#am I manifesting a crush on someone at the research lab

[seeingivy]

elevated heart rates 

levi ackerman x f!reader

levi’s a mind reader and you’re a love expert 

content: grad student levi, brain researchers, nile being a weirdo freak (sorry yall), mentions of drinking, levi is shirtless at one point, reader has claustrophobia 

an: started my big girl brain research fellowship today. hence - brain jargon and GRAD STUDENT LEVI

- 

The room is small - the nineteen of you cramming into the small space of the conference room. You’re located directly at the front, sitting next to your advisor, Dot Pyxis. A leading expert in the field, one of the first neuroscientists you had met at a conference when you were a freshman in college. 

You saw it - the way his eyes lighted up, the way he was stumbling over his words because he was so excited to explain what he did everyday that you wanted that. To be that excited about something. And here you were, sitting next to him about to make it happen. 

You moved to Marley two months ago for this very moment. Your first day at the Brain Consortium - one of the best neuroscience research labs in the country, led by Pyxis himself. He was going to co-advise your thesis, guide you into becoming an expert in the field. Unlike any other, this lab was barely limited to one field, instead equipped with researchers from many different departments, the projects, the papers entirely interdisciplinary. 

There was no other place like it. You can feel your hands shaking as you hand over your hard drive, your presentation loaded on to it. Pyxis had explained it all - there were weekly lab meetings where everyone came together, presenting their research. Everyone gave feedback, asked questions to help further expand and build on the projects. 

And it was your turn. On your very first day, you were expected to explain. What you were going to research, what you were going to contribute, what you were excited about. 

It’s fucking nerve wracking. Pyxis stands up, giving you one last shoulder squeeze, before introducing everyone in the lab to you. He points everyone out - the other assistant professors, post-doctoral researchers, and the other PhD students. 

“Hange Zoe, Erwin Smith, Levi Ackerman, Petra Ral, and Nile Dok. The other PhD students. I want the five of you to give her a tour of the lab after.” 

They all nod, a few of them giving you encouraging smiles as you start. Pyxis turns to you, taking your seat at the table as you take the pointer in your hands, starting your presentation. 

“Right. Um, I’m F/N L/N. It’s nice to meet you all. I, um, completed my undergraduate studies at Shiganshina University. I got a b-bachelors in applied neuroscience and computational biology. I’ll be presenting my thesis project pr-proposal.” 

You hate this shit. You’re stuttering over your words and they’re all staring back, completely uninterested in your work. The PhD students in front of you aren’t even taking you seriously - the girl with glasses nearly stumbling off her chair from sliding around on it and the guy with dark black, grey steely eyes more interested in his cup of fucking tea than what you were talking about. 

“Right, so. My project aims to study interoceptive signals - like heartbeat, respiration cycles, blood pressure - and use them to predict and decode intentions. These small biomarkers, entirely unconscious to us, are consistent during decision making, unbeknownst to us. We can exploit that - to understand higher level cognition.” 

You’ve got their attention - you can tell. This is always the easy part, drawing them in - the woman from before stopped sliding on her chair, instead leaning forward with her eyes shining at your slides, the guy with the tea momentarily flickering his eyes up to the screen. 

“You can use it to predict how people act, how they feel. Especially for something like heart rate, which is what I want to focus on, you can understand so many things - anxiety, stress, companionship, sexual attraction, romance.” 

You see one of the PhD students murmur under his breath, interrupting you in your stead. Nile, they said his name was. 

“So you want to be a…love expert?” 

The entire room laughs, giving you smiles as you continue on. You give him a smile, responding. 

“I guess you could say that.” 

You continue on - highlighting how the brain regulates these signals, what equipment you’ll be using to record all of it. 

They clap when you’re done. Success. 

 - 

You feel fully settled into the lab, a few months later. You’ve decorated your tiny cubicle, directly in the middle with the other PhD students, with a few knick knacks - a picture of you and your best friend, a tiny little green figurine your parents gifted you, and a rack for your headphones. 

You’re located in the section with the other PhD students, who are…interesting. 

On the first day, they lead you to take the cubicle directly next to Hange, which you realized was a bad idea. Because they set you up. Hange’s a biochemist - doing research on the brain tissue at the molecular level, trying to understand how glioblastomas progress. Meaning - they’re always playing with chemicals at their desk, sometimes too lazy to walk over to the lab, which leads to some interesting smells and…smokes in your area. 

They never get in trouble, because Erwin and Petra always come to save the day. They’re both leading policy experts, studying volition and decision making in hopes to use in applications to the law and judicial systems. Figuring out why criminals commit crimes, using it for to serve justice. They cover up the evidence, distract Pyxis and Shadis, and talk their way out of it on Hange’s behalf. 

And that leaves Nile, who isn’t particularly your favorite. He’s a bit hard to get along with, not exactly personable per say. He’s researching microdosing and addiction - trying to figure out how we can manipulate medicines or drugs into being more or less addictive. 

You almost forgot about him. Levi, who's currently leading you to the MRI room on the other side of the building. Definitely the most intriguing of all of your colleagues - using transcranial brain stimulation to decode intentions. In less jargony terms, he read minds. 

He puts the decisions made on the tests into algorithms, correcting it until the machines can predict the decisions being made perfectly - that can be applied to anyone, not just singular participants. He’s coding human thought into machines. And doing it successfully. 

Levi’s quiet, perplexing, and intelligent. An enigma. He’s stood out to you, more than anyone else, for the simple reason that he’s the only one who doesn’t want to talk to you. Hange invites you out for drinks, Petra introduced you to her boyfriend, Erwin bought you a birthday present even though you didn’t tell anyone it was your birthday, and Nile asked you on a date (which you obviously declined). 

But Levi doesn’t care. You don’t either, but it does intrigue you at times. Why he’s so quiet, so closed off, what he’s always doing on his laptop, who he texts on his breaks. This was the first time you were alone with him - getting roped into participating in his newest study. 

“Newbie has to do it.” 

“Do what, Hange?” 

“Levi likes to experiment on all of our brains. You’ve never done it and he needs someone, so we’re volunteering you.” 

Hange and Erwin pull you up by the wrists, all but pushing you out of the conference room into Levi’s cubicle, where you almost trip and fall over him. He looks up - already deeply uninterested with the three of you standing in his space - as he removes his hands from his keyboard. 

“What, brats?” 

“I’m not participating. She is. Take her away!” 

He looks between the three of you, clearly unamused with how nonchalant Hange was being about the whole thing, as they knocked over Levi’s stack of books on the floom. They nearly shake his entire frame in their hands as they thanked him profusely for not making them participate. 

Erwin picks up the stack of books - somehow shuffling them all out of order as Levi gets even more frustrated - shooing the two of them out of his space. After successfully removing them, you and Levi walk towards the MRI room, all the way across the building, in silence. 

When you get there, he taps his hand on the platform, signaling for you to sit on it. You obediently follow, still not uttering an entire word. You watch him mill around the room - pressing switches, using the intercom to communicate with the operator, turning the lights off. 

“Wearing any metal?” 

“My necklace. I’ll take it off.” 

You reach up, awkwardly fumbling with the clasp as he watches you, his hands pressed to his sides as he waits. You’re not sure what it is - how sweaty your hands are, the way he’s looking at you, awkwardly waiting for you to finish - but you can’t get the clasp off, your hold shaking behind your hair. 

