The only real spoiler in this is the one that was revealed early on, so if you don't know about Henley in the second movie, then spoiler warning!
Category: Gen
Setting: NYSM2
Characters/Pairings: Henley Reeves
Rating/Warnings: K+, minor spoiler for NYSM2
Summary: She hated her new hairstyle, but loved her new home.
Disclaimer: Neither Now You See Me nor its characters belong to me.
A New Life
She hated her new hairstyle, but loved her new home. When Henley approached Dylan for a way out, she hadn't expected to be given one. Leaving Danny and the others was the single hardest thing she had ever done, but the Eye wasn't what she had expected and despite what she had believed, life as a fugitive wasn't for her. So when she was given a way out, a way to really be free again, she took it without a second thought. None of the others knew what had happened to her, not even Dylan. She wanted to contact them and let them know she was all right and that she missed them, but the Eye had given her clear instructions not to contact anyone until they said it was safe. If she disobeyed, it would risk both her safety and theirs, and they she wouldn't risk their lives if hers depended on it.
It was hard, at first, living without magic. Being an escape artist was the only life she had known for most of her adult life and she missed it. She still practiced and made sure not to grow rusty, but she yearned to perform for anyone. But she was adapting. One day she would be able to perform again, albeit not in the ways she had grown used to, but perform none-the-less. Until then, Australia suited her perfectly, and she was grateful that she had taken those college courses back before she devoted herself to magic. Her mother had always wanted her to have a backup plan, and if Henley couldn't perform magic, then there was nothing she wanted to do more than work with animals. With the Eye's help in forming her new identity, she soon was hired at a small local zoo. It wasn't magic, but she loved it just the same.
Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she had stayed. Life was dull after spending over a year with Daniel, Merritt, and Jack, and she missed them more then she could say. There were times when she was alone in her apartment, practicing an old trick when she would seriously reconsider her choose, and wondered if the Eye would take her back. But then she remembered the months on the run and the way the Eye had all but left them without a word of what was to happen next or if they would ever be needed again. It had been enough to drive her mad, and she knew getting out was the right thing to do for her sanity. Still, she did miss it, and she hated that the guys felt she had betrayed them by leaving, but one day they would understand. Hopefully soon she would be able to explain her reasoning for why she had to get out, but until then she satisfied herself with the knowledge that it might not be magic, but she was still doing something she loved in a place that had become her home.
Studying the Snapchat closely, Laurel Darlin sighed. She hated her new short hairstyle, but at least she loved her new home.