005

— venom and hawk —

HER THOUGHTS RACED FASTER THAN SHE COULD REGISTER AND SHE WAS MORE THAN THANKFUL FOR THE LOUD ENGINE REV. Cole's green dirt bike came to a stop by the bike Hazel claimed as her own. He put his helmet on the handle and rushed to Hazel. She barely got time to stand when Cole wrapped his arms around her.

Cole stepped back, his eyes darting over Hazel's face. "Is everything okay?"

Hazel shook her head. "You really shouldn't be here, like I shouldn't be dragging you into this." Hazel's words were soft as a twisting sense of guilt taking over her bones.

Cole offered her a soft smile, the corners of his eyes creasing. "Hazel, I know you wanna protect me, but I'm making the conscious decision to be here, to help," Cole insisted. "Let me help Hazel."

Hazel took a long breath and nodded, "Okay. It's pretty nasty, so I hope you have a strong stomach."

Hazel led Cole through the Manor and up the long staircases to the third floor, explaining quickly the red hood disaster, and the bomb stuck deep in Hank's chest. She stopped at the end of the hall and Cole stopped, turning to Hazel. Her stomach was twisting in knots as she stared at the end bedroom. "You okay to do this?" Cole asked, keeping his voice soft.

Hazel took a long breath and nodded. "Yeah, c'mon."

Hazel knocked thrice on the wooden door and Hank looked up. "I'm intruding Birdman," Hazel called, smiling at him.

"Hey kiddo," Hank chuckled, he turned his attention to Cole, his eyes narrowing. "And whos' this? You bringing me a shrink in training?"

Hazel sat on the end of the bed, watching Cole laugh to himself as he looked over the vital monitors. "I'm a special kind of telepath," Cole corrected. Hank's eyebrows shot up but stayed quiet as Cole watched his vitals. "I can make you calm enough to slow your heart, but you won't pass out," Cole explained. "I'll buy you more time than some acebutolol. It's the fun stuff you're currently on."

Cole reached out, waiting a moment to see if Hank objected before slowing his heart, watching the vitals slow. Cole's eyes glowed a bright red and Hank's matched the colour. Hank and Hazel watched his heart rate drop from 73 beats to 47. Hank's head slowly rolled back to the headboard and the tension in his shoulders dropped.

"I'll have to come back in... maybe an hour," Cole explained, turning to Hazel. "I have to check his vitals; they would have shifted after the acebutolol wears off." Hazel nodded and Cole turned, looking over the vitals again.

"Hazel?" Dick called and the two spun around. Dick's eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes narrowing at Cole. "Who's this?"

Cole glanced at Hazel before lifting his hand and offering Dick a small wave. "I'm Cole."

Hazel mumbled to Cole to stay before walking to Dick. "Who is he? Why is he here?"

"Cole Jeremy Martin, 18 years old, working on a medical degree and hasn't been arrested ever," Hazel said quickly. Dick looked down at Hazel, his eyebrows furrowing, "Searched him, like you do."

"And?"

Hazel glanced at Cole who busied himself with the medical stuff in the room. "I think he's my brother," Hazel whispered, and Dick's head snapped to look at Hazel. "I'm like 90 percent sure."

Hazel looked up at Dick and shrugged. "I thought you gave up on that search," Dick said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Thought I did too," Hazel mumbled. "He felt my emotions, even before I met him. He got in my head."

"Just like Terran first did," Dick remembered, and Hazel nodded softly. He glanced up at Cole once more. Cole accidentally met his eyes and Cole's head snapped back to his hands. "I have to go. Try and handle-"

"Yeah."

Dick ran his hand down his face, "Call me if it is him, and if there's any changes."

"Will do." Dick stepped around Hazel, continuing down the hall. Hazel looked up and nodded at Cole. "We'll leave you alone for now Hank. Don't have too much fun." Hank gave a half-hearted salute and Cole rushed to Hazel, following her back down to the kitchen.

Cole stopped at the island he had thrown his jacket and gloves onto, watching Hazel step to the fridge. "You want a brew or something?" Hazel asked, pulling out an orange pop.

"Something light," Cole requested, pulling himself to sit on the counter. Hazel grabbed the first beer that said light and tossed it to Cole. Hazel shut the fridge and pulled herself onto the opposite counter. Cole furrowed his eyebrows, "You offered me a beer but you're drinking a pop?"