“I can help you.” 

You meekly nod, getting off the platform. Before you can, he reaches forward, his slender hands gathering your hair before placing them across the side to your shoulder. You feel his knuckles against your nape, quickly unlatching the necklace and fixing your hair back into place. 

“I’ll hold it for you.” 

You get back onto the platform, lying flat, as Levi uses the intercom to signal to Armin, one of the undergraduate students who worked in the MRI building. You can feel the platform sliding you into the tube and you suddenly feel it. 

Your claustrophobia. Every horrible thought you can imagine is running through your head as the machine starts whirring, your heart pounding in your chest. An earthquake - the machine would crush you. The magnets can be too fast, the machine malfunctioning while you’re stuck inside it. There could be a fire and you would be left here, everyone leaving you and locking you out of the room. 

“You okay?” 

“Y-yeah, Armin. Sorry. I get a bit claustrophobic, that’s all.” 

“Okay, take your time. Try to stay still so we can get better pictures.” 

You nod, trying to still your breaths as the machine whirrs on again. You can feel your nails digging into your palms, as you try to calm down, the panic still sitting in your chest. You feel a hand circle around your ankle, squeezing twice, as the machine keeps going. 

“You okay, Newbie?” 

“Yeah, Levi. I’m okay.” 

“I’m here. Get out if you’re uncomfortable. I’ll just drag Shitty Glasses by the scalp to do it instead of you.” 

You laugh, his hold still firm on your ankle. You try to focus on it - the fine print on the machine, your back against the platform, his fingers on your skin as the machine keeps going, your panic still writhing in your chest. The MRI finishes - Levi giving you one last squeeze before the platform slides out and you nearly jump out of the machine. 

You and Levi walk back to the main lab, in silence. When you get there, Levi gives Hange’s ponytail one big yank before settling back into his cubicle, giving you a soft smile before you return to yours. 

-   

It’s Levi’s turn to present for the lab meeting. The lab is going to Hizuru for Sigtuna, one of the largest neuroscience conferences to date. The PhD students are all presenting posters, except Levi who was invited to give a talk. 

You had been helping Levi as of late - working with him to identify the sulcuses and the lobes on all of Levi’s MRIs. He had no experience in magnetic resonance imaging whatsoever - something you had spent years learning during undergrad. So the two of you had worked out a system - you helped him with identifying the images and helped you troubleshoot your code for your tasks whenever you needed it (which was often). 

You spent a lot of time together - even if it wasn’t direct. You’d sit in silence in the main conference room, working for hours. He’d bring you a cup of coffee and you would pick up dinner, talking through ideas as you finished off your projects. 

You had helped him write the grant for the talk instead of the poster, helping him with all the physiological portions. He taught you how to do all the analysis for yours - the two of you often the one’s leaving the lab latest, Levi walking you to your car in the dark before walking off to his own. 

You were friends. Project partners. 

He gives you one last look before starting the presentation and you shoot him a thumbs up under the table, which he returns with a smile. He’s explaining - using your brain and Hange’s as the sample templates to explain what he was doing - what parts of the brain he has to use for his machine learning. 

“This is Newbie’s and this is Hange’s brain. In theory, each part of the brain is slightly bigger, depending on what parts of your brain you exercise more. For example, Hange is involved in more motor-dexterity - running all their projects by hand. This part of the sulcus is more developed, bigger because of it, compared to Newbie.” 

Nile nudges you on the side, whispering something about how he can give you something to do with your hands if you needed it. You roll your eyes, awkwardly shuffling farther as you refocus on what Levi was saying. 

“This part of the brain is more developed for Newbie, the Brodmann areas - associated with critical thinking, higher level cognition, decision making. Good thing I didn’t use your brain, Dok. We wouldn’t even be able to catch it on the image if we used yours.” 

The entire room laughs - Nile sulking in his chair as Levi continues. You don’t miss the look he gives you afterwards, his eyes uncharacteristically soft when he meets yours, as he continues the presentation. 

When he finishes, Pyxis goes over the room assignments, mentioning that there were three rooms for all the PhD students - meaning a few of you would have to pair up. You turn your neck to look at Petra, who's already nodding and agreeing with Hange that they would room together. You deflate, watching Erwin and Levi pair up. Which leaves you next to Nile, who's all but too excited to be your partner. 

He slings his arm around your shoulder, saying that you guys can share the bed if it gets cold at night, which leaves you shooting dangerous looks at Hange. Levi catches on first, immediately dragging Erwin over to where the two of you were standing. 

“Dok. Erwin is going to room with you.” 

“Says who?” 

“Says me. Don’t argue with me today, I’m already sick of you.” 

Levi grabs you by the wrist, dragging you towards the other side of the room as he rambles on. 

“What a fucking idiot. First he interrupts me during my talk and then starts saying perverted shit like that. Someone’s going to smack him upside the head one day and I surely hope for my sake it’s me.” 

You wrap your arms around his neck, squeezing him twice before letting go. 

“Thank you for that - I was literally going to vomit if I had to room with him.” 

“Well, I told you before. I’m here if you’re uncomfortable.” 

You nod, the two of you walking into the conference room to make edits to your presentation. 

 - 

You and Levi come back to your hotel room after the conference, positively plastered. He’d all but given his talk perfectly and your poster won an award at the end - which meant you and Levi were celebrating well into the night. 

You had your arms slung around each other, your weight uneven, as you both slide back into the hotel room, falling onto the singular bed in the room. You and Levi were greeted with the unpleasant sight earlier in the day - you and Levi both insisting that you would be the ones to sleep on the couch. 

You’re both lying face up on the bed - your cheeks flushed, your chests heaving up and down, the only sound in the room being your shaky breaths. Your hands are still locked together, your brain fuzzy from the events of the night. 

You and Levi amble up after a few minutes, both attempting to change into your pajamas and go to bed. You ogle Levi as he takes his shirt off, watching from the side of the mirror. He catches you, walking closer to you. He still reeks of beer, still shaking on his feet. 

He leans over, pressing his forehead against yours as you hold onto his arms, grounding your fingers into his biceps. He’s still not wearing a shirt, his bare chest on display. You fight the urge to stare at him full on. 

“You’re smart, Y/N.” 

“You’re smart too, Levi.” 

“Did you pay attention during my talk?” 

“Y-yes. You code the information, like a puzzle, to figure out what people’s intentions are.” 

“Hm. You be me. I’ll give you the information and you figure it out, okay?” 

You nod, barely understanding what he was getting at as you lean into him. You can feel the buzz dying down, the tiredness setting into your bones. 

“I’m not a mind reader like you, Levi.” 

“You’ll get this one. You’re my smart girl.” 

He reaches down, securing his hands around your waist as he pulls you closer to him. Your hands and frame are pressed against his chest, his skin cold to the touch.

“You caught my eye on the first day, with your perfectly pressed hair and that stupid black skirt.” 

You can feel your breath catch in your throat, the sound not leaving your throat.

“You take the cubicle two feet down from mine and I can’t help but watch you - reorganize your desk, get up to get water, scribble things on the whiteboard.” 

