway as they made their way out of the room. After turning off the lights, the trio made their way to the makeshift holding cells that held their prisoners. Ronard was still unconscious, while the other looked on in what seemed to be genuine interest.

"So this is where you've been hiding all these years." he said.

The assassin's fists immediately clenched and as if in response to it, Sombra pressed a button to open the door separating the two men. In an instant, Aiden pounced on him and began to savagely slam his fist into the man's cheek. After several punches, the assassin lifted the man to his feet with a single arm before slamming him against the wall.

"I suggest you start talking cabron; you don't want to keep a man who can kill you in a hundred different ways waiting." said Sombra as a matter of factly.

The man laughed loudly.

"You think he scares me? He has a moral code that would never allow him to do what's necessary." said the man.

The hacker then brought up a holographic interface and held it out to show it to Widowmaker.

"Jared Milias. Head of security for the Talon headquarters here in France." she said.

The sniper looked at him coldly as Aiden tossed him to the floor.

"Tell us everything you know about Project Darkwind," ordered Sombra.

The sniper looked at her in confusion, as did Aiden. The man shook his head, continuing his laughter.

"You really think I'm going to tell you anything? You'd might as well kill me right now because I'm not saying a word. You all should know by now that Talon has no use for traitorous scum like you." he said.
"You're also the one who-" began Sombra.
"Forced my daughter into doing research for your own sick needs."

Aiden's voice had taken an almost sub-zero tone, one that sent chills down even Widowmaker's spine. The assassin closed his eyes.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Tell us what the project is about...or I will show you no mercy." warned Aiden.

Jared responded by spitting blood into the assassin's face. In the next instant, Aiden reopened his eyes...but they were no longer crimson.

They were bright yellow.

Before anyone could react, the assassin pinned the man to the wall with one arm and grabbed his right hand in the free hand. He then wrenched it violently upwards, causing a sickening crack of bone to echo through the air. The man screamed in agony as Aiden released the now broken arm, reaching towards his torso where his ribs were.

"Did you know that the human body has 206 different bones? And none of them are vital apart from the vertebrae in the spine. That means if someone is careful enough, they can cause 173 different fractures without endangering the victim's life...what will be your limit before you succumb to the maddening pain?" he said.

Sombra attempted to stop the assassin but the door slammed shut once Aiden produced a knife from his jacket and threw it into the panel that opened the door, sealing them both inside. The hacker cursed loudly.

"I've never seen him like this before. Something's wrong." she gasped.

Widowmaker looked on as Aiden approached Jared before grabbing onto his leg and landing a swift chop to it, visibly breaking the bone and causing yet another blood curdling scream of agony.

"Now that your leg is broken. You can no longer run. And I have all the time in the world to break every last bone in your filthy, worthless body." he continued.

Sombra then grabbed onto the sniper's arm.

"You have to stop him araña. There's no telling how far he will go. Jared won't survive the stress of all that pain. Please!" she pleaded.

The sniper thought for a moment, not fully sure upon which impulse to act upon.

Half of her believed that Aiden deserved to cause the man suffering as he had a hand in causing the majority of his life's suffering. He had his wife murdered and his daughter taken from him...and there was likely other things he did to the assassin that no one was aware of. The thrill of watching a pathetic worm die was very tempting to her dark side.

But then she thought of the look in the assassin's eyes. For as long as she knew him, Aiden Beuclair was never a man who was capable of cold-blooded murder. Though he killed many people during his time as The Eagle, he took on all of the guilt and has made it his life's mission to atone for his horrible deeds. The Aiden she knew now...wasn't even remotely there. It was almost as if...he were a whole other person.

Her thoughts then drifted back to the previous night, where Aiden assured her that she would never be alone again. That he would do everything he can to help her, even if it meant risking his life. The kindness he showed her, the unconditional care he gave her...all of it spurred an alien desire for her to see him back to his normal self.

The sniper wordlessly raised the hood of her jacket over her head, ensuring that it covered enough of her face to make it difficult to discern her identity. She then snatched Sombra's machine pistol from her belt and destroyed the glass with a few bullets. She then aimed the gun at Jared as she stepped inside. Aiden turned back to her, looking her dead in the eyes. It took about two seconds before the assassin turned back to his screaming victim, grasping the other arm and wrenching it just as violently as he did the first. Jared screamed in agony once more as he attempted to use his only remaining limb to create distance between him and the furious killer.

"Aiden. Stop. That's enough." said Widowmaker.

He ignored her words as he approached the screaming man once more, his yellow eyes glaring with the intent of causing more suffering. Widowmaker grabbed onto his arm.

"He's of no use to us dead." she said.

The man finally stopped screaming as he began to laugh once more.

"Don't you get it you stupid bitch?! This is the real Aiden Beuclair. A ruthless assassin who has a particular knack for torture. That's all he's good for and even though he tries to atone for everything he's done, he will always be The Eagle." he shouted.

