by Jaz Johnson
“Right after going to jail, right?”
“Oh I highly doubt we’re going to get caught. I mean, what are they going to say to the court? That you spawned fire? Right,” he scoffed, sliding his other arm through his jacket, now able to hold the phone properly. “Besides, if I do go to jail, I’ve got you to bail me out. Or the water dragon here.”
“Drakon,” they heard Hydra correct from the background.
“Potato,” Maverick spat.
“How are you going to get to the office?” Saphora asked, closing the house door behind her. Fran had already left for the day, and she was just heading out to start walking to Lupin’s office. Flying was still not acceptable to her. And it probably wouldn’t be, until she met and befriended whatever was thought to make the noise that caused her to fall.
“I’m going to borrow Jared’s car. It’s going to be a gray Honda. I’ll probably be parked around the corner. You can call me when you walk out, and I’ll tell you where I am.” Saphora nodded.
“Where is Hydra going to be?”
“She’ll be in the car.” Saphora sighed.
“Okay.”
“Are you alright? You don’t sound like you want to do this anymore,” Maverick pointed out, pausing in his steps towards the front door of his apartment, where Hydra was waiting in her sunglasses and baseball cap.
“No, I do. I would love nothing more than to make Lupin’s life even just a little harder. I just know Fran won’t approve.”
“Wait, you’re not going to tell her, are you?”
“No, but I know Lupin will accuse me.”
“And Fran wouldn’t believe the story you tell her?”
“I don’t like to lie to her …”
“Well, for the sake of getting away with this, you might have to.”
“Yeah … I know. I’m just not looking forward to it.”
“I know. It’s never easy to lie to someone you care about. But hey, maybe when everything’s going a little more smoothly, you can come clean about everything.” Saphora huffed, nodding.
“Yeah, on my way home,” she scoffed. Maverick paused, but made a note not to do so for long.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he coaxed. “I’m going to … get Hydra ready to go out. Can’t have her looking strange, right?” he said, knowing that she would be in a car with tinted windows.
“Okay, good luck.”
“Same to you. And remember. Just relax.” Saphora nodded.
“Right, relax,” Saphora sighed, moving the phone from her ear and ending the call. Maverick frowned once the call ended, and slowly lowered the phone into the front pocket of his jeans as he exhaled a breath. Hydra studied him and his body language and he lethargically zipped up his jacket and made his way over to her and the front door. But before she could question him about his behavior, he spoke up.
“Hey … When Saphora goes home … she’s not coming back, is she?” he solemnly asked, averting his eyes from hers. She paused, blinking behind the shades. She felt for the boy. She saw the way he looked at her. As Dolphus looked at Vida. Longing to be with someone he thought would forever be out of his reach.
“You don’t want her to go, do you?”
“I do. I want her to meet her family, save her world, and be happy,” he argued with raised eyebrows. Hydra shook her head.
“Then why are you not?” Maverick paused.
“Because I want to be there when she does it.” Hydra’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“Do you not plan on being?” Maverick looked over at her, now being the one in confusion.
“I said I want to be,” he repeated. Hydra opened the front door, making Maverick take a step back.
“Then be there. There’s enough room on the ship for you too, Maverick.”
Chapter 11
“I’m glad you decided to come see me today, Saphora,” Lupin greeted, as Saphora warily made her way to the seat in front of his desk. She sat down with a bit of a huff, and kept her eyes averted from the man.
“I guess you are,” she responded. Lupin folded his hands on his desk, taking a moment to just look at her.
“Are you going to talk, or should we just proceed with looking at your back?”
Knowing that she had to wait at least ten minutes before Maverick came in to call for the doctor, she chose, against her better judgment, to talk. If she could stall enough to stop him from seeing her back all together, she would be all the happier.
“What have you got to say to me?” she sneered, more than asked. Lupin sighed, shaking his head.
“Only that I’m trying to help you, Saphora.”
“Help me by doing what? Keeping me here against my will?” He paused, grumbling as he silently considered sharing his thoughts with her. His mouth opened, but nothing came out for a few seconds as he rushed to put his thoughts together.
“The reasoning behind my wanting to take a closer look at your back, is because I believe they mean something.” Saphora paused, her brows slowly pinching together as her anxiety rose a level.
“Something like what? I’m fine.”
“No, I know you are. In fact I believe you’re more than fine,” he said, opening the drawer to his desk. On top of the files on Saphora, was a rather thick book, looking very worn out. Handling it with care, he placed it on the desk, and crossed his hands once again, as Saphora’s eyes narrowed on the book.
“What is this?” she asked, with a slight shrug of her shoulders.
“Have you ever felt … different, Saphora?” Saphora’s breathing nearly caught in her throat, but she forced it to continue for the sake of looking calm. Her eyes rose to meet Lupin’s as she did her best to give her signature sarcastic answer.
“I have mint hair and ruby eyes. Yes, I’ve felt different.”
“But have you ever wondered why? Why you have those features?”
“I’m pretty sure I was born on a nuclear power plant.”
“I’m being serious, Saphora.”
“And I’m not?” Lupin leaned forward a bit, adjusting himself in his seat. His voice lowered as he spoke again.