You can feel his heartbeat get faster against your hear, his grip on your waist tightening. You’re suddenly too aware of what’s happening - Levi, PhD Levi, is shirtless, hugging you in a hotel room. The lights are dim, there’s only one bed, and he’s holding you. 

“I don’t work with other people at the lab, but when you ask, I do. I leave the lab way past the required time, willingly spending more time in a room with that idiot Nile in it just because you’re in it too.”

“Levi.” 

“I’m not done.”

“It drives me crazy, every time Nile talks to you, touches you, looks at you. I want to sock him in the face - because he’s not nearly good enough for you. Not that anyone could be, but for some idiot like that to think he stands a chance is next level infuriating.”

He releases his hands from your face, lifting his hands to cup your face. His touch his soft, his thumb caressing the burning skin on your cheeks as his eyes meet yours.

“I think about you all the time. When I wake up, when I go to sleep, when I eat my breakfast. When I’m not with you, I just want to be around you. And when I’m around you, I want to be with you.” 

He leans forward, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. His lips are pillowy soft, his breath tickling the edges of your forehead. 

“What does it mean? Figure out my intentions, smart girl.” 

You can feel your entire body burning, your head still spinning - from the alcohol, Levi’s touch, his words ringing in your ears. 

“You…like me.” 

“That’s a fact. Not an intention.” 

“You…want to kiss me?” 

He smiles, leaning forward to press his lips to yours. The kiss is warm, the taste of the beer still hanging on his lips. You can feel his hands moving, carding through your hair as you reach up to press your hand against his shoulders. He kisses you for a long time - your body burning at the entire sensation. He breaks apart, still smiling against your lips. 

“Smart girl.” 

“Do you…remember my research, Levi? From the first day?” 

“I’ve memorized every single thing you’ve ever said to me.” 

You can feel your cheeks flushing, Levi’s hands returning to squish the sides of your face. You grab one of his hands, opening up his fingers and placing it flat against your chest. You move his hand around, until you’re sure he can feel your heart - which is pounding in your chest. 

“Heart rate can give away a great deal. The biomarker can help you understand a lot of different emotions. Figure out which one I’m feeling, Levi.” 

He leans forward, pressing soft kisses all over your face as he starts asking. 

“Anxiety?” - a soft kiss, right on top of your head. 

“No.” 

“Stress?” - a light kiss, right on your closed eyelids. 

“No, Levi.” 

“Companionship.” - a sweet kiss, right on your lips. 

“Yes. But that’s not the one I was looking for.” 

You watch a smirk spread across his face as he leans down, spreading soft kisses all along your neck. He murmurs against your neck, a hint of teasing in his voice. 

“Sexual attraction?” 

“Levi. Quit being a tease.” 

“Shut up, brat.” 

“No. You missed one, Levi.” 

“What was it?” 

“Love. A heartbeat can give away a great deal - can even be used to indicate and understand romantic feelings.” 

He press his hand against your chest again, your heart still hammering. 

“It’s fast. What does that mean?” 

“That I love you.” 

You see a big smile spread across his face, reaching all the way up to his eyes. You see him now and you think it’s the best he’s ever looked - messy black hair, pink cheeks, squinted eyes. He reaches down, opening your fingers and placing them against his bare chest. You can feel his heart hammering in his chest. 

“Fast.” 

“Yeah. Means I love you too, smart girl.” 

- 

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[theshatteredrose]

Relic Keepers: Awakening of the Red Lily (Chapter 22) - Original Novel

AN: Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy reading~

Ao3 | Wattpad | Inkitt | FictionPress

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 22:

The Red Lily looked just how Eishirou remembered it; crystals a vivid red, the gold stainless and flawless. It was the splitting image of what he had seen from the underground mosaic and the recordings he had viewed.

Yet, he had seen it adorn to a crown in a recording.

He remembered that specifically because in the recording, it sat upon an altar, surrounded by flowers and greenery. Obviously worshiped or held in high regard to some compacity. There was definitely a sense of admiration and respect toward the relic.

The Red Lily before him was only that of the centrepiece. Nowhere during his visual inspection of the piece did he find any markings indicating that it had once been a part to another piece. Though, it was highly likely that it was lost to time. Or it was removed at some point.

It didn’t really matter. He was simply curious.

He wanted to learn more of the Red Lily itself. He wanted to hear that voice again. The one that spoke to him in the tower. The one that called him something. Radiant Soul.

But the relic remained silent. There was mana present. He could sense as much. However, for whatever reason, he couldn’t access it.

Eishirou uttered a disappointed sigh as he opened his eyes and lowered his hands. The Red Lily sat on a study pedestal in the centre of the research centre. A clear plastic frame held the relic upright, allowing for the best visual presentation.

“Anything?” Jacob asked from the observation deck.

“No, nothing,” Eishirou replied as he pressed the switch to encase the Red Lily in light, clear glass to ensure its safety.

“Maybe you’re still enduring the aftereffects of mana depletion?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself,” Jacob tried to comfort. “The Red Lily is here now. We can take our time.”

Eishirou still couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “I guess.”

Though, that suggestion did sound reasonable. If he was, maybe the relic was, too? Maybe it just needed a bit of time itself to recharge. If that was the case, then they should place it in a mana enrich environment.

He quickly voiced his thoughts to Jacob.

“Hmm, that sounds reasonable. I’ll arrange for it to be placed in a mana chamber after lunch. Until then, we have other subjects to consider.”

Eishirou took the stairs to the observation deck and made his way to his desk. Placing his bag to the floor next to his chair, he sat down and pulled out his tablet. Jacob was absolutely right when he said they had other things to consider.

“I’m curious about that stained glass in the tower,” Eishirou revealed as he flipped through the photos he had taken of said mosaic. “Though, all I have to work with is snapshots.”

“Something that will stay that way for a while,” Jacob was quick to point out.

“Yeah.”

From the protectiveness in Jacob’s voice, Eishirou was certain that even if there weren’t two missing teams of Elites, he wasn’t to be heading back there any time soon. Not that he could find fault in Jacob’s caution and protectiveness.

“Those humanoid ShadowDwellers were unlike the others on the island,” Eishirou murmured as he flipped to the photo of the cave painting.

“Not much is known about ShadowDwellers in general,” Jacob explained as he moved to his own cluttered desk and sat down. “But there is one consensus that is agreed upon; they're a product of their environment. ShadowDwellers are created from mana themselves. So, it makes sense if an ancient tribe of humans believed in mythical creatures than those memories could be retained in the environment around them, thus giving ShadowDwellers an intention and form to bring to the physical realm.”

Eishirou lifted his gaze from his tablet to look over at Jacob. “Residual memories and energies?”

“Right.”

“So, those humanoid ShadowDwellers have the potential to be the residual energy of the humans that once lived there?”

“Possibly.”

“Then it’s safe to assume that those cave paintings I've seen so far are an indication to the types of ShadowDwellers that inhabit Flutterlight Forest,” Eishirou mused as he flipped more of his photos and stopped at the first one he took. “Which means...”

“Which means?”

Eishirou grimaced. “There's a giant spider ShadowDweller somewhere on that island…”

Jacob was silent for a moment before sarcastically stating; “Sounds exciting.”

“I rather not,” Eishirou muttered as he flipped past the photo and tried to push aside the vison of an enormous spider lurking somewhere within Flutterlight Forest. Worst still, towering over the trees of Flutterlight Forest.