Widowmaker leaned closer to the assassin, using one of her hands to cup his cheek. He turned to face her, his face still exhibiting tremendous rage...but he was no longer focused on inflicting more harm. The icy gaze he gave her sent even more chills down the sniper's spine, but he made no move to hurt anyone. She gently rubbed his cheek with her thumb, attempting to soothe his boiling rage.

"Don't listen to him. You're not a killer anymore. I've seen it first hand." she said.

She looked back to see that Sombra had disappeared. Cursing under her breath, she turned back to Aiden, who was looking at her with the same blank expression as before...only this time his eyes showed signs of his sadistic rage calming down.

"You told me that you had given up killing others because you felt the guilt of taking so many lives. If you take his now, you will never be able to go back to the way you were. You'll become the very thing you've fought so hard to erase." she continued.

He turned his body fully to the sniper, his eyes still locked onto hers.

"You're a good man Aiden. Killing him is not going to make you feel better because then you'll be doing exactly what he wants." she continued.

The assassin finally began to calm down...until Jared laughed once more.

"Quand la nuit tombe. Lorsque toutes les autres lumières s'éteignent. Le spectre de Talon se lèvera pour faire l'appel de la liberté." said Jared.

Almost immediately, Aiden's eyes widened. His pupils dilated and his fists clenched. He writhed in what appeared to be agony for a few seconds until he stopped moving. His yellow eyes then focused back on the sniper, now showing her the same icy glance he gave to the fallen Talon member only moments ago. He then began to walk her into a corner, killing intent forming in his eyes. For once...

Widowmaker had no escape. She aimed the pistol at her friend, hesitating to pull the trigger.

"Don't make me do this Aiden...please..."

She had no idea why her voice sounded so desperate or why she was still hesitating. Ordinarily, she'd have been able to kill just about anyone without a second thought but now...it was the only remnant of her past. The person who knew her best and the last tie to her deceased husband...

One of her only friends.

"Tuez, assassinez, éliminez, retirez...frappez tous les ennemis-"

BANG!

A loud gunshot went off as Widowmaker glanced towards Jared. There was a large bullet wound in his chest and after a few seconds, he spoke no more as his eyes closed.

"...Dad?"

Both assassins turned to the sound of a young girl's voice. Sombra had returned and was holding up a pistol that was still smoking. She was the one who had ended Jared's life. Nicole slowly approached her father, looking terrified.

"...Daddy?" she gasped.

Aiden's eyes didn't leave hers for a moment as she slowly made her way towards him.

"Be careful mija," urged Sombra.

The girl reached out and grabbed the assassin's hand. His eyes were still filled with rage, but he made no move to hurt anyone as he knelt down to his daughter's height. Widowmaker quickly made herself scarce, joining Sombra on the outside of the cell and glancing at the corpse of Jared.

"What was he saying?" she asked.
"Aiden's trigger phrases. Part of his reconditioning bound his killer persona to two phrases that would activate it. The first phrase is used to make him lose the ability to discern friend from foe with the exception of his superiors and the second is to cause him to kill without remorse. He didn't finish it because I shot him...if he had, there's no telling what could've happened." explained the hacker.

Widowmaker shook her head in disappointment.

"...So we just killed one of our only leads on Talon's plans." she grumbled.

Sombra snickered and shook her head.

"I just needed him to talk enough for me to get audio clips. With some editing, I can access the database I downloaded from the mainframe. We can find out everything in a few minutes. Once I get past all of the security." she said.

Widowmaker smiled.

"When Ronard wakes up...we have another interrogation to attend to." she said.
"One that hopefully won't end so badly..." sighed Sombra.

Both women then turned back to Aiden, who had allowed his daughter to place her hand on his cheek.

"...Please come back Daddy...I need you..." she cried.

The assassin's eyes closed and upon reopening them, they had returned to their usual crimson shade. The girl's face lit up as she gazed into the eyes of her father, not the reawakened killer known as The Eagle. She immediately threw her arms around his neck, holding on tightly. He responded in kind, embracing the girl tightly as tears began to stream down his cheeks. Sombra sighed in relief before turning to Widowmaker, who was watching with genuine curiosity.

"I'm happy for them." said Sombra.

The sniper allowed herself to smile slightly.

"It's touching...but now we know something dangerous about him." she said.

Sombra raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she replied.

She closed her eyes and folded her arms.

"The killer within him isn't gone. It's locked away."

One Hour Later

"What have you discovered about the project?" asked Aiden.

Sombra shook her head, biting her lip and letting out a sigh.

"The project isn't an operation...it's a weapon." she explained.
"What kind of weapon?" I asked.

The hacker turned to me, her face unusually disturbed.

"It's a biological weapon which is designed to kill Overwatch agents. It does this by releasing a dangerous gas, capable of detecting the trackers implanted in their bodies and once found...inserts nanomachines into their bloodstream that destroy them from the inside out." she explained.

I shook my head but Sombra's eyes narrowed even more.

