Fandom: KPop Demon Hunters
Relationship: Rumi & Mira & Zoey
Summary: I knew you'd protect her. Mira replays the moment over and over again in her mind. No flashes of light, no shattering into glowing pieces. Just blood. So much blood. Rumi's blood.
A/N: I merely set up the trauma dominoes. It's not my fault if Rumi kicks them over in such dramatic fashion. (It is my fault.) This fic begins in the middle of the Idol Awards chaos.
Prologue: fearful and villified
She's breaking the Honmoon.
Rumi can feel the way her demonic voice ripples through the Honmoon, weakening it. In front of her, Mira and Zoey have their weapons raised.
A demon with no feelings don't deserve to live.
The words echo around Rumi's head in Mira and Zoey's voices. She can still see the gleeful malice in their eyes as they pushed her around the stage. Rumi knows now that it wasn't her friends but demons who had taken on their forms. And yet, it is her friends standing in front of her now with their weapons drawn.
Years ago, Rumi had hopefully told Celine, "Maybe they'll understand." Celine hadn't been so optimistic. Maybe things would've been different if they'd been honest with Mira and Zoey from the start, if they'd avoided the secrecy and the lies. But they hadn't. So really, it doesn't matter what the response would've been then. Even if Celine hadn't been right then, she is now.
A demon with no feelings don't deserve to live.
Rumi has feelings. But as it turns out, so do other demons. She's no better than them. In fact, she's worse. The other demons take advantage of weak spots in the Honmoon. Rumi is the one actually tearing the Honmoon apart.
A demon full of feelings don't deserve to live.
She doesn't deserve to live.
She's tearing the Honmoon apart. She's destroying the very thing she's devoted her life to protecting. Maybe, it'll be better off without her. Maybe, even with just the two of them, Mira and Zoey can preserve what's left of the Honmoon.
Rumi will give them their best chance. She embraces all of her shame and self-loathing and feels her demon side take over her body. Her arms elongate slightly, hands transforming into claws. Something happens with her eyes, skewing her vision slightly.
Her voice echoes all around them, gutteral and unnatural. She chuckles with a humor she doesn't feel. "You didn't fall for it."
They're hesitant. Zoey still has only two of her shin-kal knives out instead of her customary six. Mira changes her stance, looking all the more ready to protect Zoey than attack Rumi. Even in this demon form, they're still looking at her as their friend.
Rumi knows how to deal with that. She targets Zoey, careful not to actually hurt her friends. It's a delicate dance that she choreographs as she weaves around Mira and slashes out at Zoey. Rumi knows them well, maybe too well, after so many sparring sessions. It's easy to string together near misses on all sides, to build the tension, to accelerate the pace.
She can feel Zoey's anxiety rising. Mira's protective instincts are starting to fire on all cylinders. She swings her wol-do with more power. Rumi slides underneath the strike, once again positioning Zoey between them. Mira growls. Rumi avoids one of Zoey's knives. She'd started throwing them not too long ago. Rumi closes in quickly, grabbing onto Zoey and shoving her to the ground.
Finally, she feels it. Mira's wol-do slices through the right side of her lower back just below her rib cage.
Blood gushes down her back, down her legs.
It's over. Based on the location of the hit, Mira would've gotten her in the kidney, maybe even the renal artery. She should bleed out quickly enough.
Relief settles across her body. She doesn't so much as let the facade drop as let everything drop away. She doesn't know if she smiles. The moment is a kind a blur. "I knew you'd protect her."
Mira's horror cuts through the haze. Her ferocity shifts into confusion and then guilt. "Rumi?"
Rumi steps back. She's made a mistake. She acted too impulsively. The guilt on Mira and Zoey's faces bore into her, and the shame makes her patterns flash. She hadn't meant to hurt them. She needs them to go away. She still wants to protect them. They don't need to see the end.
"Go," Rumi tries to command. "Protect the Honmoon."
