"Oh god," a voice said. "Taylor, grab his legs."
He felt his legs being lifted, as arms wrapped around his chest from under his shoulders. He tried to gasp out a complaint, but the breath didn't come out. It was only momentary, before he was placed onto something soft, and covered in fabric. He was safe. The rain was off him. With the purr of an engine thrumming through him and the sound of rain tapping on a roof, he fell asleep.
The fly crawled across his face. He tried to flick it off and immediately regretted it. His face felt like it was burning. He started hacking and coughing, which made his chest and stomach hurt as well.
He remembered it again. The fists. The kicks. The feeling of… helplessness. The one opportunity he took.
He had almost died. He hadn't felt like that when Kara had a gun to his head. The last time he had felt like that was… London. And then, he had been able to fight back. He had been fighting back. He was almost snuffed out. Like that. Like it meant nothing.
He opened his eyes, shaking his head, ignoring the pain shooting up his neck. He was in a living room, lying on a couch that had been unfolded into a bed. A wool blanket covered him. A television was hanging from the wall in front of him, and a table was underneath it. The room was an open space design, flowing directly into the kitchen, which was spotless.
"Dad?" he heard a female voice say. "He's awake."
"Thank you, Taylor," a male voice said. Danny Hebert. He'd called him. The storage unit had been gone. Disappeared. Replaced by a hole. The other three were nowhere to be found. So he'd called Danny.
A hand pressing against his forehead pushed him out of his stupor. It was only a moment, and its warmth was gone. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," he croaked out. The words were a strain, fighting through the pain in his chest and back.
"You don't have a fever, so there's probably no infection. I do think you need to go to a hospital," Danny said. "You're beaten up. What happened?"
"Nazis," Evan said. He laughed, ignoring the pain in his ribs. "Jumped by Nazis."
"Christ… I didn't think things were this bad..." Danny said. A loud ding sounded.
"I'll get it," the female voice said. Taylor. Danny's daughter. Evan saw her put mitts on, open the oven, and take out a tray.
"Thank you," Danny said. He looked at Evan, then back towards his daughter. "It's getting late. Why don't you get to bed? It's a school night."
She stood for a second, trapped in the gazes of her father and Evan. Hesitation and worry flickered across her face, before being replaced with a blank expression. "Good night, dad."
"Good night, kiddo."
"G'night," Evan said. She looked him in the eyes. Was there a note of wariness in the way she looked at him? There was… something, definitely. She walked up the stairs. He heard a door open, and then close.
"I'm not sure how to ask this… is it safe for you to go to a hospital?" Danny asked.
He had no ID. They knew his face. "No."
"Is it safe for us that you're here?" Danny asked.
"What? Yeah. They wouldn't… They couldn't have followed me," Evan said. "Don't worry."
"Okay," Danny said.
"Thank you," Evan said.
"It's fine," Danny responded. He went to the kitchen, and looked at the tray Taylor had pulled out of the oven. He started messing with its contents, hidden from where Evan was lying. "Cookies have cooled down. Do you want one?"
"Danny, I mean it. Thank you," Evan said. "You brought me into your home without question, when I needed help. It means a lot. Thank you."
"I'll put a bowl of cookies next to you. I should go to bed too." Danny put some cookies in a bowl and brought it to the couch. He set it on the table. Evan held his hand. Danny smiled. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green. He was close.
Evan kissed him. His lips were soft, for a brief moment. Then he pulled away. Why did I do that?
"I… I'm sorry," Danny said. "I… My wife died two and a half years ago, and I haven't… since..."
"I'm sorry," Evan said. I'm so stupid. Such an idiot. You're an asshole, Evan.
"Good night." Danny walked away, up the stairs.
It took some time before he fell asleep.
He was woken up by the sound of a pot clattering. He opened his eyes to see Danny in the kitchen. The pain had lessened overnight. Evan sat up. It came back, almost overwhelming. He swallowed it back.
"You're a heavy sleeper," Danny said. "I was worried we'd wake you."
Evan took a deep breath before swinging his legs off the couch. The same meditation techniques he was taught to train his biotics proved their value here as well, as he focused through the pain. He should have known better than last night. It was weak, he knew. Stupid.
"I... After being hurt, the human body needs its sleep. Was I an intrusion?" Evan asked. Pretending it had never happened would be the best.
"No," Danny said. "It was just impressive. I always wake up when Taylor goes on her morning run. I never was a good sleeper. Are you okay to get up?"
"I need to be," Evan said. He took another deep breath, and pushed up onto his legs. He wanted to vomit. He wanted to lie down. He wanted the world to stop spinning.
He took a step forward. The floor threatened to hit him in the face if he took another step. He took it. As long as he felt nausea and pain he didn't feel think of anything else. Maybe if he told himself that it would be true. He took another step.
His phone rang, from the kitchen table.
"It was in your pocket..." Danny said. "I took it out."
"Who is it?" Evan asked.
"It isn't saved," Danny said, looking at the screen.
"Can you?" Evan asked.
"Okay..." Danny said, and answered the phone. "Hello?" He looked at Evan. "She's asking for you."
"Who is it?"