“What if I told you, you weren’t human?”
He said it. Those words. He had really just said them. He knew. He knew she wasn’t human. Or at least, he thought he did. But by the sound of things, he didn’t think that she knew. And for the sake of that possibly being true, she played the crazy card, this time pinning it to Lupin.
“Not human. Now you’re insulting me by calling me a mutant?” she said, seemingly hurt as she averted her eyes. Lupin quickly went to defend himself.
“No, no. Not a mutant. An alien.” Saphora forced a scoffed, purely to keep her breathing properly.
“Oh gee, thanks. You’ve obviously gone off your rocker, doc. I don’t want to hear any more of this,” she insisted. Lupin wanted to go further in depth, but a paging interrupted him.
“Doctor Lupin, I’m sorry to bother you, but you have a visitor, and they’re insisting that they see you immediately.”
Lupin looked up in aggravation as he huffed, shaking his head and standing. He took the book off his desk and dropped it back into the drawer, not bothering to close it as he walked around his desk, adjusting his tie.
“Of all the times for an interruption,” he complained, pausing in front of Saphora. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right back. Please, just think about what I said,” he said, getting a look of distaste from Saphora before rushing out of the office and making his way to the lobby on the first floor. Once Saphora heard the ding of the elevator, she jumped out of her seat and hurried to the open drawer. Taking out the book he had shown her and placing it on the desk, she took a deep breath and started to concentrate. Her palms were open and ready, awaiting the slight tingle of the blue flames.
On the first floor, Lupin was stepping out of the elevator, and turning the corner into the lobby. There he was met by a very shaky, and very dysfunctional Maverick. Upon seeing the doctor, Maverick rushed past the talking secretar
y over to him, nearly colliding into him.
“Doc! You gotta help me doc,” Maverick stuttered as he forced his body to tremble, slightly brushing into Lupin. Lupin arched his back and rose his hands in defense, not wanting to touch Maverick, who to the office, appeared to be on drugs. Maverick scratched restlessly at his arm, shaking his head.
“I messed up, doc, you gotta help me,” he continued, looking up at the obviously uncomfortable doctor.
“I’m – sorry, sir. Do I know you?” he asked, turning his head away from Maverick in discomfort.
“They, they said you fix people, doc. I-I-I need fixin’, see. I messed up,” Maverick pleaded, adding a twitch to his neck as he stumbled over his words. Lupin glanced over to the secretary in concern, who responded with a worried shrug and a shake of her head.
“I – err, what it is you messed up, sir?” Maverick lowered his head, and scratched against his chest.
“I-I-I uh, I didn’t – they talked me into it. I didn’t wanna use it, doc. But n-now I think I’m hooked.” Maverick moved a little too close to Lupin, trying to whisper to him. “Hooked on that stuff, you know what I’m sayin’, doc?” Lupin tilted his head back in painful understanding of what he meant and attempted to take a step away from him.
“I’m – I’m sorry, sir. But this isn’t that kind of facility,” said Lupin, trying to reason with him. Maverick shook his head, closing his eyes tightly, and opening them again to look around the lobby.
“No, no – no doc come on, you – I know you fix ‘em. Come on, doc,” Maverick continued, peeking down the hall to see if Saphora had come down to the first floor yet. Seeing that she hadn’t, he kept up his act, moving closer to Lupin, and making sure that he was getting his full attention.
Back in Lupin’s office, the notes of all Saphora’s sessions were slowly turning to ash. The soft sound of the crackling humming in her ears. She watched, as they burned. She hadn’t bothered to look at the notes before she set them on fire, even though she had wanted to prior to coming up with this plan. The book that Lupin had showed Saphora was still sitting on the desk. Now she stared at that, contemplating taking it with her. But then she thought of the possibility of him getting a hold of it again, and what he had planned for the information in the book.
She grimaced. Whatever it was, she was sure that it was not going to be in favor of whatever species he was examining. Knowing human capacity for cruelty in the act of gaining knowledge, she doubted that it would be anything but dreadful. In an abrupt decision to spare others like herself, she grabbed the book and dropped it into the flames, contained by the metal drawer surrounding them. She dropped another wad of fire into the flames, and took a step back, hearing the crackles of the flame raise an octave.
Looking around a bit nervously she waited for the flames to settle slightly before closing the drawer and tugging on it to make sure it was locked. She didn’t take the elevator, but instead chose to take the stairs, which would leave her to the opposite side of the lobby, hopefully out of sight from the commotion that Maverick was causing. Jogging down the steps, she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears from the anxiety of not being able to make it out of the building before Lupin returned to his office. Or before the flames died completely. She rushed down the flights of stairs, and stood behind the door to the lobby, not yet opening it. She leaned gently against the door, listening in on what was happening. She flinched at the sudden, and vibrant voice of Maverick.
“I know you can do it! I’ve seen them in here! I-I know you can treat me! Liars! Liars!” Maverick screamed, thrashing against Lupin who was trying to contain him. The secretary had retreated behind her desk and was seconds away from calling security.
“Sir – sir! I’m sorry, but this is not that type of facility! You need to leave,” Lupin urged, trying to push Maverick towards the door.
