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.*･｡. AN ODE TO CLARK KENT .*･｡.
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051.
CERBERUS.
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——

Isaac pursed his lips and proceeded to pass the quarter between his knuckles. It had definitely become an anxious habit because he was definitely feeling anxious.

   He sighed, why weren't they waking up?

   Sixteen hours, sixteen long hours, had passed and still nothing; it was as though the four teenagers didn't want to wake up, or maybe they were never going to. He didn't want to think so negatively, but it was hard for him not to. Isaac had never really been much of an optimist, and so trying to see the positives was difficult for him. His childhood was spent locked inside a freezer — so, optimism was all very new to him. Sometimes, Isaac wondered how anyone living a life like theirs was able to be an optimist. All of it was blood, and it was loss, and it was death. Forgive Isaac for automatically finding a list of negatives in the situation before he even thought to look for a single positive.

   Forgive him, but finding negatives was kinda what he was used to. He wasn't sure he would ever get used to searching for silver linings.

   The optimistic attitude of their group confused him — was it his group, now? Was he apart of it? Isaac wasn't sure — and how the bunch of kids kept looking ahead, he didn't understand. To Isaac, it was weird. People were dying and they still marched on. None of them had even turned seventeen yet, and they had faced more life and death scenarios than the oldest man to ever live. And they had yet to give up. They were still going.

   How?

   Isaac didn't get it, but maybe he would never get it.

   Maybe Isaac just had to embrace it. He had to take on board a more positive attitude, and keep his eyes on the clouds looking for any drop of silver he could get. People like Scott always had hope; it was a must in their pack, the only rule they had, and Isaac aimed to try and follow it.

   So, he shut his eyes and sucked in a breath. They were strong. It was four of the strongest in their pack who had gone into those tubs, and if anyone was going to get back out, it was them. Scott, Stiles, Allison and Lois. All four of them were fighters.

   And, as one of their tethers to bring them back, Isaac supposed it would be detrimental for him to give up hope. That likely would hinder Lois' efforts in getting back out of her death-like state, and if Isaac was honest, he very much wanted Lois Lane to get out. If she didn't, Isaac wasn't sure what he would do — lose his mind? It was a high possibility, and he really didn't want to have to go insane while facing a world without Lois in it. Let alone if it was his fault, because he was being a sour wolf. They were going to make it. They had to make it, because if they didn't... he wasn't sure what they would do. If they had any chance of finding the Nemeton and saving the four missing parents, then their kids had to make it back. That was their only chance of rescuing them before Jennifer made her move.

   Personally, Isaac didn't want to be the one to ruin that. So, the beta continued to pass the quarter between his knuckles. It was the only thing keeping him together, so he just continued to do it.

It was working, too. Until someone sat down next to him, backs against Lois' tub, and Isaac's mood turned a very sudden left. Their heartbeat and scent told him who it was without even looking, and maybe it was really petty, but Isaac found himself growling lowly in warning; he didn't want to be pissed off, right now, and all they did was piss him off from the moment they had first met.

   His teeth ground together and the muscle in his jaw feathered as he clenched, and Isaac stop thumbing the quarter, instead taking it into the centre of his palm and snapping his fingers firmly over it. His hand formed a fist.

    "Woah— down, wolf-boy."

   Isaac rolled his eyes, "What do you want?"

    "Just wanted to talk," Peter shrugged. "We've been here sixteen hours, and we haven't spoken a word to each other."

   It was true. He and Peter had opted for sitting on opposite sides of the clinic, and Isaac had even gone to the extent of leaving one of the rooms as Peter walked into it. That was a lot of effort, and a pretty difficult thing to do in a tiny veterinary clinic, and in a way, Isaac was kind of proud they had gone so long without so much as breathing near each other. Most of it was due to Isaac knowing that if he was close enough to the teenage witch, he would probably do or say something he wouldn't exactly regret, but would be very well frowned upon when the quartet woke up.