"If it happens upon any Talon operatives...the nanomachines will instead enhance the body, to superhuman levels which will make every single Talon operative a super soldier with a single breath. Any civilians that breathe it in will be brainwashed and forced to join Talon's ranks. It's a full proof weapon." she said.

Aiden then turned to his daughter.

"They had you design the nanomachines...didn't they?" he asked.

The girl nodded slowly.

"They...told me that it would change the world and bring peace." she replied.

He held her hand and gently squeezed.

"How soon until the weapon is ready to be used?" I asked.
"Not long...a month or two at most. A lot of the research is already complete. I doubt that the mainframe we got all of this information from is the only one of its kind. We might've slowed them down, but it's far from over." said the hacker.

Aiden then got to his feet.

"Once Ronard wakes up, let me know how the interrogation goes. I'm taking Nicole to somewhere she'll be safe." he said.

The girl looked at him in disbelief.

"I'm not leaving you!" she cried.
"You're not safe here. I know how much you want to help and I have no doubts that you can...but I don't want anything to happen to you." he said.

He then turned to Sombra.

"Sombra will keep in contact with you through every step of the way. But you can't stay here...it's too dangerous." he said.

Nicole's eyes narrowed as tears began to fill her eyes.

"I'm not leaving you alone. I just don't think it's safe for you to stay here...I'll stay in touch everyday. I promise."

The girl then turned to me, looking quite astonished.

"Is...is that Auntie Amélie?" she asked.

I felt an urge to make myself scarce, but she approached me and held one of my hands. Not wanting to hurt the girl's feelings, I chose to stay put.

"I haven't seen you in such a long time. You're still just as pretty as you were back then!" she said with a bright smile.

Heat began to build within my cheeks as I cleared my throat.

"It's good to see you too chérie." I replied.

Sombra snickered loudly.

"Auntie Araña huh? That's got a nice ring to it." she teased.

I glared daggers at her, which immediately silenced her words, but didn't stop her snickering.

"I'm amazed you remember her. You only got to see her a handful of times." said Aiden.

Nicole turned to her father and smiled.

"I could never forget Uncle Gerard's pretty wife! She's so nice!" she replied.

My heart sank briefly; she was still unaware of everything that's transpired. As if he picked up on where the story was going, Aiden picked his daughter up in his arms.

"I'm heading into town. Since she no longer has a tracker on her, I'll leave her with a close friend." he said.

He then turned to me, guilt clear in his eyes.

"When I come back...can we talk?" he asked.

I nodded in agreement.

"Of course." I replied.

After giving me an apologetic look, he left the room. Sombra then approached me and jabbed my ribs with a finger playfully.

"Someone's softening up." she teased.

I rolled my eyes and turned away from her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I replied.
"Oh? So I guess it was Aiden who was crying last night?" she asked.

I growled loudly at her but much to my surprise, she had a serious face. Nothing like the teasing faces she almost always had.

"I always knew that you were a good person deep down mija. That man and his daughter are the only two people I've seen you be soft with. When you're around them...you're different. I like that side of you. Don't get me wrong, the cold baddass assassin will always be a friend of mine...but-" she explained.

She then smiled a genuine smile.

"It really makes me curious about how you were before all of this happened. And who knows...maybe that black hole of a heart of yours can actually find light again." she teased.

She then placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Also...normally when someone has their trigger phrases recited, they will kill anyone in their way. You were somehow able to stop him despite his rage. He didn't lift a finger to hurt you until Jared started to recite the phrases. That means you're very important to him mija. You and his daughter are probably the only two people who can bring him back from that darkness if he ever falls into it...that's not something even I can do and I've known and worked with him for years."

She then sighed deeply.

"He's a close friend to me. I don't want anything bad to happen to him and I know what you're thinking of doing once all of this is sorted out: you're going on a killing spree. I won't try to stop you...but it would mean a lot to me if you stayed with him or at the very least, kept in touch. I won't be able to stay much longer because duty calls...but you can. You're not bound by anything anymore." she said.

I let out a deep sigh as I thought back to everything that happened today. My memories of Nicole were few...but I recalled her smile and how much she enjoyed spending time with Gerard and I. I remembered talking to Gerard about settling down and raising a child of our own someday, when there was no longer a need for Overwatch to exist. When the world was truly at peace...

"Far fetched dreams indeed."

"I'll keep it in mind." I replied.

The hacker smiled at me before giving me a devious smile.

"Also...I think you two would be cute together. The Spider and The Eagle...gives me goosebumps just thinking about it," she teased.

I swung a fist towards her but she easily dodged it before sticking her tongue out and blowing me a kiss.

"Buenas noches araña!"

She made herself scarce quickly as I felt heat come to my cheeks.

"...Aiden and I?...Ridiculous. He's just a friend. A close friend..."

I was sure that there was a tinge of red on my cheeks despite my blue skin. After shaking my head from those thoughts, I made my way to my quarters and allowed sleep to take hold.