A-at least it couldn’t sneak up on them, right?

…Those humanoid ShadowDwellers did, though. Changing their shape and size. Acting more like a liquid than a solid.

“Mana can manifest in a multitude of ways, huh?”

“That’s right,” Jacob quickly returned as he leaned back in his chair and rested his feet casually upon his desk. “There’s mana in literally everything. And it can take the form of anything. It all depends on intent.”

Intent…

Intention manifesting into a physical presence. Was that all that there was to it?

“Do you think that if an intention is strong enough, it could lead to a consciousness?”

That question caused Jacob to fall silent for a moment or two. He appeared genuinely surprised by the question before quickly falling into thought. “There is still much we don’t understand about mana, either,” he admitted. “That is a good question. Anything is possible.”

Jacob leaned back into his chair and rested his elbow on the armrest. “Something on your mind?” he asked as he rested his chin in his palm.

Eishirou didn’t answer immediately. He glanced down at his tablet. The photo of the underground mosaic on the screen. “The Red Lily appeared just when it was needed. Was it drawn because of desperation? Or because of something else?”

Jacob remained silent as Eishirou continued to muse aloud.

“Could I have unwittingly called upon it?”

He glanced over the observation deck toward the jewelled relic. It seemed to glint and sparkle under the lighting. Almost as if in response to him.

“But, if I did, why can’t I now? Am I missing something?”

“It’s possible that the relic will only react under certain circumstances,” Jacob interjected. “And you met those circumstances within the tower. If that is the case, I’d rather not have you in a situation like that again.”

No, he didn’t want to put others through that, either.

“Which means we’re unlikely to know the true power of the Red Lily,” Eishirou added.

“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean we can’t research the myth and legend behind it,” Jacob was swift to remind him. “If everything was known at the beginning, then it wouldn’t be as much fun, would it?”

Eishirou couldn’t argue with that. “Yeah, you’re right. The Red Lily will just have to keep its secrets for now.”

No point in getting frustrated. He should count himself lucky that the relic had returned with him. It was there. Safely kept within the museum. It was close by. He didn’t need to trek all the way back to Flutterlight Forest to find it.

“There’s someone I think you should speak with,” Jacob suddenly announced.

Eishirou tilted his head to the side. “Who?”

“Professor Jairus. He specialises in mediation and the manifestation of mana. He may be able to help you find a way to link with the Red Lily once more. Under control conditions and away from danger.”

“You think that’s possible?” Eishirou asked as he sat up straight in his chair.

“Anything is possible at this point,” Jacob replied as he leaned forward in his chair to shuffle through the files and documents covering his desk. “At the very least, we can learn whether or not this avenue is worth the effort. What do you say?”

“Sure, I’ll give it a try.” Eishirou didn’t see the harm in trying. If nothing else, it might help him with his medical and restoration training.

“Let me speak with him first before we make any concrete plans, hm?”

That was reasonable. He probably needed to fill in some information to Professor Jairus before any real training could start.

Jacob leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his desk. He then unexpectedly rested his chin in the palms as he focused his attention completely on Eishiou. “By the way; you and Zayne seem close.”

There was some kind of insinuation within Jacob’s voice. It brought a blush to Eishirou’s cheeks immediately. “Ah, well, yeah?”

Jacob continued to stare at him for the long, most awkward second. “Love at first sight, huh?”

Eishirou practically choked on a sharp intake of air.

“Ah, to be young and in love,” Jacob said, having the audacity to find amusement out of his reaction.

“Th-that’s not it!”

“Oh? Well, do tell!”

Eishirou’s face burned and his blood pumped in his ears from sheer embarrassment. He was aware that Jacob was just teasing him. Zayne was handsome and cute in a way. But he didn’t have those kinds of feelings for him.

Sure, he felt safe with him. And liked his company. And knew that he could rely on him. And…

Gah!

“I’m not having this conversation with you!” Eishirou insisted most firmly as he took to his feet and quickly gathered his stuff.

“Come now, don’t be a bore!” Jacob laughed. “Give me details!”

“I’m leaving now!”

Jacob’s laughter followed him out of the research labs, and he quickly made his way through the rest of the museum.

Even if he did have a crush on Zayne, he didn’t want to discuss it with Jacob. He was like a father figure to him. And it would be downright embarrassing to talk about those kinds of things. Even in jest.

Although, he couldn’t really blame Jacob for wanting to tease him like that. Or for making an observation. He had only known Zayne for a few days. A week, probably. But they had become really close. To say that they developed some kind of a bond wouldn’t be a wild accusation to make.

But he…couldn’t be in love with the guy, right? He was an Elite, after all…

“Eishirou, there you are!”

The sound of a familiar voice calling his name, pulled Eishirou from his thoughts. He immediately stopped in his tracks and lifted his head up to look down the path he was on.

Oh, it was Professor Tyrone.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Irwin stated as he hurried over to him and placed his hands on his shoulders. “I heard everything that happened. I cannot believe you were in such a dangerous situation.”

“O-oh, yeah, it was pretty intense,” was all Eishirou could manage in response. He honestly wasn’t all that familiar with Irwin looking as serious as he was. He had always appeared carefree and jovial.

He…must have been really worried.

“What was that Elite team doing?” Irwin continued with a shake of his head. “They were meant to protect you.”

“They did!” Eishirou immediately instead. But he fell silent a second later and winced. “It just…got out of hand.”

Bit of an understatement, but the sentiment was fair.

Irwin, however, didn’t feel the same. “Out of everyone there, you were the one who ended up in the infirmary. Eishirou, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

While Eishirou understood the concern and worry, he still wanted to protest. “We were ambushed. They couldn’t have predicted that. Besides, I may have awoken up in the infirmary, but I wasn’t injured. And I got out, right? So, they were the ones who were responsible. They did what they were supposed to.”

“Not good enough,” Irwin returned swiftly as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. “Our precious little Eishirou must be protected at all costs.”

Eishirou blinked before a small smile made its way to his lips. “Oh, come on.”

“I’m serious,” Irwin insisted, somewhat childishly with a pout, prompting a small chuckle from Eishirou. He soon righted himself and gave him a sincere look. “But I’m glad you’re alright. I’ve been sick with worry ever since I got that communication from Jacob.”

“That’s right, you were conducting your own expedition, huh?”

“Yes, but not to Flutterlight Forest,” Irwin replied with a nod. “There was a smaller island. More like a swamp located north of the island.”

Eishirou immediately perked up in interest. “What? What’s it like? Anything interesting?”

“Now, now,” Irwin returned with a slightly chiding tone. Going as far as to poke Eishirou in the middle of his forehead. “I’m still processing data. Be patient. With things the way they are with Flutterlight Forest, and if you’re patient, you might be able to visit there, too.”

“Really?”

He really hoped he could. Get back out into the field and find some more intriguing discoveries. Maybe the small island held some clue to the Red Lily, too. North of Flutterlight Forest, he believed that was the direction the stain glassed within the lighthouse was positioned.

“By the way, Eishirou?”

“Yeah?”

“I heard about the relic, too.” Irwin unexpectedly clamped a hand on his shoulder again. “And, perhaps it would be best that no one else does.”