But they don't seem to care about the Honmoon. Mira and Zoey approach. They're gaining on her. She's stumbling, weak from the blood loss. Her legs collapse underneath her. She reaches out for the ground trying to slow her fall, but her arms are no stronger. Her body hits the ground, boneless. Coincidentally, that's when the pain hits. She realizes the claws have retracted from her hands when they curl into fists.
Mira and Zoey are too close now. Rumi doesn't have it in her to keep backing away, so she does the next best thing.
Fandom: Leverage: Redemption
Compilation: Moments in the Life of Leverage Fam
A/N: Even when on opposite sides, Parker and Astrid think quite similarly. So I figured, what happens when they're on the same side? Let's have some fun.
"Good morning," Sophie says breezily as she saunters into Leverage Headquarters. But apparently it's not a good morning for everyone because she's immediately confronted by an exasperated Eliot.
"You gotta stop 'em, Sophie," he says, making his typical annoyed Eliot gestures: hands in a tight fist with only his index finger straight out, bouncing in short, emphatic movements. Flecks of whip cream fly off with each bounce. "You gotta keep 'em under control."
"Who?" Sophie asks, stepping back to avoid any projectiles.
"Parker and Astrid." He points more directly to his workout area, and Sophie gets her explanation. "There's whip cream in my punching bag. Inside my punching bag. And on the mats."
"And where are they now?" Sophie asks, turning to surveil the rest of the downstairs area. It looks largely intact. Astrid hadn't come home last night, but Sophie assumed her workaholic step-daughter was working late.
"I was going to track them," Breanna says. She's sitting on one of the stools in front of the stage with her laptop. She's also strangely still. "But my fingers are numb. The rest of me might be going numb too. I think they laced my laptop with Parker's special training powder."
"What does everyone know about gas leaks?" Harry asks as he enters. "My place smelled a little funny this morning. I want to know if I should be worried."
"Well, everyone's had an eventful morning," Sophie says. She'd feel left out, but her morning had been blissfully peaceful.
It turns out Parker and Astrid don't need tracking because they return then, rowdy and drunk on excitement and lack of sleep. There's whip cream in Astrid's hair and along Parker's collar.
"Good morning," Sophie says with a smile. "Been having fun?"
"We've been training," Parker says.
"We didn't do anything illegal," Astrid tries to clarify. "Mostly. I tried to keep everything legal."
"After Sophie's abduction, I wanted to make sure everyone's on the top of their game," Parker says. "So far, not so good."
"And it was good training for me," Astrid says. "I've always wanted to know how the mind of a criminal works."
Parker gasps. "After everything we did, you're going to use your new knowledge to stop criminals? And I thought you were having fun."
Astrid's eyes narrow. "If it weren't for me stopping you, a criminal, all of Mr. Wilson's windows would have exploded."
"Not all of them!" Parker counters. "And you don't know. They still might."
"What?" Harry asks alarmed, looking back and forth between the two of them.
"The security at your place is very poor," Astrid says with disapproval as if that's the thing Harry is worried about.
"It really is," Parker agrees. "I have snuck in so many times, and you've never noticed."
"We were using it as a training exercise," Astrid explains.
"I try to break in."
"I try to stop her."
"Girls," Sophie interrupts. "No one is committing or stopping anymore crimes until all of this is cleaned up."
Parker's head drops back as she sighs. "This is all your fault," she says.
"My fault?" Astrid asks, incredulous. "You're the one who--" Parker pulls out a can of whip cream and sprays her in the face. Astrid yelps. "Where were you even keeping that?"
Astrid grabs a handful of whip cream from her face and flings it at Parker. Before Parker can escalate, Eliot steps in, grabbing the can out of her hand.
"No more whip cream," Eliot orders. "Only cleaning."
Parker and Astrid exchange glances. Then, both of them tackle Eliot onto the mats.
Tara had said these two bonding was terrifying. She might just be right.