"Who is this?" Danny asked, then told Evan. "She says it's Kara."
"Okay," Evan said, sitting back down. "It's okay. Can you give me the phone?"
Danny handed it to him. "What is it?" he asked.
"The storage unit's been attacked, huge criminal uprising, big meeting tonight, we should all be there, your apartment's a mess, and someone spilled garbage on your floor. Where are you? I'll come pick you up. I've got a car." Kara said it in one breath, the words following one another in a mad dash to get everything out.
"No," Evan said. He hung up.
"Who was it?" Danny asked. Danny sat next to him. Close. Is he? No...
"I… I guess you could call her a teammate. Former team mate. We had a… falling out. The rest of them are in trouble," Evan said. "I left."
"I'm going to make some guesses," Danny said. "Tell me if I'm wrong. Your team… they have powers. And the trouble you're in is related to something you did with them."
"Yes," Evan said. Damn it. God damn it. I should leave. Soon. "How did you know?"
"I've seen Empire beatings. This was worse than what they do to random people. This was personal," Danny said. "I'm a hiring manager for the Dockworker's Union. And… we try to stick together. Help each other out. Do you know who the ABB are?"
"Yeah… Asian gang? Led by a guy who turns into a dragon?" Where is he going with this?
"We had this guy, Eiji. Good worker. Smart. Emigrated from Japan, learned English really slowly. He was a violinist, started building his career in the evening after working with us in the day. And one day, he got a visit from a few guys. Thugs. From the ABB. They came to him in his apartment, broke his violin, and told him he'd be helping the ABB. The next day, he mentioned it to us, at work, and four guys agreed to accompany him home until the ABB got the message. Big guys, strong ones. One day, they come with him, and there are a few ABB thugs at his apartment again. They beat the shit out of these guys, put them in the hospital. And the ABB didn't bug Eiji again."
"I think I get the point," Evan said.
"The next week we had to attend five dockworker funerals." Danny was looking into his hands, not facing Evan's eyes.
"Oh."
"So here's my point, Evan. You need to choose. You can submit. Maybe there's a reparation you can make. Get them off your back. You can run. Maybe they won't follow you." Danny turned to look at him with a piercing gaze, even through his glasses. "Or you can fight back. Do what we couldn't. You have powers? You have a team? Join back up with them. Make the other side bleed. Make them think twice before doing this again. Be stronger than them."
Danny normally looked like a soft guy. Someone who sat in an office, and would take being screamed at by saying "okay" and later grumbling into his keyboard about how you can't talk to him like that. The man sitting next to him, so close… This was a dangerous person. A kind one, but a dangerous one.
"You're right," Evan said. "God damn it, you're right. I should… I'll head back to them. Soon. I'll collect myself, and… go."
"Go take a shower, clear your mind," Danny suggested. "You're a little bit shorter than me, I have some clothes that should fit you. I'll lend them to you."
"But how will I..."
"You'll come by again soon, I hope." Danny said. He leaned in close. Really? Evan closed his eyes.
Danny's lips were soft.
When he was younger, Evan was upset about his height. He'd always thought he'd be as tall as his father, but fate played an ugly joke when he grew up to look exactly like his father but six inches shorter. He'd made his peace with it, especially after a sniper had taken the head of David, who was six foot seven and couldn't duck fast enough.
Now, though, it meant that Danny's clothes were big on him. He felt like a child in his father's hand-me-downs. When he could, he would buy something that fit.
He opened the shower door just as the doorbell rang. He heard it open. Taylor spoke. "Hello?"
He couldn't recognize the words from the other side, but he recognized the voice. Kara. Figures.
He walked towards the stairs back to the first floor, reaching them just when Taylor started going up. "Someone is here for you," she said.
She walked him back to the door, and watched as he opened it. Kara stood there. The words spilled out of her in a torrent. "Hey, there's some serious stuff going on, and the four of us need to stick together for it. Being alone is-"
"Okay, I'll come with you." he cut her off. He enjoyed the brief look of surprise before continuing, "Give me a minute?"
"Sure."
He closed the door behind him as he entered the house. Danny was in the kitchen.
"That your teammate?" he asked.
"Yes," Evan answered. He wasn't quite sure what to say. "I'll give you back your things soon."
"I'll call you," Danny said.
"Bye," Evan started to turn, but Danny's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Danny took a step forward, but then looked towards the door and dropped his arm. "See you soon."
Right, Taylor. Evan thought. He walked to the door, and walked out of the house.
Taylor was standing on the steps, looking at Kara. It felt like they were staring each other down. Evan broke their silence. "Let's go."
"Okay," Kara said, not breaking eye contact with Taylor. "Bye. Nice to meet you. I'm Kara."
"Taylor," Taylor responded, and walked back to where Evan had come from.
Kara went into the driver's seat of a small purple car. Scorch marks marred the right side of the car, but it was fairly undistinct otherwise. He sat in the passenger's seat.
The driver's side was a mess of broken plastic and cut wires. Kara attached two of them for a second and the car roared to life.
She drove, and Evan watched Danny's home, then his neighborhood, shrink away. It took him a few minutes to ask, "Can you tell me what happened? The full version?"