   Truthfully, Isaac didn't care if this kid was Lois' cousin: he was a hair away from ripping him to pieces, and being left alone in the back room of the clinic with him while Luna and Lydia napped in reception and Deaton went to check on the animals only made the already low patience he had thin, and it hot harder for Isaac to keep his claws at bay.

   Everything about Peter Parker made it hard for Isaac to stay in control of his shift. He wanted to tear him apart. Two sentences, and Isaac was already squeezing his claws into his palms to cool it.

   Pain makes you human, or something like that.

   Really, Isaac was just trying not to claw Peter's face off and if he let his hands relax, he wasn't sure he would be able to stop himself.

    "That's because I don't like you." Isaac said bluntly, shrugging his shoulders as though it were obvious — which, it was. He had killed Erica and Boyd, he had killed Isaac's pack, and that seemed like a good reason not to like someone.

"Fair," Peter nodded.

   He couldn't lie, it was totally fair. Peter Parker knew why Isaac didn't like him, and he knew that it was justified. The things he'd done were unforgivable, and the idea of Lois, Scott and Stiles all ever being able to forgive him made him feel queasy, because they weren't forgivable things. None of it was. Honestly, Peter was just surprised Scott hadn't let Isaac kill him already — Isaac definitely wanted to; he could tell.

"Can you get lost, now?"

"I know we don't get on—" Peter tried to reason.

"You killed my friends; my pack," Isaac scoffed, "I should rip your throat out with my teeth, Sabrina."

"Noted," he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the statement. It seemed to be a common threat in Derek Hale's pack, and he had heard Erica Reyes used it multiple times during her imprisonment, but the thought made him queasy so he pushed it aside. He curled his lip and ran his tongue along his teeth, "Can't we try?"

"Try, what?" Isaac frowned.

"To get along." He said.

"And why the hell would we do that, Harry Potter?" The beta finally turned his head to look at him, "We're not little buddies just because you were taken in by Scott."

"You trust him," Peter pointed out, factually.

Isaac shook his head, "Not on this."

Teeth grit, the quarter in his palm bending, Isaac turned back to look at his lap. He was getting worked up, and staring at Peter any longer would only cause him to lose his mind. If he waned to pull Lois from her surrogate sacrifice, then Isaac needed to keep calm and concentrated — she probably wouldn't want to come out if he killed her cousin.

"What about Lois?"

   That caused Isaac's head to raise, and he turned back to look at Peter with a critical glare. Peter almost cowered. Almost. If he had less than his usual witchly abilities, then perhaps Peter would have been more intimidated when Isaac's eyes briefly flashed amber.

"She wouldn't want us to be at each other's throats," he pitched.

"Lois is submerged in ice cold water, in a trance-like state." Was the reply Isaac gave him, "I don't think she'd care if I ripped your head off and put it on a stick, right now."

Lie, she definitely would.

"You trust her, right?" Peter ignored his comment and rose his brow, scoffing when Isaac shrugged. "Seriously?"

    "What?" He asked.

    "You gotta be shitting me..." the witch sighed and rolled his eyes, wondering how Isaac Lahey could be so dim. Everyone could tell that he trusted Lois more than he trusted anyone, even Scott. After all, it was pretty obvious. Isaac hung onto every word Lois said, he followed each of her steps like they were her last, and he watched her as though there was nobody else in the room. Everyone could feel it in the air. This electricity between them. They had this kind of unique connection, unspoken of course, and it surprised no one but themselves that Deaton had thought Isaac would be the one to pull Lois back from death. The rest of them could see it, it made a lot of sense, but Isaac and Lois couldn't see it the way that they all did. They didn't have the same view.

    "What?" Isaac repeated, more demanding.

    "Look—" Peter cut to the chase, "I don't expect you to trust me, Lahey, because frankly I don't trust you, but Lois does. I know she's got more trust in you than herself, and I've spent my whole life as her weird, little minion— okay? Who Lois trusts, I trust. And if she trusts you, then..." he licked his lips, "Then I guess I can try. 'Cause I know the only way we're gonna get through this, is if we try."