Fandom: Leverage: Redemption
Characters: Sophie Devereaux, Astrid Pickford, Parker
A/N: In “The King George Job”, Sophie mentions that she spent seven years setting up the Charlotte Prentice persona. I don’t necessarily believe she met Astrid as a three-year-old, but it certainly explains the impact Sophie had on her life. Add in the Parker connection, and I found the whole dynamic irresistible.
Excerpt:
But Astrid’s focus isn’t on Sophie. "This is a bad idea," she murmurs, almost as much to herself as to Sophie as her wandering gaze takes in their homebase. Sophie’s heart sinks. Then Astrid adds, "I will be privy to so many crimes."
Parker pops up behind her shoulder, startling Astrid when she speaks. "Crime is fun, nemeSis. See? You are my nemesis, but you are also family. A neme-Sis."
“Isn’t that still just nemesis?” Breanna asks, amused.
Fandom: Warehouse 13
Characters: H.G. Wells, Myka Bering
Summary: H.G. had told Myka that she wanted to rejoin the Warehouse, and yet there she is, still on the outside, keeping her distance but pawing artifact gifts their way like a feral cat in want of a family.
A/N: Thanks to @racethewind10 for the fun prompt! I didn't expect this to end up at 6K, but here we are. This diverges from the end of episode 2x09 “Vendetta”.
H.G. Wells disappears from their custody while they’re still in Russia.
After they had saved Artie, she had been placed in Myka’s custody until they could fly back to the United States. They were hardly going to allow H.G. to return to her own accommodations, and it made sense to place her with the only other woman.
Myka’s room is on the third floor of the hotel they’re staying at. She keeps an eye on the bathroom door while H.G. takes a hot bath, has Pete stand guard in the hallway while she takes her own hot shower, and has them both turn in for the night not long after.
Myka awakens in the middle of the night to find H.G. is gone.
There is no balcony to escape through, the windows don’t even open, and—after viewing the security camera footage—there’s no sign of her having left via the door to the hallway either. Myka remembers the way H.G. had smiled up into the surveillance camera at the NSA headquarters and resigns herself to the fact that they won’t find any trace of her escape. After all, there’s surely no shortage of tricks for the inventor of Cavorite and grappler guns.
Despite H.G.’s role in saving his life, Artie gripes and grumbles. The responsibility weighs heavy on Myka’s shoulders. Her mind is a revolving door of the past five hours. Did she hear something in the middle of the night? Should she have? Maybe she shouldn’t have fallen asleep. Pete does his best to reassure both of them that it’s all right. They’ll get her next time, and really H.G. didn’t seem that bad this time around.
They do not get H.G. next time, but Myka will find she doesn’t mind.
Fandom: Supergirl
Compilation: Moments in the Life of SuperFam
A/N: A little SuperFam treat for @stranger-who-writes-fiction because she more than deserves it. This is set during the 3x06 "Midvale" era.
Eliza isn't supposed to know her girls are outside on the deck upstairs.
The microwave clock lets her know that it's almost 2 AM on a school night. Eliza mostly ignores that and continues her task. Midvale is lucky to be spared big city levels of light pollution, and the moonlight is sufficient for Eliza, who knows the kitchen like the back of her hand.
She prepares three mugs, lifts the pan from the stove top, and pours its contents into two of them. The third she fills with coffee. Eliza pours some marshmallows into a bowl and arranges it along with the mugs on a tray, balancing them carefully and heads for the deck.
Alex is on her feet the moment Eliza walks through the door.
"Mom!" She's about to give her best excuse until she spots what Eliza is carrying. She freezes then, using all her brain power to put two and two together before concluding correctly that they aren't in trouble.
Over by the telescope, Kara continues on unbothered.
She had been quiet during dinner. Eliza hadn't missed the concerned looks Alex had been shooting her way. There had been something knowing about them. Something that spoke of grief and Krypton.