"We all have our things," Hazel said with a shrug and a laugh, vines weaving from her fingertips to pull the cap off. Cole furrowed his eyebrows and watched his own hands, he grew light green vines and attempted to pull the cap off but failed as the vines drooped. Hazel laughed at him, and he scoffed, drawing the vines back into his skin. He held the glass bottle out and Hazel popped the cap off.

They sipped on their drinks, a comforting silence washing over them. "Can you tell me? How you think you know me?" Cole asked and Hazel sighed.

Hazel traced her fingertip over the top of the bottle and sighed. "Two years ago, I was... I learnt about how I got my powers, who my father was. But I also learnt that I had two younger siblings. A brother and a sister. I had already met my sister, so that means my brother is out there too."

Cole's eyes stayed focussed on her, watching her sip her drink, spinning the glass in her hands. She pulled the orange pendant necklace from her neck and held it out to Cole. "Do you have one of these?" Hazel asked. "My sister does, except she ties it on with leather. It's also got a blue stone."

Cole pulled the slim silver chain from his neck, his hand spinning the purple pendant. Hazel clicked the sides, the purple splitting open like a flower to reveal the small pink stone. Hazel's orange pendant opened the same, revealing the same-coloured stone beneath.

"My dad gave me this," Hazel said, pulling the necklace back on.

"My... my mom said my father left this for me," Cole mumbled, watching the flower close. "Who's our..." Cole cleared his throat and clicked the necklace on again. "You think I'm your brother?"

Hazel took a long breath and held her out. "Check the facts," Hazel insisted.

Cole looked at Hazel before taking her hand. Cole stared at their hands, echoed frames of Hazel's life and experiences raced through his brain, the ones of her brother standing out against the muddled memories. Cole tore his hand back, his eyes blinking quickly as he tried to focus on Hazel.

He took a long breath, his jaw dropped slightly. "Our father is a God? We're Demi-Gods?" Cole whispered. Hazel nodded softly and Cole ran his hands down his face, his drink set aside. "Holy fuck..."

"Hazel- Whoa hey!" Gar called, his sentence stopping as he noticed Cole. His eyes widened as he stared at the brunette boy. Hazel kicked herself off the counter and spun to Gar. "Uh, who's that? Sorry, that's rude. Hello."

Cole slid off the counter, grabbing his drink. "We're gonna need a presentation and a PowerPoint," Cole murmured. Hazel laughed softly and Cole looked back up at Gar, holding his hand out for Gar to shake. "Cole, I'm here to help with whatever I can."

Gar's eyebrows furrowed but slowly nodded as he shook his hand. "Cool, well, Hazel, Conner needs you," Gar said, motioning him behind him. He turned and walked back down the hall.

Hazel nodded and Cole followed Hazel down the hall. Gar opened the clock and Cole's jaw dropped, "Are we going to the Batcave?" Hazel nodded and Cole gasped. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit..."

They walked into the Batcave, the blue lights dancing across Cole's face.  He stared up at the cave roof, watching the bats whiz by. "Tech Central," Gar hummed, slowing to walk beside Cole. "Pretty cool, hey?"

"Haze," Conner called, not looking up from his speeding hands. Hazel walked to his side, looking over the schematics he was working from. "I need about 200 of those," Conner muttered, his hands moving faster than Cole had ever seen.

"How is he doing that?" Cole asked, moving to stand beside Gar, both watching over Conner's shoulder.

"That's Conner. Combine DNA from Superman and Lex Luther," Gar explained.

Cole laughed softly, "That's terrifyingly cool." Hazel took a small piece Conner had set aside, a small cylinder piece of metal, no bigger than a centimetre. Hazel filled one hand with seeds before cupping her hands and shaking them quickly. She dropped her hands, a few seeds but more importantly, upwards of 200 metal pieces falling across the table. Conner mumbled a small thank you and Hazel nodded.

Cole watched Hazel with wide eyes, his jaw dropping again. "Matter manipulation," Gar spoke up, a smile on his face as he noticed Cole's confusion.

"I'm still not the best at it," Hazel muttered, walking back to Cole's side. Cole nodded, mentally noting it before moving his attention back to the fast-moving Conner.

He read over the computer, leaning over Conner's shoulder slightly. "How's it work?" Cole asked, taking a small step closer.

