This chapter is being uploaded in two parts because the 50k mark is in here ^.-

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Chapter 15 - Reaction - Part I

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The next day, Raph, Shift, Zoe and Athira suited up and boarded the monorail headed to Elite HQ.

The seats were as plush as Athira remembered, the view flashing past just the same. The only difference between her first trip and this one was the group of girls that seemed to be attracted to Shift like he wore a female only gravitational field.

Athira sank further back into her cowl, trying to pretend the group of clingy girls didn’t exist. However, her cloak wasn’t soundproof and the squeals of excitement coming out of the girls that claimed their miniskirts and crop tops were clothing couldn’t be blocked. What she’d seen Raph go through the other day was nothing compared to the torrent of babble being unleashed upon Shift.

“Ohh, I heard the other day that when you were out on patrol, you stopped a villain from kidnapping my friend!”

“No, that’s not what I said! I said that I saw him save someone!”

“You said it was you!”

Athira rubbed her temples. There is no way Shift enjoys this, or anyone else.

It made sense why Raph made Shift sit on the aisle seat, although Athira was starting to wonder why the monorail didn’t just dedicate an entire car to Shift and his fans. As far as she was concerned, the amount of money they’d make from girls riding the monorail just to try and spot Shift would be well worth the investment, plus everyone else could hear themselves think.

“Is that the girl Gossip Insidersaid you carried inside Indigo base?” squeaked one of the girls.

Athira was vaguely aware of the eleven stares that were suddenly directed to her. She responded by giving them the back of her head to look at. Someone touched her shoulder, and she was about to slap it away until she recognised it as Zoe’s.

“No way, Shift wouldn’t do that to us!” said one, sounding like her world would shatter if it were true.

“Shift, did something happen that you haven’t told us about!” demanded another.

“It’s my job to assist those in need,” said Shift confidently. His voice sounded different to Athira, like he was acting. “If that requires carrying someone, then it’s my duty to do so as a Colour.”

Athira’s head met the glass of the window as she sighed. “Do they ever shut up?” she muttered.

“This is pretty much what happens every time Shift catches the monorail and someone spots him,” said Zoe.

Zoe produced a small screen from her bracelet, showing some kind of social media site and the hundreds of posts from various female sounding account names telling each other Shift was currently on the monorail. Most showed some measure of disappointment at having missed it or being otherwise occupied.

OMG, parents won’t let me skip family day to stalk Shift #lifeisover #Shiftme

SHIFT IS ON THE MONORAIL WITH INDIGO, CATCH IT FROM RITENBA SQUARE @ 9 TO CATCH HIM! #Shiftme #Stalktherainbow #GoGoIndigo

“What I wouldn’t give for that to be my biggest problem in life,” said Athira.

Zoe put the screen away. “We tried disguising him once but they caught on to it. It’s the weirdest thing.”

Athira did her best to block out the girls for the remainder of the trip and otherwise made small talk with Zoe, who she sensed was trying to distract her. Even after the monorail pulled up at Elite HQ, Shift’s fanclub followed them right up until the guarded metal doors when they were forcibly detached from him.

The silence inside the hallway rang in Athira’s ears. It sounded strange after the constant chatter in the monorail, although it didn’t last long.

Shift moved up beside her. He opened his mouth to say something but Athira beat him to it.

“How’s the fanclub?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the back of Zoe’s head in front of her.

“Not a fan?” said Shift, amusement colouring his voice.

“A more entitled group of brats I have never met.”

Shift tried to stifle his laughter. “Not jealous are you?”

Athira folded her arms. “You’re still a turtle to me, Shift.”

The four of them walked in silence until they reached the area with the silver poles that spiralled through the open heart of the building. Raph opened a file on his wristlet and closed it quickly after scanning through the details.

“Okay, I’ve got a meeting with the Elites in half an hour at one of the higher floors, estimated two hours in length. That means you three have two hours to get to the hospital and see Will,” said Raph.

They all knew what he meant by the simple words. See what they could learn from him, if there were any clues to the identity of this sleeper or the secrets the Elites were keeping.

Raph clucked his tongue and continued. “After that, I think Discord wants Zoe and possibly Shift for questioning--“

“Yes, Discord would like to speak with those two very much,” said Discord as he approached, hands behind his back. “The armlet we gave Zoe to monitor her colour has yielded some interesting data, and we’re thinking we may like to do the same with Shift.”

“Any reason why, exactly?” said Athira.

Discord narrowed his eyes. “Raphael, I thought I told you this purple was not to accompany you to Elite HQ any longer, nor stay at Indigo base once she had recovered from her ordeals.”

“Well, yes,” said Raph. “But--“

“That was until we decided she was going to join the team,” said Zoe smoothly. “And we brought her here to grab the necessary paperwork so we could begin the process as soon as possible.”

Years of practice kept Athira’s face neutral even as it wanted to evolve into utter surprise and ask Zoe what the hell she was thinking.

Evidently, Discord didn’t have the same control. Shock flashed across his face and it took him a moment to recover.

“She’s--“

“We thought it’d be a nice addition to Indigo,” said Raph, picking up on Zoe’s tale. “Since we have all the colours except a purple, it would make us a complete team since Chloe decided to stay with her twin in team Amber.”

“Capturing Reader would have been a lot harder without Athira there,” said Shift. “Reader’s mental aspect would have caused us some serious problems.”

Zoe nodded her head enthusiastically. “Of course, we can’t do it without your permission Discord, but with the way you two were getting along we didn’t think it would be an issue.”

Damn, that girl is smart.