"Of course when we break the rules for Kara, we get hot chocolate," Alex grumbles.
It's not exactly a fair assessment of course. Kara has gotten her fair share of scolding and lectures, especially when her actions put herself and their family at risk. In this particular case, the worst Kara and Alex can do is spend their upcoming day at school in a sleepy haze. Eliza isn't worried about that.
Nonetheless, Eliza is pleased to hear a fondness in Alex's voice that was more likely to be begrudging just a few months ago.
Eliza proffers the tray of hot chocolate and marshmallows. Alex eyes it suspiciously but caves quickly, grabbing a handful of marshmallows and dropping them into her hot chocolate.
As Alex retakes her seat on the cushioned bench, Eliza places the tray on the side table for whenever Kara's ready. She carries her own mug to the patio chair on Alex's left, so she can keep an eye on both her girls.
It's a good thing she does. In their attempt to be stealthy, Alex and Kara hadn't come out in more than their pajamas. When Eliza notices the nighttime chill starting to get to Alex, she goes inside to retrieve a blanket and drapes it over. Now relaxed into the situation, Alex receives it gratefully.
Alex tries her hardest to stay awake, but as the minutes turn into hours, she loses the battle. Other than gently coaxing Alex into a more comfortable position, Eliza leaves her be. Alex had clearly wanted to keep Kara company, and Eliza will respect that.
The coffee helps keep her awake, but even without it, Eliza thinks she'd manage to stay awake on her own. This is the "mom fine print," the drive to be there for her girls whenever they need her no matter the hour.
She watches Kara, who's still looking intently into the telescope, and checks on Alex once in a while, making sure she's still warm enough.
When twilight brightens the sky, Kara steps away from the telescope, appearing in a daze as the memories refuse to let her go.
Eliza walks across the deck to her. She rests her arms on the railing and turns to face Kara. She doesn't get too close. She doesn't pry. She'll let Kara decide how much she wants to engage.
"I made hot chocolate," Eliza says in case Kara wants an opening. "Would you like me to re-heat it for you?"
Kara doesn't respond at first. Eventually she returns to the present, stepping to Eliza's side and letting herself fall limply into Eliza's shoulder.
"Thank you," is all Kara says. It's all she can manage right now, but Eliza understands the enormity behind those two words. That's the other part of the "mom fine print."
Thank you for making hot chocolate for me, but, no, I don't need it re-heated right now.
Thank you for staying with me all night. Even lost in my memories, part of me could sense your presence, and it helped.
Thank you for letting Alex stay with me.
Thank you for not trying to stop us.
Eliza kisses the top of her head. "Always."
They stay like that for a moment. Then Kara straightens and turns to look at Alex, gaze fond.
"I've got her," Kara says. She easily lifts Alex into her arms and heads inside.
Eliza follows. "You should get some sleep too," she says.
Kara nods, more emotionally exhausted than anything else.
After making sure both of them are tucked in properly, Eliza heads back out to the deck to gather the mugs and bring them to the kitchen. She leaves everything on the counter. She can handle the clean up later.
Instead, she goes back upstairs to the girls' bedroom to make sure Kara has fallen asleep. Eliza tiptoes through the room, turning off the girls' alarm clocks. They deserve to sleep in today. Eliza kisses each of them on the forehead before going to her own bedroom.
When the time comes for everyone to leave for work or school, Eliza will call in sick for all of them.
Fandom: MCU
Compilation: Moments in the Life of WidowFam
A/N: I don’t care about canon, so no characters are dead, and I get to do whatever I want.
Maria quietly lets herself into the safe house.
Outside in the backyard, Natasha and Yelena are busy sparring, but Maria has no delusions that her entrance went unnoticed. She proceeds into the kitchen and sets about preparing her materials for the briefing.
Sure enough, when the sisters eventually wander in, neither reacts to her presence with surprise. Yelena merely gives her an appraising look and greets her by name.
"Maria Hill."