Eishirou blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Through you and the relic, you granted an elite some impressive skills. Skills to turn the tide of battle. To grant him near invincibility.” He squeezed Eishirou’s shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. “I’m just worried that other Elites might want the same. I’m just worried that they might try to harm you to get what they want.”

Was…was that really a possibility? Would an Elite really do that?

“I…wasn’t going to tell anyone, anyway,” Eishirou muttered.

Irwin gave him a comforting smile. “I’m sure you weren’t. I’m just being protective. I think we all are.” A broad grin suddenly made its way to his lips and he reached out with a hand to ruffle Eishirou’s hair. “After all, you’re our favourite little researcher!”

“H-hey!” Eishirou stuttered in embarrassed and lightly swatted at Irwin’s hand.

“Take is easy, yeah?” Irwin continued as he dropped his hand to his side and watched in mild amusement as Eishirou patted down his hair. “Don’t go putting yourself in dangerous situations like that again.”

“I’ll try not to,” Eishirou reassured as he wrangled control over his brown hair. “But if I do, I trust Zayne to get me out of it. I should get going.”

Just as he said that, his communicator buzzed from his pocket. He immediately reached for it and pulled it out. As he flicked on the screen, a familiar yet surprising name appeared on the screen.

“Ah, it’s Zayne,” Eishirou stated as he turned to regard Irwin briefly. “See you later, Professor Tyrone. I promise to stay out of trouble!”

“Remember to take it easy,” Irwin reminded him before he turned away and headed down the path, waving an arm idly over his shoulder. “And stop calling me professor!”

Eishirou turned his attention back to his communicator and answered it. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Zayne’s image returned. “You busy?”

“No, not really,” Eishirou replied as he idly wandered along the path that would take him back into the main hub of the academy. “Are you done with training?”

“Not yet. Listen, can you do me a favour?”

Eishirou blinked. “What is it?”

“I left my spare mana cartridge in our room. Can you bring it to me?”

Eishirou stopped mid-step and frowned. “Ah, I can. But I don’t think I can enter the Elite Training Centre.”

He couldn’t really imagine them letting a Passive just wander in like that. Though, to be fair, he never tried. He just assumed that he couldn’t go. And in all honesty, he never had a reason to visit the training centre.

“You’ll be fine,” Zayne immediately replied, insistent yet reassuring. “I wouldn’t ask if I thought you would be hassled. Just enter through the bleachers. I’ll see you.”

Well, Eishirou couldn’t deny the request after that. Even if he was still hesitant. “Ah, ok.”

“Thanks,” Zayne could be seen grinning on screen. “Appreciate it!”

“See you soon, I guess,” Eishirou replied before he closed the call. He stared at the handheld device for a moment before he shook his head.

Well…looked like he was going to see the inside of the Elite Training Centre.

#writblr #original fiction #sci-fi fantasy #young adult #Mystery/Suspense #adventure #relic keepers: awakening of the red lily

[the-three-eyed-ravenclaw]

So this is extremely long but IDGAF

This is now the THIRD time I have tried to post this... what the fuck tumblr....

Anyways

So my imagination has been going the fuck off today. Stranger Things has taken over my mind along with a brown eyed, big haired heartthrob (looking at you Joe Keery/Steve Harrington). You know the feeling when you are so consumed by something that you. can. not. stop. thinking. about it? Well that’s me. It’s my life now. And I think that I have come up with a pretty legit story... thing is I am shit at writing. SO with out further ado... here is my idea that i would LOVE to know if you tumblr’ers (is that even a word?) would like to read or write this story. Let me know below.

Background Story

The reader is 007 from Hawkins Lab. Her powers: manipulating space-time. Papa doesn’t know what her powers are as they have been dormant. No matter what traumatic experiences he makes her go trough, they just wont present themselves. It has come to the point where he is physically and mentally torturing her to try and get her powers to manifest. Thing is, the shit works. After some crazy shit goes down, Seven’s powers manifest and she goes back in time to right before Papa fucking tortures her in some gruesome way. Once Seven realizes what she has done and what she can do, she escapes by going 10 years into the future. Dun Dun DUUUUUNNNN. Yes. She’s in the mother fucking 90s. Hells yeah. I say she escapes around age 9 or 10, and spends like 7-8 years in the 90s. That way she is right around the older teens’ age. 

Seven’s Personality and Style

Seven falls in love with the 90s grunge fashion. It’s all concert tees, skinny jeans, flannel, and converses for her. She LOVES music. Especially classic rock and late 80s/early 90s Hip Hop/Rap. Think: Rock-Wise - Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, Queen, Nirvana, etc. and Rap-Wise - NWA, Salt-N-Pepa, and Fresh Prince. Music helps her escape/cope with the traumatic experiences she has been through. Seven has some serious anxiety and paranoia problems. She stays constantly on the move because of this. She never likes to stay in one place too long. She uses her powers of manipulating space-time to create portals to help her move from city to city. This allows her to hone her abilities and test her limits. She also trains in multiple martial art forms so that not only her powers are strong but her body is too. She learns stuff like Krav Maga, Aikido, and Jujitsu. All in all she is a bad ass bitch. All of this travel though means she doesn’t have friends. She is a loner who is scared to bring anyone into her shit storm of a life. She is very closed off when she does interact with people, but if she ever does take the time to get to know someone, she is pretty funny. She has a very dry, sarcastic sense of humor.

The Story

Seven feels like she sees Papa every where she goes, no matter what city she is in at the time. Any tall, gray haired man she sees walking down the street, leaves her a panicked mess. No matter how powerful she becomes, she always feels helpless during these panic attacks. After one especially bad panic attack, she decides to research the Lab and see whatever became of them. When she finds out that the experiments continued after her escape, reads the whole story that came out about Barb (which she knows isn’t the whole truth), and digs deep enough that she finds out that they are still operational, she decides to go back and put an end to Hawkins Lab once and for all. The big bad is obviously Hawkins Lab, maybe bring Papa back? You know the Lab is always fucking shit up even worse though, so maybe incorporate the Upside down big bad or even a new dimension big bad because of Seven’s powers?

Character Interactions

The Party: Mike and Lucas don’t accept her right off the bat, but once they see that she has a number like El, they are all for her. Will is such a sweet heart and likes her initially, but really gravitates towards her after she fends off some bullies for him. Max and Dustin love her right off the bat and think she is the best fucking thing since sliced bread. Max loves her style and personality and looks up to her like a big sister/mentor. Dustin has a cute little crush on her but Seven treats him like the little brother she always wanted. El and Seven get each other like no one ever can or will. This makes them have a deep bond. El was slightly weary at first though because of her experience with Eight, but after an all night talk with each other, El and Seven are closer than blood. 

Nancy: Seven and Nancy hit it off right off the bat. Seven appreciates having Nancy around because she has never had a friend that was a girl around her age. She likes to do girly things with Nance, like braid hair and paint nails/do makeup.

Jonathan: He was weary of Seven at first, but after he finds out she helped will with some bullies, he and her hit it off. They have a lot in common since they are both socially awkward, love music, and loners. They become best friends.

