(A/N): Oh yeah. Things are definitely heating up as we barrel toward revolution. ;)
Chapter 42: You Will Never Be the Same
July 25
Tahiti Wing
Charles had been waiting all morning for the young woman to wake up. By all accounts, and calculations, it should have happened by now. But so far, Monet simply hadn't responded.
He didn't worry much at first, because, frankly, it was a delicate, sometimes unpredictable process that varied from one subject to the next … but when an hour had come and gone, he was sure something was terribly wrong.
He hated to do it, but when he realized that it simply wasn't a normal wake up, he made his way over to the comm to ask for one of the medical doctors to step in.
To his surprise, it was Essex who responded, looking annoyed and having pulled called in — right up until he saw that Monet still hadn't moved. "That ... should not be happening," he said with a frown and a tone of sheer disbelief.
"I wouldn't have bothered you for anything less," Charles assured him. "But she simply hasn't moved a muscle."
"That doesn't make sense," Essex said in a frustrated tone as he checked over the monitoring equipment, the readings, and then checked the girl herself. As Charles had said, she wasn't moving, but there was just no reason for it.
Essex frowned down at the unmoving girl for a moment before he swept off in a rush and returned with more extensive equipment, still frowning. "There is no reason… everything about her procedure was perfect… did it myself," he muttered more to himself than anything else as he checked her over.
But to Essex' increasingly obvious vexation, he couldn't find any good reason for Monet to be as still and unresponsive as she was. She was conscious, and everything seemed to be working perfectly well — from her reflexes to her brain waves. She was aware, taking in everything around her — but she simply … wasn't responding.
"Can it be fixed?" Charles asked gently.
"There is nothing to fix," Essex ground out as he tossed aside another test that showed the same thing: she was perfectly fine. "Everything indicates she should be up and around. There's not a thing wrong with her!"
"Then it's a broken mind," Charles concluded. "I'm sorry so much of your good work has gone nowhere with this one."
Essex let out a low hiss of frustration. "No reason for it," he ground out before he shook his head and simply started to pack up his things. "We can monitor her, see if we can find what went wrong, but for now, she'll have to be moved elsewhere."
"Of course," Charles agreed.
"If there's any change, I want to be notified immediately."
"You will be the very first to know," he promised.
Essex glanced toward Charles for a moment, almost sizing him up, before he simply left the room, still clearly upset at the failure.
July 25
District Twelve Suite
It was the last morning in the Capitol, and there really wasn't much of anything left to do except go home, but America found herself watching her stylist and his little 'line' friend somehow staying busy worrying over something very important that they'd misplaced — like, oh, an entire victor.
"I thought this was your whole job," America teased Jubilee; she couldn't help but pick on her.
"Technically? No," Jubilee defended. "I'm just supposed to make sure he looks good? Moira is supposed to make sure he is where he's supposed to be, but she is mysteriously missing. Again." She had held up her fingers as she made air quotes and rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where Moira was … and knowing that Logan was nowhere near that noise.
"Well, you're not technically anywhere near Seven's suite either. You were here all night," America pointed out with a little smirk.
Jubilee crossed her arms and gave America a once over. "I … checked. He is not there, or with the other troublemakers in Eight either."
"What about his messages? Perhaps his… friend knows where he was?" Noh offered. "Have you checked his tablet to see if she was yelling at him for anything?"
"No, I didn't," she admitted with a growing grin. "We could take a tiny peek. It's ... in his best interests, right? To be sure he's not drinking with Viper again."
"Don't make excuses; just do it and tell him if he doesn't want us to do stuff like that, he shouldn't go missing and drinking with Viper," America said.
"You have a fine point," Jubilee agreed. "Are you staying here with the weird Twelve stylist, or are you coming with us?"
"I'll go with you," she said with a quick nod, following the two of them out the door. "Besides, Ian might start talking about the 'welcome home' plans for Twelve again, and I do not need that noise today."
Jubilee took America's arm with a smile and shook her head. "You'll be fabulous."
"Of course she will be; she's been nothing but," Noh agreed on Jubilee's other side, nodding fervently.
But when the trio got to Seven's suite, it was empty. Jubilee made her way to Logan's room to find the tablet and came out shaking her head. "Not a single chime." She had the tablet in her hand and dropped it on the coffee table before she flopped onto the couch. "So I can't even … ugh."
"So… he's not making poor decisions — or he is, and his tablet friend approves?" America offered.
"Apparently," Jubilee said. "So I guess … I have to wait here for him to come back from whatever mess he got into." She tipped her head to look at Noh. "Should we order some breakfast?"
"Pancakes?" he grinned at her.
"Oh yes," she nodded. "And scrambled eggs."
Noh grinned at that as he swept off to go get the breakfast ordered, and America hit Jubes lightly in the shoulder. "You two even need me around, or am I your unofficial 'chaperone'?" she teased.