   A moment passed where Isaac watched him, silently debating as to whether he should listen to him, or not.

    "How do you know?"

    "You haven't seen the shit I've seen, Lahey." Peter shrugged his shoulders. "It's gonna be a bloodbath out there, and if we aren't careful, Lois is gonna end up in the middle of it." He looked at the beta with a tight jaw, "And I know we'd both do anything to keep her safe. We all would,"

   That just might have been the smartest thing he had ever heard this Peter Parker kid say.

   Isaac would do anything to keep her safe.

   The entire pack would do whatever it took to keep her safe, but with Isaac it was different. Lois wasn't his friend like she was with the rest of them; they weren't connected through family, or blood, or longterm loyalty. In fact, Isaac and Lois had practically no type of connection at all: they weren't even friends. But, she was Lois. It didn't need to be anything else, because Isaac still felt it — he still felt this primal instinct to keep her safe, because she was Lois, and he secretly kissed the ground she walked on. He didn't know why, he hardly even knew that he did it, but he did.

    Maybe he always had.

   Instead of agreeing, or saying anything at all, Isaac returned his gaze to the quarter in his hand. It was slightly bent now, and it had less of a natural slip between his fingers. He sighed, loudly.

   Without warning him, the beta flipped the coin into the air and smirked when Peter caught it in his hand easily. He nodded, and it was a gesture that went returned. Peter silently tossed the quarter back and got up.

Isaac watched from his peripheral as the witch left the room and slipped through into reception, his eyes lingering on Allison's body as he went. It was a fleeting glance, one that didn't tell much, but it was one that Isaac noticed. He wasn't sure what was going on with the two teenagers — if anything was going on, at all; he had only seen them really interact during detention, and from what he saw it was full of blushy faces and fluttery eyes — but he could tell that the kid was worried for her, and he was anxious too, because Isaac could smell it on him. But, for once in his time knowing him, Isaac couldn't fault Peter Parker. Isaac was just as concerned about Lois as Peter was about Allison, maybe more. It was hard to tell.

He tapped the coin in his pocket, then a rhythm on his thigh, all in attempt to not think too hard about whether they would wake up soon, or not. Worrying wouldn't help, not really.

Stay focused, Isaac. It won't be long until—

A gasp sounded from his left, and the splash of water had Isaac jumping out of his skin. He whipped around as a girl let out a yell and three bodies flapped around in the water; the beta was sure he gained whiplash, but he didn't care. Not when he watched Scott as he clambered out of the tub, then Stiles, then Allison. All in sync.

"I saw it!" Scott wheezed, water in his lungs as Lydia, Luna and Peter rushed in with Deaton. "I know where it is!"

"We passed it!" Stiles explained further, talking so quickly that they almost missed it. It was like when you had just woken up and tried to remember your dream, and running over it so quickly that you hopefully wouldn't forget. "Lois was right! There's— there's a stump, this huge tree. Well, it's not huge anymore; it was cut down. But it's still big, though, very big!"

"It was the night we were looking for the body!"

"Yeah— the same night you were bit by Peter," Stiles said.

"I was there too, in the car with my mother!" Allison panted as droplets of water spluttered from her lips. She was wheezy and out of breath, "We almost hit someone!"

Eyes wide, Scott gaped.

"It was me—" he realised, "You almost hit me!"

Allison stared at him in shock, and the trio all shared glances of which the others couldn't understand. No one would understand the experience they had just shared; they stood cold, shaking and shivering, until they heard the silence around them.

"What?"

"You guys were out, a long time..." Peter explained slowly, his eyes trained on Allison.

Stiles furrowed a brow and looked to his girlfriend in hope of an answer, while she watched him in shock. Luna still couldn't believe that he was there, alive and breathing, but he was. And Stiles was speaking too. He looked at the group in confusion, "How long is a long time?"