"Yelena Belova," Maria responds in kind.
Natasha, who has retrieved water bottles from the refrigerator, merely rolls her eyes at them. She throws one at Yelena, hard. Yelena catches it easily. She fakes throwing it back, arm shooting forward. Natasha doesn't fall for it. Instead of preparing to catch anything, she pelts Yelena with the second bottle. Yelena has to readjust quickly to catch it.
"If we could get on with the briefing"--Maria pauses as a water bottle flies past her face--"you are the reason I'm here after all."
"Yes, Natasha. Behave," Yelena says, smugness only growing when a look from Maria stops Natasha's retaliation in its tracks.
Maria tells them about Ross' investigation into the Red Room and the tracking of the subjugated Widows.
"This is where he plans to start looking." Maria slides several hard copy files across the table. "Depending on how much you trust him, you can decide if you want to prioritize them or the others."
Natasha slides the list to Yelena.
"I've got a list of identities and documents you can use for them." Following Natasha's cue, Maria tosses a packet Yelena's way. She turns to Natasha. "And I've got a call with Stark set up for you."
"These names are so boring," Yelena says, rifling through passports. "But I guess that should be expected from Robin Parios of Canada."
She reaches for a pocket, then frowns. She pats around her other pockets.
Natasha tosses the passport of Maria's current cover at her.
Yelena glares at her, affronted. "When did you--?"
"Stop stealing things from Hill."
"Stop stealing things from me."
Maria has no idea when Yelena had the chance to filch her passport, and she doesn't bother wondering. She merely keeps a firm grip on it for the rest of her visit.
…
Natasha tells Clint about her newly reunited family.
He's her best friend, her family as much as the widows. He tells her he's happy for her, but he knows better than to ask too many questions. He accepts whatever details she's willing to give and requests nothing more.
The reunion comes in handy when they encounter a black market device that requires an expertise in neurochemistry. Even though Natasha has started making amends with Stark, Clint has not. And truthfully, it's only because it's Clint that Natasha offers to call Melina.
Melina picks up promptly. She gives Natasha a once over to make sure she's okay. Natasha briefly introduces Clint, and then they're off discussing potential mitigation plans and inventory needs. Melina is matter-of-fact as always, but it's nice.
Until she hears, "Natasha!"
Natasha groans as Alexei appears beside Melina. His eyes rove across the screen. When he confirms his nemesis is no where to be found, he begins, "Where is--" before catching the look of annoyance on Natasha's face. He clears his throat. "How is my favorite Avenger?"
After Natasha responds that she's fine, Melina wrestles the conversation back to the topic at hand. She has to shush Alexei a few more times. Alexei takes it good-naturedly--after all, what does he know about neurochemistry--until they start strategizing how to break into the enemy compound.
"You cannot use a Photostatic Veil to bypass all biometric security measures," Melina protests. “Think, Natasha. It is not logical.”
“Why not?" Alexei jumps in. "What I say, Natasha, hmm? Remember Santa Claus.”
“Oh my god,” Natasha mutters under her breath.
Oblivious to her embarrassment, Alexei proudly states, “Our girls learned to believe, to reach for the stars, and they took down the Red Room.”
“Santa Claus?” Clint asks, smirk entirely too wide.
Natasha sighs. Later, she'll get her fair share of payback for all the teasing she's wrangled out of Laura's stories.
…
Natasha follows Tony and Bruce into one of the compound lounges. Her sauntering pace prevents her from stumbling into Tony as he stutter-steps to a halt.
A familiar figure lies on one of the couches. Familiar to her. Not so much to Tony and Bruce.
“Who are you?" Tony asks, feigning nonchalance. "And how did you get in here?”
Yelena ignores the first question. “Your security is very lacking.”
Natasha walks behind the couch and leans over the back. “What are you doing here?” She reaches down to brush her hand against Yelena’s forehead and up into her hair.
“There was a widow nearby," Yelena replies. "I thought I’d come say hi.”