"Oh, we definitely need the chaperone," Jubilee said seriously. "There are no cameras at our place, but here?" She shivered dramatically. "Trouble is just waiting to happen."
"Doesn't the fact that you have an 'our place' sort of give it away, though?" America pointed out.
"I don't think they care as much for the stylists?" She said. "Now … if one of us was involved with a victor … closer scrutiny. By a lot. But when we're here..."
"So that's a 'careful around GoGo' warning? Because I think we hit it off…" America said with a crooked smile.
Jubilee smiled and rolled her head toward America. "She thinks you're really cute," she sang out.
"She's not wrong!" America sang back to her.
"No, she's not," Jubilee agreed. "But yes, be careful. Keep it to yourself or in the dead spots as much as you can. Logan can show you all of them." She sat up straighter and squared up with the most serious expression she could muster. "All of them."
"Too bad he's not here right now. I bet I could at least propose a line with her," America teased outright.
Before Jubilee could respond, the door opened, and Logan stepped inside and glanced around the room. "Mornin," he said gruffly on his way to change, not intending at all to explain himself.
"And what time do you call this?" America sang out to him. "Your little line friends were worried sick, I tell you. Sick!"
"I call it morning," he called out over his shoulder before he stepped into his room. "Give me five minutes. I gotta get out of this stupid suit. Even if it is off the line"
"Long as you don't disappear before they can give you another line suit," she laughed. "I think you're their only customer."
She could hear the chuckle from the other side of the door, and a few short minutes later, he stepped back out, looking much more like himself. "I think the term is 'unwilling coat hanger.'"
"Ah, but such a cute coat hanger. Spending all night getting bent out of shape doing… what, exactly?" America asked.
"Sleeping," he said on his way to get coffee. "What were you doing?"
"The same, only, you know, in my suite," America pointed out.
"Well that's boring," he replied, though he brought coffee for Jubilee with him. "Thought for sure you'd be in Eight."
"Already looked there for you," Jubilee said as she snatched up the coffee with a grin.
"Huh," he said and ignored the implication as he took a sip.
"So, whose bed were you using, since it clearly wasn't yours?" America asked with a cheeky grin, leaning over his shoulder. "Couldn't have been Viper, or your tablet would still be ringing nonstop."
He paused and looked her way. "No. I wasn't with Viper."
"The other Two, then," America said with a grin.
"No," he said. "I wasn't with Bobbi, she's got someone on the side."
"Cheating on you. Shameful," America laughed. "What's his name? I'll go hit him for you. Protect your honor."
"She's … no. She's not my type," he replied. "And her taste isn't that … no."
"I think you broke him," Jubilee cackled delightedly.
Logan gave her a dry look for that. "I fell asleep watching a movie — didn't use anyone's bed," he said. "No big deal."
"See? Was that so hard?" America asked him, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Yes. Because it's not your business," Logan replied as he set to work on his coffee.
"You can't blame us for being curious. You were nowhere — and not even your tablet was chiming to tell us if you were in trouble," Noh pointed out.
"Is that your measuring stick now?" Logan asked.
"It's a good early indicator," Noh defended. "A simple movie, and there is no chime. Drinking with the worst of the victors, and there are plenty."
Logan didn't comment either way, doing his best to distance himself from whatever it was Noh was trying to say. "Got anything to eat before we go?"
"Pancakes and eggs," Noh assured him.
"That'll do," he said, then got up to refill his mug.
And almost as soon as he'd stood up, the tablet chimed with a message and Jubilee sang out 'uh-oh, someone's in trou-ble'. But instead of it being another light threat or complaint, it was instructions — Forgot to tell you I need to wipe the tablet; leave it under your seat on the train — but Jubilee wasn't so concerned about the message itself but the picture beside it. She recognized that girl, and the fact that she'd mentioned the train pulled it together for her in a way that she hadn't been able to before.
"He-e-ey," Jubilee said, her eyes narrowed as she tipped her head to the side, and when Logan sat down, she smacked him in the arm. "What, did she just… follow you home?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked with a frown.
"This!" Jubilee slid the tablet to him and jammed her finger at the picture. "Don't even try and act like you haven't seen her before, either, because I know things, Logan."
"She's a SHIELD agent," he replied before he picked it up to read the message. "No following anyone she's not told to do."
"So she's a professional stalker," America said with a crooked grin.
"Pretty sure that's the legal definition of SHIELD agent," Logan said dryly.
America smirked and looked over his shoulder at the tablet. "No, no. Professional stalker. You sure she's with SHIELD? Because she didn't strike me as a SHIELD type when she was making faces at you last night and blushing herself senseless."
He held his breath for a second or two. "She's not a very good agent. Pretty sure she got her badge from a walking tour." He closed out the tablet and set it down. "She must have been drinking. Or suffering from brain damage."