"Sixteen hours," Deaton grimaced,

"We— we've been in the water..." eyes wide, Scott tried to take it in. He blinked. Was this all some sorta joke? "...for sixteen hours?"

"And the full moon rises in less than four," his boss broke it to them, handing them towels as they processed the news. They had been dead for sixteen hours and were now finding out that there'd only be a measly four hours for them to locate the Nemeton, and thus their parents, before they were gone forever. It wasn't exactly light news, was it? Deaton didn't expect them to be able to adjust to it very quickly, but they didn't have much choice.

Luna snapped out of her daze and rushed over to her boyfriend, taking him into her arms and squeezing him tightly. A tear or two was shed, and they let the pair have their moment, eyes averting so that they had some privacy, and that was when Isaac realised — it made his brows cinch together, and his heart drop. He looked back to Deaton, "Uh— Doc?"

They all looked at him, waiting.

"What's wrong with Lois?"

It was then that they all looked to the fourth and final tub, where a frozen Lois remained in her trance-like state. She hadn't moved an inch to when she had first gone under and finally stilled. Why?

"Why isn't she waking up, like they all did?" Isaac asked, barely missing a beat. The more silence he was met with, the more panic built up in his chest. He didn't like it. Why wasn't he answering his question? Why wasn't he looking at him?

"Lois is on a different journey, to them." Deaton eventually put an explanation with his guess, although he couldn't be totally sure; he only knew so much. Lois was something new to him, to all of them. They had never seen anything like her, before. There was no telling how exactly she would respond. "This may take longer than any of us anticipated, but it's important we don't rush her."

Isaac gnawed at his lower lips, "But is she gonna be okay?"

   An awkwardness lingered. They all waited, watching Deaton in an tense silence and hoping for a sound response. But, judging by his face, which twisted in discomfort for the question, none of the teens wanted to hear the truth. They didn't think they could handle the truth. Not when he looked scared to say anything. It had Isaac anxious, his tummy in knots, and he subconsciously stepped closer to the tub Lois was in, a protectiveness in his stance. Had they lied to her? Said that she would be alright, when really they had walked her to her doom?

    "I—" Deaton hesitated.

    Each of them flinched, that wasn't a good sign. Isaac could hear a skip in Stiles' heartbeat, and he knew that Scott had heard it too, but Isaac couldn't bring himself to look at the human boy. If Isaac looked at Stiles, he would only find himself spiralling. Stiles never gave up hope, especially not on Lois, and Isaac was terrified that he would look at Stiles and see a profound lack of hope — and, if he were being honest, Isaac wasn't sure he could deal with that. It was no secret that Lois and Stiles were two halves of one whole, a side each of the same coin, and it wasn't uncommon for Stiles and Lois to show their connection. Sometimes it was creepy, others the synchronicity they displayed was amusing, but right now it was scary to Isaac. Did Stiles already know?

    "I can't make you any promises, Isaac."

   There it was: the soul-crushing devastation, deep in the middle of his chest.

   For a moment, Isaac blacked out. Everything around him was a dim shade of grey, and his head was fuzzy, and a high-pitched ring deafened his ear canal.

He didn't think he had heard him right. He couldn't have. There was no way that Lois might not make it out of the tub alright — it wasn't possible. Not when he was the one who was supposed to try and bring her back. Nothing bad was going to happen to her, not if he could help it. Not to Lois Lane. Isaac had decided.

"She'll make it," he shook his head. It was awkwardly silent as the other teens shared uncertain glances, but he ignored them all.

Deaton seemed nervous, "Isaac—"

    "I'm her tether, right?" The beta didn't wait for an answer, "I'm the one who brings her back." Isaac placed his hands on the tub to lean over Lois protectively, "So, if I say she's gonna make it, then she's gonna make it!"

    "Isaac..." Scott tried his luck with him, "Maybe—"

    "No!"