"The original deactivator functions remotely, and the lock's coded - with a precise electrical charge..." Conner's explanation trailed off as he plugged the device into the hard drive. The computer beeped, showing an eighty-seven per cent failure rate. "...that I have to match."

Conner's hands went back to work, speeding once again. "How many more tries do you think it will take?" Gar asked.

"There are over 1.5 million permutations," Conner muttered. He plugged the device in again and the computer showed a sixty-seven per cent. Conner adjusted a few more things before checking once again. It showed eighty-one per cent and Hazel took an uneasy breath. Cole looked back and pulled out a pair of stools, handing one to Hazel who sat quickly.

"The failure rate's gotta be zero, or Hank dies," Gar mumbled.

He looked over his shoulder, watching the heart rate drop slowly. Conner sighed and tried once again, getting another mid-sixty number. He sighed in exasperation and scribbled on the notepad. "Thanks for the reminder," Conner grumbled.

July 11, 2019

Hazel's head pressed further into the tough pillow, the warm rays of the sun dancing across her face. She groaned and pushed herself up, the feeling of the couch rough against her skin. "Good morning sleeping beauty," Hank mused, the coffee machine he stood at making a whirring sound.

Hazel's head shot up before her eyes bounced around the room. "Hank?" Hazel muttered. Her eyes focused on different things around the room. She lay across a large leather couch, a thick blanket covering her body and a few spare cushions propping up her head. She was in the middle of a modern esc living room, the walls painted a dark black or brown, pictures covering the walls. The kitchen Hank stood in just to the right of her was a dark green, but the kitchen had more splatters of blue. Hazel groaned, her fingers rubbing her temples as she sat up properly. "How did I get here? Am I in DC?"

Hank chuckled to himself and walked to the couch. He set a mug in front of Hazel before sitting on the edge of the couch, reaching for the remote to turn off the TV playing a football game. "I saw you getting kicked out of a bar downtown, I brought you back here," Hank relayed, sipping on his coffee. "No fucking clue how you got to DC."

"Uh... I caught a bus" Hazel muttered. "A lot of buses."

They sat in silence for a moment before Hank sighed. "How long have you been out of the tower?" Hank asked as Hazel reached for the hot coffee. Hazel looked up at Hank, her eyebrows creasing. "I have at least a hundred texts from Gar, and another dozen from everyone else."

Hazel crossed her legs and sighed, "I don't know, what day is it?"

"11th of July," Hank answered, flipping his phone over. "Ah, look at that, its Gar! Hank please man, is Hazel with you? Still haven't seen her."

Hazel groaned, her eyes shut tight, sleep still controlling her. She couldn't make out the emotions in her stomach, her head foggy with sleep, and a migraine. "Did you... did you answer them?" Hazel asked, hiding her face behind the mug.

Hank huffed his shoulders dropping. "No, I wanted to talk to you first." Hank turned to Hazel, putting his mug down and Hazel copied the action, watching him closely and nervously. "You can stay here as long as you need but I need you to answer some questions, Haze." Hazel nodded and Hank ran his hands down his jeans. "How long have you been out of the tower?"

Hazel sighed and shook her head, "6 days."

"Did you tell anyone?"

"I left a note."

"A note?" Hank scoffed.

"If I told someone they would try and make me stay."

"What did you do?"

Hazel took a deep breath and shook her head. "I can't answer that," Hazel said, her voice shaking.

"Hazel-"

"Hank." Hank stared at Hazel, his arms crossing over her chest.

He shook his head and stood. "I'm calling Gar."

"No, no, no, Hank don't." Hazel sprung to her feet and tore the phone from his hands. Hank spun towards her, staring at her wide eyes. "Oh fuck..." She set his phone on the table and spun her rings. "Hank, please. You can't tell them I'm here. I can't go back right now." Hank furrowed his eyebrows and moved Hazel back to sit on the couch.

Hank reached over and took Hazel's hand. "Hazel, I promise you; I won't tell anyone you're here." Hazel dropped her head into her hands, mumbling against her palms. "I won't make you tell me anything you don't want too, and you can stay as long as you need. But..."

"But?"

Hank stared at her for a moment before smiling, "I am not cooking by myself." Hank pushed himself off the couch and Hazel's frows turned in connfussion. She kicked herself up and followed Hank to the kitchen. "I have cold lasagna or cold casserole."

Hazel laughed and shook her head, "If this is cooking, I'll cook every night."

— rage —