"Stalker," Jubilee said, arms crossed over her chest.
"Jubes, she's not a stalker," Logan chuckled.
Noh looked between the other three and had to shake his head. "She was at the party?"
"That's not it. She's the one that picked the plaid, Noh," Jubilee said with her arms crossed over her chest. "She picked the plaid on the train." She gave him a significant look.
"Oh!" Noh's eyes lit up with understanding as he turned to Logan. "Oh… that… that does explain things, yes."
"How does that explain anything?" Logan asked looking a bit taken off track.
"Well, you could not possibly…. Not with anyone who would not pick the plaid," Noh said as if that explained everything.
"You're not making any more sense than her," Logan said, gesturing to Jubilee. "Not that I'm surprised."
"He's in denial," America sang out. "He was doing that last night too."
"I can't believe you've lost it already," Logan said to her.
"It's plain enough to see," America said. "And this time, there's no blonde from Two to hide behind," she added with a wide smirk.
"The last person I'd hide behind is one of your girls from Two," he replied.
"Oh, both of them?" Noh asked with one eyebrow raised. "But you were getting along so well with GoGo…"
"His fault," America said, gesturing at Logan. "I said Bobbi was pretty, next thing I know, I've got Viper inches from my nose."
"Because you wouldn't knock it off," Logan reminded her.
"Because you were hiding," she shot right back.
"I was not hiding," he said, perfectly serious. "I'm not ... " He let out a sigh and tried to find the best way to explain it. "I've had enough trouble in the Capitol. I'm not dragging anyone into it. Not that anyone would ever go for that mess on purpose."
Noh and Jubilee glanced at each other at that and shared a look of understanding even as America rolled her eyes at him. "Give yourself some credit. You're not that much of a mess."
"Yes," he said. "I am."
"America," Noh broke in before America could get onto Logan any further. "We need to get back to the suite — we'll be leaving in a little while anyway, and I do actually have to clean you up one more time."
America looked betrayed Noh's way for a moment, but she reluctantly allowed him to lead her off, leveling a finger Logan's way as she passed him. "I'll get you next time."
"See you in a few months, princess," Logan said, shaking his head at her before he went back to his coffee.
District Twelve
When America got to District Twelve, she wasn't expecting the warm welcome that she got. She was positively surrounded by people who hadn't even known that she was part of the district, hadn't cared about her in the least — and suddenly, they were all so proud.
Twelve hadn't had a victor in years, not since Black Bolt was one of the early winners of the Games, and apparently, the way she had tried to take care of Billy had won over plenty of hearts. That hadn't been her plan, drawing attention to herself. She'd been trying to draw attention to Billy. It hadn't mattered what anyone thought about her when she was going to die anyway.
But in Twelve, the parties weren't anything like the ones in the Capitol. They were small. There was lots of dancing. The music was played live by people with old instruments that had been preserved past the war.
She didn't see any of the people she actually wanted to see at the party, though she didn't blame them in the least. She didn't much feel like being around people, either, and it wasn't her boyfriend, her brother who had been killed.
But somehow, she got through the dancing all the same, and she was sure to dance with anyone who asked. They wanted to celebrate. That was fine. They were honestly happy about it, though she didn't know why. She didn't know any of them. If it had been Kate last year, whose family actually had sway… or Cassie, whose stepfather was a Sentinel….
Billy's foster parents were there at the party. She could tell where they were by where the crowd had parted, where there was a heavy space.
And America was brave. She was. But she wasn't that brave.
She left the party early and let whoever still wanted to dance do just that. But she was done as soon as she saw how red Billy's mom's eyes were.
The house in the Victor's Village had already been prepared for her, so all she had to do was walk in. There wasn't too much to it, not really. A whole bunch of rooms that she had no idea what to do with. She'd give those to Tommy, Teddy, the others. They'd know what to do with them.
It was better than the shack that they were staying in now, anyway. At least something could be done about that.
She wasn't surprised when she'd only made it a few steps inside before she spotted the first of them. Tommy was completely dead asleep on the couch, looking like he'd fallen asleep waiting up.
She was glad, though. He and Billy looked so exactly alike…. She wasn't sure she was ready to deal with him.
The rest of the boys were spread around the place. Teddy in the guest room on the top floor, Eli down the hall from the master bedroom, Nate on the main floor. It was late enough — the party had gone on long enough, and had started late with how far Twelve was from the Capitol — that every last one of them was asleep. And that actually suited her just fine.
It was the first time in four days that no one was really watching her, and America checked all the exits before she made her decision, nodded once, and ruffled Tommy's hair on her way out to the fence. She needed some time alone. To think. She'd come back to her boys eventually. When she was ready for it.
Notes: And with that, "The End of Childish Games" comes to an end. Look out for the next installment in this universe, "The Fall of a Titan," very shortly! After all, we have a revolution to run...
