This was going to be a giant, multi-chaptered epic drama of a sort, with all these relationships and people freaking out all over the place and all coming to terms with their own problems. I have an outline sitting in my room somewhere, hurriedly written out on a legal pad. I want to finish it, I do, but I feel like I wouldn't know how to do it. I don't know. I still really like the beginning and all the ideas that I came up with so. We shall see.

AU where they are all adults with jobs and whatnot. Enjoy!

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Kori was pulling on one of her shoes when Dick pulled up to her house, stopping in front of the sidewalk and not bothering to pull into the driveway. She dug out the crushed heel of her blue Nike sneaker, grabbed her purse and sprinted out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Worried blue eyes met her terrified green ones as she hopped into the passenger side of the car. Without waiting for her to buckle her seat belt, Dick took off, slamming his foot down on the pedal and swerving out into the street. Kori did not scold him for such behavior; it was to be expected after finding out that one of their best friends was now lying in the hospital, unconscious, and barely clinging to life.

She herself was clutching the strap of her purse so tightly that it was a wonder she didn't wear completely through the leather on that drive to the hospital. It was one of the longest car rides that she had ever been subject to in her entire life.

The two screeched into the parking lot haphazardly and nearly bowled each other over in their attempts to get inside the building. The informant at the desk had calmly told them where to proceed to, looking as though he had to deal with people in this state of horror often.

After skidding to a stop and turning right down another white hallway, Kori stopped, hands on her knees and panting hard. After a few moments she looked up to see a few chairs on one side of the hallway and glass windows on the opposite side.

A familiar tousled head was standing with both hands pressed against the glass, limbs only slightly shaking at the sight inside of the room that he was observing. Kori straightened up and joined him to look, fearing what she was about to see, but needing to see it anyways.

A few seconds later, Dick arrived, having always been slower than Kori when it came to flat out running. The three people stood staring, unable to believe their eyes, yet equally unable to look away.

"What... what happened?" Dick finally dredged up the courage to ask, blue eyes ice chips as he stared nearly unblinkingly into the sterile, bland room in front of him.

Gar, the third of the party, didn't tear his eyes away either. "Apparently..." he had to swallow before continuing, "Vic was driving along a cliff side road and some maniac decided to drive himself off the cliff as an... as an attempt at suicide." A choked up pause. "Vic was just coming around a tight turn, they couldn't even see each other, and the other guy's car smashed right into the side of his. Both of them went flying off the side of the cliff..."

Kori's eyes grew wider at this, and a hand went up over her mouth. The redhead looked as though she might throw up, as a distinctive green tinge was coloring her features.

Gar scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. He swallowed again, audibly. Dick also looked faintly sick, although it was clear that an anger was bubbling up underneath the initial shock stage that Gar hadn't quite gotten over yet. Kori was simply letting her tears fall and trying to calm herself with deep breaths.

Victor Stone, friend of all three spectators was lying prone in the hospital bed, close knit bedspread lying over his body, eyes closed and machines beeping mechanically in the background. There were many cuts and bruises forming from what they could see, but a vicious one was down the left side of his skull that looked as though it might have been crushed in, and a split chin. One of his hands was quite obviously broken, bent as a disgusting angle, and the other was badly beaten up. His breathing was shallow, too shallow, and looked as though it would have been extremely painful, had he been conscious, each time he drew air into his lungs. They didn't know the specifics, but it was clear that there wasn't much anyone could do for him, even if they proceeded to surgery.

How? How could this happen to them, to their friend, Victor Stone? Why Vic? Why not someone else?

Kori took a deep breath again, held it, and let it out in the form of a question. "Where is Rachel?"

Gar shook his head. "She was finishing up a surgery, so she should be here soon." he answered quietly.

The reason that the three had been informed so quickly of Victor's accident was that Rachel worked at the hospital, and she had heard when a new victim came in. It had been awful hearing the news, but it had been even worse calling the three of them and passing the information on.

Just as they were finishing this exchange of words, shoes were heard pounding and in another moment a figure came barreling around the corner. She managed to stop herself before she smacked into Dick, but only just barely. The petite young woman breathed quite harshly for a minute or so before composing herself. Soon she was back to her usual, calm visage, although it could easily be seen that it was cracked. Her hands were damp from recently washing them, and she was sill dressed in her surgeon's scrubs, but had remembered to remove her mask and gloves.