“You okay?” Natasha asks.
Yelena doesn't respond verbally. She turns her head, pressing her cheek into Natasha's hand. That tells Natasha everything she needs to know.
“Next time you can go to my room. We’ll get your biometrics set up.”
“Woah, presumptuous much?” Tony protests. "Maybe you should run that by us first."
"I can do it," Bruce volunteers. "Let me get my tablet."
Natasha appreciates the immediate trust.
"Uh, maybe we should find out who the mystery woman is first," Tony says to Bruce, but Natasha can tell he's posturing just for the sake of it. He trusts her too.
To reward that trust, she says, "She's my little sister."
"Oh. Well, okay then--Wait, little sister?"
…
Natasha has a sister.
It's not a revelation Steve saw coming, but their sisterly connection is undeniable. In fact, the reason behind their relationship is precisely the reason Steve lets Natasha bring Yelena along on this mission.
Bucky is still being held in cryogenic stasis in Wakanda, and Steve wants to make sure there are no more hidden Hydra scientists and facilities to haunt him when he's woken up.
Natasha and Yelena know exactly what that's like.
As Steve stalks down the dark corridor, he hears something, movement further down the corridor but out of sight. He turns back to signal a warning to the sisters.
He doesn't need to.
By the time he turns, Natasha and Yelena are both stopping of their own accord, heads tilting in completely synchronized responses to the same sound.
It's sweet or some other adjective that they would hate but is relevant nonetheless.
The facility is run by a skeleton crew that's easy to dispose of between the three of them. They separate to get the job done. Before the trio are reunited, Steve hears two whistles. The first from his left: pitch low then high--Natasha. The second with pitches reversed--Yelena.
Despite the whistle signals, Natasha instinctively checks to make sure Yelena's all right. Yelena does the same.
Again, it's sweet.
He's glad Natasha has that. She deserves it.
…
Thor calls while Natasha is in Russia with her family.
"Hey," Natasha says as she accepts the call.
"Widow!" Thor greets cheerfully.
What has Thor reaching out from space, Natasha will never know because Yelena plops down on the couch beside her. “Hello, god from space.”
Natasha shoves her out of frame. "Ignore her."
“Hey,” Yelena complains, voice whinier than usual, higher than usual, making her sound younger, which naturally means–
“Natasha, be nice,” Melina’s voice floats in from her study.
“What? I didn’t even– She started it.”
“Listen to your mother,” Alexei interjects.
“Oh my god,” Natasha mutters in Russian.
With Thor's allspeak, he doesn't even blink at the linguistic transition. He merely laughs. “Yes, even gods are familiar with bothersome siblings. When we were children, Loki once recruited a pit of snakes to wrap me up like one of your Egyptian mummies.”
Yelena frowns at his fond tone. “Isn’t he the one that tried to take over Earth?”
Natasha wonders if Thor's tired of that question by now, but he shrugs easily. “He’s adopted.”
Natasha jerks her head to the left. “So is she.”
“So are you!” Yelena protests.
"I was unaware you had siblings," Thor says.
"It's been a while," Natasha explains. "We only recently reconnected."
"How wonderful," Thor replies.
"Yes, it is," Yelena says. "For her. I'm delightful."
Fandoms: Supergirl, Nikita
A/N: Kara Zor-El and Alexandra Udinov both had their lives turned upside down when they were about the same age, so I thought, what if I make them small and sad together? Continuation of Part I, but now with supermom Eliza.
Content Warnings: Nikita-canon-typical mentions of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, drug use, non-consensual sex
Kara watches Eliza prepare breakfast before school.
She braces herself and then ventures tentatively, "I made a new friend."
"That's wonderful!" says Eliza, quickly laying down the fruit she'd been cutting. She turns to give Kara her full attention, beaming. "Is it one of your classmates?"