   To prove his point for no further discussion, Isaac's eyes lit their bright amber as he gripped the metal edges and shortly after, as if a signal — of what, he wasn't sure —, the water around Lois' body started to bubble. They all looked down at the tub to see her eyes glowing white, which prevented Isaac's from returning to the usual icy blue no matter how hard he tried. Not that he tried hard; there was little time to concentrate on that when he was watching Lois' form with concern as the water began to splash about in waves as the bubbling grew fiercer, like she was in a pot of boiling liquid. It made him uneasy and he yearned to get her out, but Deaton put a stop to it before Isaac even had the chance.

    "Don't touch her!" He instructed the group, Isaac specifically. It got his nerves going, even more. "We can't take her out of sacrifice before she's ready; that could harm her, severely."

    "Woah— Doc, we're just supposed to leave her like that?" Stiles glanced at his best friend worriedly.

    "Leaving her is all we can do," he said.

   That didn't bode well with Isaac, although he supposed they had no choice. He didn't want to hurt her — but, it looked like she was already hurt with the way her body writhed. He couldn't stand it. It had his hands clammy and pulse rising. Scott looked up at his face.

    "Your eyes," he spoke in shock. "Turn it off!"

    "I— I can't," Isaac shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, a second passing before they opened. Still amber. "I can't!"

   Not even a second passed before Scott's also started glowing, the two sets of amber orbs meeting in the middle. Isaac's eyes widened when he noticed Scott's inability to shut it off, and his heart raced upon realising that they had lost control. Something was stopping them from changing the colour of their eyes. He returned his gaze to Lois, and it clicked.

    "It's Lois!"

    "What?" Scott frowned.

    "It's Lois," he repeated over the noise, "Look at her eyes!"

   The group did as told and found themselves staring at the white glow that had encompassed not only her iris, but the pupil and the entire surface of her eye until it reached the back of her head.

   Allison wrinkled her nose, "Aren't they usually—?"

   Isaac nodded.

    "Blue."

    "This happened, before..." Lydia mumbled. Her forehead made a comfortable crease as she thought back to the day prior, "When Jennifer had us in her classroom, and she tried to strangle me, her eyes didn't turn blue when she tried to defend Stilinski. Lois' eyes were white," she looked at her, "Like that."

    "It happened when she took on Aiden, too." Peter confirmed, a confident but concerned nod.

    "And when Isaac talked her down, earlier." Luna said.

    "Yeah," Scott pursed his lips. "But I've also seen someone else's eyes glow like that, just like that." He heaved a sigh, turning to the teenagers who watched him inquisitively. It almost pained him to say it.

    "Lois was right," Stiles realised. Scott didn't have to say it for him to know. He had seen it, too. When his father had been taken right in front of him, when Scott and Lois had tried to fight to get him back, when their efforts had proven useless anyway. He felt all eyes shift and land on him, instead. He didn't want to say it but he had to. Someone had to. Licking his lips, Stiles let his gaze flicker to down at his shoes. "She was right: she is like Jennifer."

   As if that had broken the trance-like state she was in, Lois flew out or the bath and into a sitting position, the water splashing over the sides in large waves and crashing onto the floor with a swish! as the control over them ended. They all jumped back and covered a hand over their ears when a scream ripped from the back of her throat, one that gave a banshee a run for their money, but it ended almost as soon as it had started and the room lapsed into a silence; her eyes were still glowing, and Isaac gathered that whatever held her down in her surrogate sacrifice was refusing to let her go in the way it needed to. Or, she wasn't letting go.

   She stared at the wall, eyes lit but still vacant.

    "Cerberus."

   Then, her eyes dimmed until they were brown, and she took in a large breath of air. Her eyes proceeded to up roll to the ceiling, the motion not stopping until they were looking at her brain, and her body went limp. Lois toppled back and landed in the water just as she had been only moments prior. Snapping out of his stillness, as the jet of bubbles came from the breath leaving her lips and nose, Isaac pushed forwards and lifted her from the tub, arms under her knees and the middle of her back.

——