Steve: He doesn’t know what to make of Seven. Sure she’s a badass, but he never knows what to expect from her and it keeps him on edge. He never knows when she is being serious or cracking a joke... and Seven likes to crack jokes about him a lot. She thinks its funny that he is the epitome of the 80s pretty boy jocks with a heart of gold like in all of the movies she saw in the 90s. So it surprises her when she sees Steve The Mom™ come out because it is so not what she expects. This causes them to have rather weird dynamic. There is an unspoken sexual tension between them, but since Seven is an awkward fuck, she doesn’t know how to handle it. So its a will-they-or-won’t-they vibe. 

Billy: Seven first meets Billy during an altercation between him and The Party. She basically kicks his ass. He never expected a girl, to beat him up. This pisses him off at first, and he antagonizes her non-stop. Every time he does though, she surprises him with either a witty remark or a “Hey, I know what it’s like to be in an abusive relationship with your father.” remark (this one is only in private moments though). It keeps him on his toes and he learns to have this grudging respect for her. This allows him to become more vulnerable around her and she starts breaking though his dickhead exterior. She makes him see that he is being a racist, abusive fucking asshole and he starts to fall for her.

The Adults: Joyce loves Seven and treats her like she does El. Hop fucking loves Seven. He trusts her with helping them and the kids. He knows that she is a bad ass that can keep them safe. He really wants her to join his police force in the future. Seven never considered this, but seriously considers this. She thinks of Hop as her adoptive father, like El. She hopes they can all be a family after they take care of the Lab.

Everyone makes Back to the Future/Marty McFly and Terminator/John Connor jokes about seven. They also do James Bond references because I mean, come on... 007. Seven also makes 90s references that no one gets. It’s a thing. They just look at her like “The fuck you talkin’ ‘bout bruh?” I would like to see a love triangle between Billy, Seven, and Steve. Seven eventually ends up with Steve though... because I mean ... It’s fucking Steve “The Hair™” Harrington. 

I know this is fucking long and thank you for bearing with me through this whole thing. This is just something that got stuck in my head and has continued to grow in length and detail ever since. If this is an awful storyline that no one would read just let me know. Or if it is as fantastic as I think it is or at lease COULD be, please let me know that I’m not crazy. I would love to see this come to life in a full multi-chapter story. But like I said... I’m shit at writing. So here’s to hoping someone out there will fulfill my dream for me. 

Below are some aesthetics for Seven. Incase you need some inspiration.

#stranger things #stanger things 2 #steve harrington #billy hargrove #joe kerry #dacre montgomery #max hargrove #mike wheeler #will byers #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #jim hopper #joyce byers #upsidedown #time travel #eleven #jane #steve harrington x reader #steve x reader #billy hargrove x reader #billy x reader #hawkins #hawkins lab #papa #demogorgon #demodog #fanfic

[soap-brain]

You had this headcannon about Paul and shifts and how not being with Hugh would make him snap at his team...Do you think Paul would apologize if he yelled at someone like that to the point of tears?

oh absolutely!! paul is not a mean person at all. he’s snappish and tries to keep them away and probably has a bit of a superiority complex going on where his science is concerned, but he’s not mean.

i think it would mostly be misunderstandings, too. paul knows words can hurt (god, does he know), but he’s got difficulties correlating between that and what he’s saying. so if someone actually cried in front of him because of him being snappish and mean, he’d definitely apologize (and feel super horrible). most of the time the problem is that people are afraid to approach him about that for fear of repercussions. what they don’t know is that paul is a huuuuge softie and genuinely afraid of hurting people.

*cough* and because i can’t stop myself, headcanons about paul’s life under the cut. it got super long and i am so, so sorry :D

i think paul was a rather quiet kid and clearly brilliant from a young age on, but it wasn’t recognized. my personal headcanon is that his mother was dying when he was rather young, so his father was occupied with that and not with paul, and later the grief destroyed him, so paul was left to his own devices. not saying that paul’s parents didn’t love him, but they weren’t able to express it.

i haven’t made up my mind whether he was actually openly bullied or his peers just quietly kept away from him.he was definitely a bookish child though, but, occupied with his wife’s sickness, there was never really a time and place for questions about the universe in the stamets’ household. so paul took to books. kids’ science books and stories alike.that’s never too good a basis to make friends with, since everyone else was outside, playing whatever games you play in kindergarten and elementary school while paul flipped through his books.(also since there was nobody really at home, he quickly learned that going outside in the sun is most likely going to burn him. he was a kid, of course he wasn’t going to think of sunscreen.)

by the time middle school (or secondary school, which i prefer) came around, paul hadn’t exactly learned socialization skills. his mother died around that time, paul’s will to interact with the world outside his little bubble of reading material practically vanished, and his peers went on without him. middle school / the first part of secondary school was probably also the time when paul actually got bullied. not by everyone, and not as horribly as they could’ve bullied him, but there was a definite rift and he learned not to trust other people. he wasn’t stupid - he knew they were ostracizing him for something, but in his world view there was nothing wrong with how he dressed, how he talked, his interests and his ideas of a good time. unfortunately, nobody else agreed.puberty happened and paul decided that shit got too weird for him, so he stuck his nose farther down the books while his classmates were well on their way to becoming bratty teenagers.around that time paul’s interests cross-sectioned with school topics for the first time, and when a teacher, already weary and afraid of even more burgeoning teenagers to deal with, told the class a wrong fact about something. and paul, with a sudden burst of courage, put his hand up and corrected the teacher.now there were two problems in that: one, paul had never exactly learned how to tell someone they’re wrong about something, so it came out rather aloof. two, the teacher was absolutely not about to be lectured by some kid. so paul got detention and a few weeks worth of teasing from his classmates. he really should’ve kept his mouth shut, but he was in the rebellious phase of his early teenagerhood, and a wrong was being done (because frankly, the teacher got a lot of their facts wrong), so he went straight to the principal and complained. that got him nothing but a parent-teacher conference where he was branded as “troubled” and “has problems keeping up with the workload” (he didn’t. his grades were bad because he wasn’t interested, so naturally he struggled with learning for school), and that got him a talk with his father about how paul should never be afraid to come to him and tell him something. paul said yes and nodded and agreed, because that got him out of those talks before, and school got him into smaller courses that went through the topic more slowly and more thoroughly.so paul spent the majority of his teenage years in school, staring out the windows while the teachers talked and explained and were ever-so-patient with all the “lesser gifted” students that stayed late every day.

and then, year ten happened and the whole year went to a bio-engineering research laboratory on a field trip.paul was... angry, at that time. at himself for still not achieving those grades he secretly wanted (if only to get out of those classes for “stupid kids”); at his peers for not liking him; at his father and all other authority figures for not understanding him; at the entire world for not bending to his will. that anger manifested itself in being the only one asking a question after the lead scientist had finished her presentation.he expected to get a vague answer and be brushed off. instead he got a “that’s a very smart question to ask!” and a full ten minute explanation that was directed at him, like he was someone to be taken serious.he managed to sidle up next to the scientist on their tour through the labs and kept asking, because he was hooked on being taken seriously. and he got serious answers every time.

somehow, that sparked something, and within the same half year, his grades improved enough that he was put into regular classes again. by the end of the year his teachers started thinking of letting him skip a year; by the end of year eleven he skipped right into year thirteen.

