Gen reached for the closest bag and began eating as fast as she could manage.? Which wasn't all that fast - everything still took an effort - but at least it seemed she was no longer moving in slow motion.? Her body responded to the jerky - it was the teriyaki-flavored ones - by increasing her craving for more.? Probably a good sign, she thought, shoving another strip into her mouth and chewing hungrily. Meant she was giving her body what it most needed at the moment - the materials it needed to make repairs.? She would probably recover even without them, but this would definitely speed the process. ?
"Not your fault, Kites," the androgyne said.? "I'm still... figuring a lot of this stuff out.? All I wanted..." she paused to drink some water and start working on another strip of jerky "...was to get away from Chord and Harrison... and some of the others. To get away from that whole place.? They made me so... angry." She winced for a moment before her face relaxed again. "Not used to feeling strong emotions like that yet."? Looking up at the winged youth, she felt a pang of concern, made visible with her eyes.? "They probably wouldn't want you coming here. I don't want you getting into trouble."? She wanted to reach up and touch his face, but didn't know if she should try.? Her head was still so... fuzzy.
Feeling better, Gen managed to sit up on the bed without falling over again.? "I was... messing with the Russians again," she went on, digging into the bag of peanuts.? "Got careless, I guess.? Should've known they'd be wanting some way to strike back."? She paused, trying to remember what she could.? "There was this guy.? Young-looking guy.? Like a kid almost." This time she did flinch, then looked directly into Kites eyes.? "He... he's like us," she whispered, like she was just figuring it out.? "He can do stuff.? I could feel it happening.? I was trying to fly away, but it kept happening.? And then... boom.? Lightning.? I remember... falling, over the water. Then nothing."
Gen frowned, something niggling in the back of her mind.? "Lightning Rod," she said when the moment finally came back to her.? "He called himself Lightning Rod."? A flurry of emotions worked their way across the androgyne's face.? Fear... then anger... and then something else, some other thought that she was apparently struggling with. ?
"You need to tell Chord," she said finally, looking like the words were threatening to choke her.? "And the others.? Let them know about this guy." Her eyes narrowed as she searched her memory for details.? "About my height.? Lean build. Long blond hair, and kind of what they call baby-faced. Looks like he's sixteen but is probably older. Oh, and he didn't sound Russian. So maybe they just paid him to do it." After a moment she relaxed a bit and took a deep breath.? "That's all I can remember."
[Kites]
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Look, maybe we were both fools, and our emotions got the better of us.? The anger that you feel, I felt as well, but having talked with Chord, I understand what he was trying to do.? What he was expecting out of us and how most of us didn't rise to the occasion.? Trust me, we all have a lot of growing to do.? I know I do especially, but I didn't come here to talk about that or Chord, or anyone else there," Kites said, reaching out and gingerly touching her face, gliding his hand over her cheek as he pulled away.? It hurt a little when she hesitated, but he didn't know if it was because of their fight or because she was still quite sore.? He really wanted to believe the second one.? "And don't worry about me getting in trouble.? I already got that covered, so..."
Kites leaned back a little, leaning back a little as unhooked his leg and pulled his knee up, placing his elbow on it as he nibbled on his thumbnail.? His eyes unfocused for a bit as he listened to her talk, painting a mental picture of the guy that she described.? Of course, the face was blurry, but it was enough for him to commit it to memory.? She was right - if this Russian city gang had employed a mutant in their midst, then Chord should know about it.? Neither Kites nor Kat nor...well, maybe Mia was the only one of them who knew what she was doing, but most of them were not ready to be the city's defenders.? Their powers underdeveloped, discipline not yet honed.? They had a long way to go, but now that they team was broken up, what were they to do?? Shaking his head, his eyes came back into focus and he turned back to Gen.
"We know that this guy can control lightning, but does he also have a targeting ability?" he asked, but the question was more rhetorical in nature than anything else.? He bit at his nail.? "I will tell Chord, once I go back.? But not until I make sure you are better, and safe."
"Don't force yourself to remember everything, okay?? You were badly hurt...Harrison came here on the helicopter, but I told her that you may not want to go back, so she left...Was I right to do that?? What if your condition is worse than it seems and I should've brought you back, at least just for medical care?"? Kites was anxious.? He still questioned his boldness in sending Harrison away, but was that or was that not the best decision?? More than anything he wanted things to go back to how they were, he wanted to hold Gen in his arms again, but with the way things were happening, who knows what each day was going to bring now?
[tag Gen, open]
Luukasama