For most kids, that would probably be true, but Kara has been forging her own path on this planet. She knows Eliza hopes that one day she'll make human friends her age, but she's found more comfort and familiarity in strays like Streaky.
Sasha is human and her age, but she's not a classmate. It's hard to be someone's classmate from three thousand miles away.
Speaking of how she's been traversing those three thousand miles...
"Please don't be mad."
Eliza stiffens slightly, but she does a good job of masking her concern. When she speaks, her voice is calm, gentle even. "Why would I be mad?"
Kara takes a deep breath and then launches into her story. She's been back to visit Sasha a few times now. Each visit has shed more light on the horrifying situation Sasha and the other girls are in. It's impossible to keep the emotion out of her voice as she sees her own horror reflected back to her in Eliza's increasingly distraught expression.
To her credit, Eliza lets her get it all out before sighing, "Oh, Kara."
"I'll stop complaining about school," Kara promises vehemently. "I don't know how to fix this. I don't know how to fix Earth things. I know that now. I'll go to school, and I'll learn." She'll endure the inane math and science classes, the boring history classes, anything if it means she'll be able to help people like Sasha in the future. "Please. They need help."
...
Kara stands just to Eliza's left and holds out her arms.
"When I fly with Alex--I mean, when I flew with Alex, we would..."
Eliza notes the present tense slip up and knows she'll have to revisit it later, even if it does pale in comparison to what else has apparently been transpiring.
Jeremiah would put a stop to all of this immediately. Perhaps that's why she hasn't told him yet. Or perhaps, Eliza tells herself, he's already busy with the DEO and doesn't need anything else to worry about.
It's a flimsy excuse, but Eliza knows herself and she knows her daughter. Eliza can tell Kara not to go back, but that doesn't mean Kara won't. And as for Eliza herself, well, she won't be forgetting about those girls in a hurry.
With that in mind, Eliza settles into Kara's hold as she gently hovers above the ground to test Eliza's comfort level.
Then they're off.
It's her first time flying with Kara. Under different circumstances, she'd reflect on the absolute wonder of it. The view is spectacular, and when the wind is in danger of drying out her eyes, she closes them and revels in the feel of the wind against her skin.
And it's all courtesy of her daughter.
Flight. Super speed. Super strength. So many of Kara's powers on display.
But there's no time. Before long, Kara is landing them on the roof of their destination and gesturing for her to wait.
Kara has scoped out the building and the guards' schedules in advance, but she does a run through of the building now just in case. As much as this is a mission to save the girls, Kara has been adamant that Eliza's safety is also a top priority.
Tonight, most of the guards have been pulled away for something else. No one has been assigned in their place. The people in charge clearly found little threat in a bunch of drug-addicted girls with no where to go.
Eliza's here to make sure they have somewhere to go.
And that's only one of the many things they'll need help with.
Addiction treatment, trauma counseling, health check ups, social services (are they safe to go back to their families or did their families give them up), things Eliza's forgetting, things she'd never consider.
Because as much as she is the adult, as much as she's been a lifelong resident of this planet and this country, as much as she can be said to know more than Kara, she doesn't know enough.
When she meets the girls, the one thing she does know for certain is that she will absolutely be crying later.
...
Kara's new friend Sasha is Alexandra Udinov, the lost heiress to a billion dollar company called Zetrov.
At least, to the rest of the world, she is.
To Sasha, she is the lost daughter of parents who had been murdered in their home while it burned down around them. The only part of being an heiress that matters is that she will most likely be killed the moment she resurfaces.
Eliza's mind nearly crashes and burns because of course, of course life had yet another curve ball to throw her way.
And she finds out in perhaps the worst possible way.
Like Kara's earlier protectiveness, Eliza isn't helping the girls blindly. She can't forget that some of the girls have seen Kara use her powers. She can help the girls and investigate the potential threat level at the same time.
By Kara's account, only two of the girls have seen her use her powers. The first girl Kara saved poses no threat. Eliza can't deny that there's something horrifying and perverse in the relief that she was too high, too lost in her nightmare of a reality to remember anything.