“C-Come on, doc! I can get clean! I – you gotta help me, doc! Liars!” he continued, looking around the lobby and scratching against his chest.
Saphora couldn’t help but giggle at how dedicated he was to his role, and how determined he was to help Saphora complete her task. She smiled, resting her forehead against the door and shaking her head somewhat. She underestimated this guy. He was proving himself to her each day, and she was genuinely grateful that he had decided to stay in her chaotic life. For even then, doing something as stressful as destroying evidence, she was giggling, having a good time, even if only for a moment.
Slowly, she pushed the door open. Eventually getting it open enough for her to slip through the side of the doorway, out into the hallway. She tilted her head over to look into the lobby, making eye contact with Maverick during his thrashing. She nodded to him, smiling before turning away and heading towards the back entrance of the building.
“Sir! If you do not leave now, we will be forced to call security!” Lupin urged, putting is hands back up in defense. Maverick shook his head viciously. His work was done.
“I – I … Okay, man. Okay, doc. I’m sorry, sorry. I’m sorry,” Maverick pleaded, gripping onto Lupin’s jacket. Lupin tensed his body and sighed, looking over at his secretary as he hesitantly put his own hands on Maverick’s arms.
“…Look, maybe you should seek help at a rehabilitation center. I can give you the number to one.” Maverick shook his head, keeping it hung as he made sobbing noises.
“Noooo, man, no. Not the machine. I ain’t going to the machine!” he raged, pushing away from Lupin, and storming out of the lobby, shouting about the machine the entire way out of the building. Lupin stumbled back from the shove and blinked in shock, exhaling a breath of relief. His hands dropped and his shoulders slumped as he turned to the secretary with an arched brow.
“The next time I have a visitor? Tell me who it is first, and what they want,” he advised. The secretary, who was now trembling in her seat, nodded her head immediately, holding back the urge to burst into a whimpering cry. Lupin groaned, running his hand through his short curly brown hair and pushing up his glasses. “I’ve left her up there this whole time,” he groaned, starting his way back to the elevator. “As if she doesn’t already have enough trust issues.”
Saphora laughed, buckling her seatbelt. Maverick snorted as he closed the door to his side and finally burst into laughter alongside her as he leaned back against the seat, his hand finding his stomach.
“Oh man!” he laughed. “Did you get a look of that guy’s face? Last time I saw someone that scared was when my Aunt Sally tried to give my cousin a bath with the hoes,” Maverick laughed. Saphora nodded, trying to catch her breath.
“He deserved a good scare. I bet you’re going to give him nightmares.”
“I hope so. After all this crap he’s been putting you through, he could go a few nights with some nightmares,” Maverick scoffed. Saphora’s laughter died down after a few more moments, before she stopped, and turned to look at him, still smiling.
“You know, even though that was one of the most anxiety-riddled things I’ve done in my life, I can’t think of another time I’ve laughed so much,” she admitted, looking over his features until he turned to meet her gaze. He grinned. “Thank you … For doing this with me. It means a lot.” Maverick’s grin burst into a smile as he shook his head, and waved his hand modestly.
“Nah, don’t worry about it. I was happy to finally help,” he answered, looking forward out of the front window. But Saphora looked on, not even noticing that she was. She stayed silent as she did, too, catching Maverick’s attention once again. Their gaze met once more, and the smile on his face seemed to begin to fade, feeling his body tense as he read her body language. The body language of a woman - alien or not. And naturally, his language changed as well as the atmosphere grew denser between them, almost burning. It was sudden, and it made Maverick’s cheeks flush as Saphora continued to look at him with what seemed like a new pair of eyes. New consideration. But it was all interrupted when Hydra popped her head in between their seats from the back of the car.
“Christ!” whined a started Saphora.
********
In the calm, fresh smelling room of the hospital, Glover was resting in a bed. Blanket up to his chest, and his arms resting comfortably on his stomach as he stayed in silence, reviewing his own thoughts. The soft beep of the monitor beside him hummed in his ears. The muted television coming down from the ceiling showing scenes from a crime show. He watched with a still face, his breathing calm and his body at ease – while his mind raced. Flashes of a man throwing fire from his hands at his vehicle. Of his car swerving towards the guardrail. Of Saphora, unscathed, pulling him from the car, and protecting him from that man. Glover’s brows pinched together as he sighed, recalling the day clearly. The look of terror on Saphora’s face as the man threw ball after ball at the already flaming car. He grumbled.
She had been telling the truth.
The sound of the door opening interrupted Glover’s thoughts, making him shift his attention to the curtain that surrounded his bed. It wasn’t long before it was pulled back, revealing Officer Johnson and Roland. Johnson smiled at him, taking her hand off the curtain.
“Hey there, tiger,” she greeted, putting her hands on her hips. “You got pretty banged up, didn’t you?” Glover tried to smile back, nodding his head.
“So it seems,” he answered. “But I’m fine. Just a few fractures.”
“Just a few fractures he says,” Roland scoffed, shaking his head. “Stop trying to sound so tough,” he chuckled. Glover grinned. But it was gone as quickly as it had arrived, his face suddenly getting more serious.