that doesn’t mean he magically got along with his peers. if anything, it got worse, because paul had never learned how to not be a smartass. but he was finally good at something, he’d finally found something he enjoyed (namely: being the smartest person in the room. also sciences), so he absolutely didn’t care.(being set up horribly on valentine’s day didn’t register for too long at that time. it came back later though)

he graduated second best of his year; when it turned out he was going to have to hold a speech, too, and when it turned out that his father wasn’t going to be able to attend the ceremony, he faked being sick and skipped out of it (also, a triple feature of marvels of the solar systems was coming out that day, and really, school can’t even begin to compare to his favorite show).

he applied to just about every college he could think about, afraid that his grades weren’t good enough after all. he also didn’t know what he wanted to study at all - languages? history? sciences? humanities?, just that he wanted to get away from his absent father and the town he grew up in.he got accepted to every. single. college and then had to begrudgingly make a trip to an advisor to get help with what on earth he’s supposed to do with that.due to a small miracle, the advisor was sick and he ended up talking to an advisor for phd programs during their coffee break, who, after listening to paul ranting about science, advised him to definitely go in that direction and which school to choose.

so, with his mind made up and set on a degree in astromechanical chemistry, he got a shuttle ticket and walked to his chosen school’s registration office.it was sheer luck that he was an hour early and had to spend some time in the cafeteria, where he ended up butting into two professors’ fight about whether, on a molecular level, physics, chemistry and biology were all the same. paul asked a question, and once again, he was talked to like an adult, and after one of them had made a derogatory remark about mycelial studies in regards to the overall composition of the universe, paul found himself going into astrobiology with a minor in particle physics and an oddly strong interest in mycelial studies.

he moved to college and was the asshole who’d read every single book by the time the semester started. his professors quickly caught on and redirected him to more works, seminars and conferences to attend. paul didn’t even realize that he was practically not socializing at all until the first year was over and he was glowing with knowledge. most people went home, there were parties and get-togethers and people having fun all around him, and no classes to attend. paul experienced a real life record scratch.so he tentatively started trying out social interaction, which for the most part went almost okay.he fell in love and had his heart broken almost instantly, so he withdrew again and buried himself in studies, because human interactions are scary.year two rolled around and he was still as studious as ever, but then someone invited him to a party (actually went up to him and asked him to come. he needed to lie down after that), and he went and actually kind of enjoyed himself.that’s when he met straal for the first time and they hit right off.that’s also when he saw his crush of that summer again, but this time with his friends and there were so many other cute guys, and paul came back from that party with a tentative friendship with straal and the sudden realization that he liked guys.that part he got over pretty quickly, but it took him a while to get used to having a friend.

college kept happening and he and straal got closer and closer. paul got kissed by a girl and decided that hey, maybe he likes girls? so he had a girlfriend for a while, lost his virginity and found out that no, she’d tried to get better grades by being associated with him, so he went back to hiding in his sciences. a string of mostly boyfriends later and straal smacked him upside the head for falling for every single guy who ever crossed his path, especially since most of them were rather transparent about what they wanted - either the status of being in a relationship, or they hoped to get some of paul’s brains that way.so paul went over to casual sex with whatever gender was available.

he and straal went on to university together, focusing their studies on mushrooms and astrophysics, and got funded pretty much instantly.

later on, funding was difficult on occasion; they eventually divided themselves between earth (straal) and alpha centauri (paul) to cover more ground.paul was a little lonely again on alpha centauri, which he didn’t like much, now that he had a friend (who was never only paul’s friend - straal was much more sociable than paul).and then he was just snacking and having a coffee in that café, reading some reports, and there was hugh, and the rest is, as they say, history.

(hugh managed to sweep paul off his feet so completely that he was absolutely useless for several days after their first couple dates. they moved in together after about two years, and a few months later paul’s and straal’s starfleet funding got approved in the most spectacular way, ie they were granted two research vessels, which were then constructed after precise orders from paul and straal, still holding the record for quickest construction. hugh, who had been working at the starfleet medical center on alpha centauri, saw not only a chance to stay with paul while also finally getting deployed like he’d been wishing for for a while, but also a chance to further his career, and immediately put in his application. he’s got aspirations for CMO anyways, and he was practically promised the position when their current CMO goes into retirement after this rotation. paul is both excited for and proud of his hardworking boyfriend, and the feeling is mutual. also, since jumping the discovery and hugh’s temporary death, you can BET paul is 800% more soft around his team. he learned a lot, about himself and about humans in general.)

so this got super long! if you read this far, you totally deserve a cookie :D but yeah there we goes, this is my backstory to paul.

#lksjdlfksdjf this got SO LONG i am SO SORRY #stamets #discovery #anonymous #ask #answered

[ecotone99]

[MF] Normal Part 2, a continuation of one of my previous post

Part 1

It has been two years since I unleashed my serum on the world, ridding it of superpowers forever. Now, it seems my time as a free man may be running out. Before that happens though, I’d like to give my account, from my eyes. Before the rest of the world demonizes myself and my actions. Although, they would be right to. I have completely changed the world. Devastated it even. I have some regrets, though I do not regret doing what I did. It seems a good a place to start would be after the serum started taking effect.

It took a few weeks before people started to really understand what was happening and by that time, it was too late to stop it. My serum had already traveled through the North American continent, the entirety of the west actually and the effects had just started manifesting in Europe and Asia.

Needless to say, no one took it very well. There were accidents, deaths, suicides, riots. What you would expect when an entire culture is shook to the core. I really did sympathize with a lot of them at first. Worksite accidents were very common at the beginning. Yesterday Jeff the construction worker could have lifted that 2000-pound I-beam. Today, though, he was crushed by it. People with super intelligence feeling their mind slowed down to what seemed like a standstill. They all would feel so… Normal. It was a beautiful thing.

Soon after, I decided it was time to seclude myself. With all the chaos happening it would be easy enough for me to slip away unnoticed. I packed up all the important things. My research, my samples, my serum and most importantly the “anti-serum”. I’m not entirely sure why I created it. The anti-serum worked essentially the same way as my serum, only, instead of programming my “normal” DNA into others I could write others DNA into someone. Essentially, I could give someone superpowers if I had samples from before my serum went live. Which I did.

I watched the world spiral into chaos as world leaders and researchers scrambled to figure out what had caused this. I was impressed when they found out it was the water. There were handfuls of people who were not yet affected by my serum due to them being lucky enough to be in situations where they were drinking solely bottled water. Researchers out in the field where fresh water was scarce, astronauts in the various space stations. To them, bottled water became more valuable than gold. I wasn’t worried about that though. There was only so much bottled water from before and soon enough, those remaining would be forced to drink my serum.

There was one person, who caught me off guard, that was left with there powers. Benjamin Wrigley, one of my few childhood friends. Loyal and righteous to a fault. He found me one day, in a diner in Wyoming of all places. I was amazed that he still had his powers. I had to know why.

My curiosity was my first mistake.

I asked him too many questions. I was too specific. Ben was never the smartest kid, but he wasn’t stupid, and his years of hero work must have taught him a few things. I found out that part of his power made it so he didn’t have to eat or drink. He was kind of like a plant. He could essentially photosynthesize sunlight into whatever he needed, he could stockpile the energy he consumed from the sun and use it to increases his strength, his speed, his bodies natural healing process. I never considered the small minority of people who didn’t need to drink.