Sasha is another story entirely. While Kara may have initially manifested herself as a hallucination with magical powers, her subsequent visits and Eliza's presence are proof that she's more than a heroin-induced fever dream.
Eliza can't help it. Her questions come out a little too pointed, a little too probing. Sasha picks up on the threat assessment, and she visibly retreats, understanding that being a threat to Kara has turned into a threat against herself.
Kara must have made quite the impression though, enough to make Eliza completely trustworthy by association, because Sasha offers up her own identity as collateral. She doesn't say the words, merely shows Eliza her father's watch, holding it out for Eliza to see but not far enough to hand it over, to risk giving it up.
The pieces of Eliza's heart, already broken by the tragedy around her, shatter. She takes in Sasha's hunched frame, terrified she made the wrong choice in trusting Eliza, and feels the oxygen in her blood transform into a self-loathing guilt as her vessels deliver it to every cell in her body.
It's no wonder, really, that Kara and Sasha had bonded so quickly--two girls whose worlds had burned down around them, families lost, and who now live in a world where revealing their real identities could only result in death or worse.
"Can I hug you?" Eliza asks.
Sasha's tiny frame trembles in her arms, unused to comfort after so many months and unsure if it's real.
"Oh, sweetheart," Eliza murmurs, and whatever walls Sasha valiantly tried to maintain dissolve now. Her muscles slacken, and the only movement comes from her lungs, heaving with sobs.
The thought of adopting Sasha passes through Eliza's mind.
She would probably need a new identity and papers, which is doable. They know a guy.
Goodness, she's starting to sound like some sort of career criminal.
"California woman convicted of serial child adoption," the headline would read.
But reality pops the idealistic dream forming in her head. Eliza still has to deal with Jeremiah. Alex has been handling the adjustment from only child to older sister admirably, but Eliza knows they can only ask so much of her. The steep increase from financially supporting one to three children cannot be ignored, not to mention the ever-growing dark cloud of external threats hanging over their heads.
Eliza clutches Sasha tighter and promises, swears to both Sasha and herself, that she'll figure something out.
Fandoms: Person of Interest, The Good Place
Summary: If the Judge thought the Afterlife was done with overhauls, she was sorely mistaken. Enter Root.
“Tahani, this is Root.”
Tahani takes in the woman standing beside Vicky: heeled boots that can at best be called “sensible,” tight black jeans, and a leather jacket that is stylish enough to overcome the “THEY EXIST” UFO t-shirt hiding beneath. Then she looks Root in the eye to find an unsettling, piercing gaze that would have had her balking if she hadn’t been used to the same from her good friend Aubrey Plaza.
Vicky continues, “Root has been ‘enjoying’ the hospitality of the Bad Place for three Jeremy Bearimy’s.”
Jeremy Bearimy will forever remain a mystery to Tahani, so she doesn’t bother wondering how long that is in terms she’d understand. Instead she focuses on Vicky’s odd tone, masked somehow, making it impossible to tell if she’s being genuine or sarcastic. But the answer has to be obvious. No human enjoyed the Bad Place in its previous form.
"And now, she gets to enjoy the pleasure of your company. You know what to do better than I do, so all I’ll say is good-bye and good luck,” Vicky says, disappearing with a wicked grin.
Tahani shakes off the odd vibes to introduce herself. She doesn’t get the chance.
...
Later, Tahani will learn that she was assigned Root as part of a hazing ritual. Later, she will learn that Root is the Bad Place’s dirty little secret.
Every system has a flaw. Root excels at finding them. She had taken in the insults and fart noises, deemed them lame and derivative, and set about making her corner of the Bad Place hell for demons. Vicky had been literal in her statement. Root really had enjoyed her time in the Bad Place, and the demons had only gotten through it by the schadenfreude of subjecting each other to this notorious Boogeyman.