The suspicion on Discord’s face transformed into the smirk he usually wore. “Of course, I don’t see any issue with Athira joining a team under my command.” At the last words, he stared at Athira.

She stared right back at him.

“I’ll let the office bees know that I’ve okayed Athira’s initiation. Be sure to tell her everything that’s expected of her, won’t you Indigo?”

“Of course,” said Zoe.

“Right then. Raph, come with me. I’ll see you three again in two hours.”

“Joy,” muttered Athira as Discord walked away with Raph.

“Hospital’s a few floors up from here,” said Shift.

He approached one the silver poles, pressing his hand against it and waiting until his green colour absorbed the orange from its length. With that, he shot up and out of sight. Athira wasn’t sure how Zoe was going to manage it, but she ran at the pole, and sure enough her colour attached itself to the silver and she also disappeared.

Once again, Athira felt ridiculous holding on to the pole as her hand hovered just above its length. However as she levitated up, she sensed something within the metal that she hadn’t before. If she focused herself, she realised she could sense the orange colour imbued into the metal.

That’s new, she thought.

Athira drifted to the ground beside Zoe and Shift, following them as they moved towards the sign that read ‘Hospital’.

“Raph said Will was in the red wing, so... I guess we go this way?” said Shift.

“How come you said I was joining the team?” asked Athira. “Spur of the moment, or?”

 “It makes sense,” said Zoe. “This way, you can stay with us while we’re figuring out this sleeper thing.”

“And if I want to leave?” Disappointment dragged at Zoe’s face, making Athira feel guilty. “I mean if something comes up that I have to deal with, Zo.”

“You were already an outlaw once,” said Shift with a smile. “What’s a second time to you?”

“Helpful,” said Athira. “But you realise the only reason Discord is allowing this to happen is so he can reprimand me, yes?”

“We need a little more entertainment.” Shift elbowed her gently. “Besides, you can make requests. Like keeping your cloak. The Elite policy on cloaks and capes and anything like them is strict, but you can try. Thinks they’re a hazard.”

“Everything that comes out of your mouth is just increasingly helpful, isn’t it Shift?”

The hospital was a stark contrast to the rest of the building. Where the walls of the office area were light grey with splashes of colour in the form of photos, noticeboards or posters, the hospital was a stark white that hurt Athira’s eyes. Several sliding glass doors marked the entrance, checkpoints as Zoe called them with cameras recording their every move. 

The signs were colour coded and they found the red wing without a problem. They reached the desk and after a brief conversation with the clerk as to why they were visiting Will, were allowed access into his room.

Shift pushed the door open, holding it for Zoe and Athira.

Will was a dark haired man about Raph’s age with pale skin and a face that looked like it would usually be smiling. Other than the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, there was an unnatural lack of movement about his body, even for one who was supposed to be asleep.

The room was surprisingly spacious for only having one patient who was permanently asleep. The bedside table contained several technological pieces that Athira had never seen, although she assumed they were for medical purposes.

“So, what do we--“ began Zoe.

She stopped as the door swung open once more to let in a nurse wearing a white and yellow gown. The nurse smiled as she saw them.

“Ah! I heard he had visitors,” she said. She scribbled something on his chart and checked a few of the devices on the table, their screens showing up various numbers and figures. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to get much out of him though, he hasn’t stirred since they brought him in.”

“That’s okay,” said Zoe with a sad smile. “I believe he can hear us, even if he can’t reply. Talking to people like this can really help.”

“Bless you, sweetie,” said the nurse, patting Zoe on the cheek. “We need more optimistic people like you in Thols. Too many of these Elites acting like the world has ended.”

“What do you mean?” asked Zoe innocently. “Surely this was just an unfortunate hit to the head, he’ll recover, won’t he?”

The nurse looked at her, face filled with pity. “Oh, sweetie, they didn’t tell you?” Zoe shook her head, eyes wide. “They don’t know what did this to him. Some are claiming a monster created by some kind of purple villain, but for all their talking, they have no idea. He’s not the only one either, they’re appearing all over the city. Civillians, too.”

Zoe opted to take Will’s hand and stroke it instead of replying to the nurse directly. “We can only hope he will wake up then, can’t we?”

“We can always hope,” said the nurse. “I must get back to my rounds, but if you need me, ask for Hayley, okay?”

Zoe nodded as the nurse left the room once more. Once Hayley was gone, she glanced at Shift.

“Any time now,” she said.

Shift moved to the corner, directly under the spot where the camera hung. He pressed his palm to the wall, and remnants of the orange colour he’d shifted from the poles flickered up the wall and into the body of the camera.

He moved away from it and sat down in one of the seats.

“According to Kione, security will be able to see this in real time, but any attempt at recording it will have a loop of us doing whatever we do in the next two minutes and no sound. So two minutes, then we poke him.” Zoe glared at him. “Not literally, of course,” he amended.

And so, they sat there, barely moving as the next hundred and twenty seconds ticked by, Athira running her mantra through her head to focus herself and her colour.

Azarin, he, who comes through night. Zark’n, he, who guides the light. Laris, she, who holds the gem. Rathril zi la ish varen.

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A/N - Okay. WITH THIS CHAPTER, NANO IS OFFICIALLY DONE. I HAVE WON, SLAIN THE NANOBEAST (aka Rathe as a few of you keep telling me =P) AND I AM SUPER BOUNCY AND HAPPY. For starting 5 days late, I did damn well I think ^.^ 

Wordcount: 50,276 as posted on WP not including A/Ns and things like that ^.^ 

Damn I'm happy with myself. COOKIES FOR ALL! *Hands out gift baskets*