I left the diner soon after and continued my journey. I eventually set myself up in a small house in rural Nevada. It wasn’t too long until Ben found me again. It was about 7 months after I unleashed the serum. I was watching the news, interested in how the world had been adapting and they were doing surprisingly well. People were finally starting to come to grips with their situation and began picking up the pieces. Stronger, more centralized law enforcement was formed. People began finding ways to do things without superpowers. The few superheroes that remained were doing their best to help around the world.

There was a knock at my door, around 2 in the morning. I got up and looked out the peephole. It was Ben. With hesitation I opened the door. I’d never seen him look so betrayed.

“It was you.” he finally said.

“Ben, what are you-“ I couldn’t finish the sentence before he grabbed me and pinned me up against the wall.

“You did this to us! You destroyed everything.” He screamed. “You… you killed so many people…” he whispered, releasing his grip as I fell to the ground.

I had said too much when we last met. Somehow, he put together the situation. But how?

“Ben… I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I lied

“Don’t lie to me, Alex! We found you DNA in the water. It took so long but we finally found your poison. Polluting everything. Permeating every water source in the world. You’re a monster.”

“Ben… someone must have… used my DNA. Some villain must have created it using my normal biological code!” I kept up the lie, hoping he’d believe me.

“You were never a good liar Alex. The only villain left is you.” He looked down at me, rage filled eyes staring daggers. Piercing through me. “I wanted to confront you myself. Before we released our findings. I wanted to know. Why? Why did you do this.”

He was right. I was always a terrible liar.

“You want to know why, Ben? So that you could all know what it was like to be me. Helpless. Weak. Equal. All these people running around with superhuman abilities. They were a menace! You go on saying how many people I killed, but did you ever stop and think about how many people you have killed?”

I was also never good at keeping my temper in check.

“I’ve never killed anyone, not even a villain!” He yelled back at me in disgust.

“We both know that that’s bullshit, Ben. Thursday, April 16th, 4:16 am.” I spat, looking directly in those burning eyes, watching the fire slowly fade as my old friend made the connection.

“I… I didn’t… it was an accident… We were at war!” I could see the anger flicker in his eyes, but also shame, regret.

“It took me a while to put it all together. But after I saw the footage. After I saw my hospital get disintegrated! I knew I had seen something like that once before. Tell me, Ben. Just how long did you have to bake in the sun to make a blast that big? A week? A month? Honestly… I was amazed. Amazed and horrified. The news wrote it off as a hero deflected some attack from a villain. But it was the other way around wasn’t it?”

“Stop.” Ben whimpered. Pathetic.

“That blast that Blackbeam swatted away from you killed hundreds of people. Men, women, children, doctors, mothers, fathers. Do you know how many lives were crushed because of your negligence? Did you even think about the damage that a blast like that would have caused, even if it did hit its mark? You didn’t, did you? All that mattered was stopping the “bad guys”. Well guess what, Ben? You were all the bad guys that night. That’s why I did what I did. I was tired of innocent people getting hurt. Caught in the crossfire of your petty squabbles.” I felt the passion again. The passion that I felt when I first started working on a cure for Kenny. The passion I felt when I first started working on the serum.

I stood back up, knowing deep down that what I did was right. The amount of lives lost that my serum indirectly caused paled in comparison to the amount of lives cut short by superhumans over the years.

Ben looked almost like a ghost. He always did take things too personally, another flaw of his. But he never let anything stand in the way of what he believed was right.

“What’s done is done, Alex.” He finally spoke, regaining some of his composure after minutes of silence. “We’re going to let the United Nations know that it’s you who caused all this. I’ll be taking you to the authorities myself. You’ll be lucky if you just get life in solitary.” I felt his hands grab me by the shoulder, ready to pull me away and throw me in a jail cell.

“That isn’t going to happen, Ben. Not when I’m the only person in the world who can change this.” It was time to play my hand.

“I don’t want to hear any more from you.” He began, I could feel the spite in his words, almost like a knife against my skin.

“I have an antidote. I can give people powers again but if you take me now. It will never see the light of day. There’s no one alive who knows what I know, and by the time someone does unravel the secrets that I did, superhumans will just be stories.”

Ben stopped in his tracks “Why should I believe you.” He asked, not looking at me.

“You said it yourself. I’m a terrible liar.” I felt his grip loosen.

I took Ben to the small warehouse I’d set up my lab in. Another one of Ben’s flaws was that he would take any opportunity, no matter how unlikely, if it meant a chance to set something right. I opened the doors and ushered him inside.

“Here it is. My life’s work.” I exclaimed, motioning him over to the equipment. “If you bring me to the police, I will make sure that every piece of information I have is erased. You will have the answer, but none of the work leading up to it and without that, you can’t even use the antidote.”

He looked around, Ben was never very good at science, so he had no idea what any of this equipment did and hadn’t the slightest idea how my serums worked. The confusion on his face was endearing.

“I might as well explain. The way my serum works I mean.” I said, moving over to my computer. “Have a seat.”

Ben hesitantly sat next to me as I pulled up diagrams and simulations.

“The serum essentially rewrites the patient’s DNA. I found a very specific, unique piece that every superhuman has- well, had. We’ll call that the “S-block”. Once ingested, it starts to work. I found that I also have a very specific, even more unique piece of my genetic code. We’ll call mine the “N-block”. The serum breaks down the patient’s DNA, destroys the S-block which gave them their powers, and replaces it with my normal N-block, so that they don’t fall apart. This in turn, rids them of their powers entirely. Making them normal. Like me.”

As he watched and listened, I could see the horror on his face. Was I playing God? Changing the very building blocks of human life. Did it really matter?

“The antidote works exactly the same way. Only this time it targets the N-block and replaces it with an S-block of my choosing. You will need a DNA sample from before I let my first serum loose and only, I know how to extract the S-block from it to make the antidote work. And, as I said, if you apprehend me now. All of this will be destroyed, gone forever. The choice is yours, Ben.”

Ben was silent for a while. Just staring into space. Thinking.

“I can’t just let you go, Alex.” He finally said, his eyes distant. “You don’t get it. I never came here to find a cure. I was sent here to bring you in. We don’t need you to cooperate to get the information out of your head.”

I knew I had no way to talk myself out of this. Ben never let anything get between him and completing a mission. I began to sweat. I felt trapped. Just like when I was a kid. When they strapped me down and performed test after test after test. I wouldn’t let that happen to me again. I would never be a guinea pig, strapped to a table while someone poked and prodded.

“It’s time to go, Alex. We’re done here.” He stood up and walked over to grab his coat.

It all happened so fast. BANG. There I stood, a smoking gun in my hand. Ben slowly turned, putting his hand to his chest as he grabbed at the hole. I could tell he was using his powers, trying to close the wound.

“I’m sorry, Ben. You never should have gotten involved. I wish you could have just let everything be…”

I felt sick.

“A-Alex… why?” He started, struggling to talk as he used up all the energy he had been storing to heal the wound.

A second bang as his wound was still closing, but this time I shot him right between the eyes. There was no way he could recover from that. I watched as Ben, once my best friend, fell to the ground. I still remember the look in his eyes. The sadness. The confusion. The shock. That was his last flaw. He never thought that I could be a threat.

I’d never killed someone before. That night, I killed my best friend.

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