╭ ⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸ ╮

𝑹 𝑬 𝑴
❝ 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙳𝙰𝚈, 𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎 ❞

╰ ⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸⊸ ╯

ㅤ𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 of her phone ringing. She groaned, turning to the side, wrapping her arm around Helen's naked torso, trying to fall back asleep. But it rang again.

She huffed, turning back to her other side, blindly reaching out for her phone that sat on her nightstand. She knocked over a few things before getting to the rectangular object. Her eyes were still closed, even when she answered it.

"You better have a good reason waking me up at the ass crack of dawn, whoever you are," she rasped into the phone.

"I do, and you're not gonna like it."

"Gwen?!" Alina sat up, banging her head against the edge of the nightstand at her haste. "Ow, oh fuck, that hurt like a butt cheek on a stick. Ow."

"As much as I love you, Lina, I really need your help," Gwen sighed. "I'm on my way back to the compound to try and heal as fast as I can so I can rush down to Quantico."

Alina groaned again, running a hand down her face as she pushed down her covers, letting the cool air hit her naked body. She finally opened her eyes, squinting as it adjusted, slouching as she tried her best to wake herself up. She moved her position and let her legs hang on the side of the bed. She yawned. "What for?"

Gwen sighed. "Remember when I told you about Ian Doyle?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, he's back. And I think Emily's in danger, so I need Tetrodotoxin B."

Alina stood up and stretched, grunting a little before leaning down to grab something to cover herself. "You do know that Banner regulates that shit, right?"

"Yes, I know, but I also know that you know how to replicate it," Gwen pointed out. "It doesn't matter if it's made by him or not. I just...I have to protect Emily. It's a long shot, but if she survives this, and so does he, she needs to disappear. And the only way for her to do that is to--"

"Fake her death, right, of course," Alina nodded, putting on the oversized t-shirt she found and slipping on her fuzzy slippers. "Right, okay, call me when you get here. I'll get the thing ready for you. I'll...I'll come with you when you head to Quantico. I don't trust anyone with it."

Gwen sighed in relief. "Thanks, Lina."

"Why are you awake?" Alina jumped at the sound of Helen's voice as soon Gwen cut off the call. Helen frowned at her, pulling the covers close to her chest. "Why are you awake this early?"

Alina stared for a second, admiring her, before shaking her head. "Gwen's about to head back here and she's injured."

"Oh, well, I can help--" Helen offered, but Alina cut her off.

"No need," she shook her head. "I can work the Cradle. You...just go back to sleep. I'll see you later."

Not even pausing to give her a proper goodbye, Alina headed off to get herself dressed; though she was still a little rattled given her ungodly awakening, she wasn't about to head to the labs wearing nothing but a t-shirt. She stepped into her en suite bathroom that was connected to her closet, and grabbed some underwear and a pair of straight-legged jeans. With a quick glance at the mirror, she tried to make herself presentable before rushing to the labs.

The first thing she did was grab her lab coat and setting up the recreated Regeneration Cradle. The urgency lacing her best friend's voice called for a quick heal, and that's what the Cradle can offer. As soon as it was ready, she walked over to Bruce's desk, thankful that the room was empty, given that everyone was still asleep.

As she reached to grab a vial of his Tetrodotoxin B, she called out, "FRIDAY, erase this footage."

"Of course, Dr Narvaez," the AI replied.

Alina carefully placed the vial into a little case, along with a specialized syringe, to make sure it won't break during transport. Then her phone rang. She didn't waste any time in grabbing it this time around.

"Gwennie?"

"I'm here," Gwen grunted.

"Good, can you walk yourself to the labs?" Alina asked, already shrugging off her lab coat. "If not--"

"I'm already here."

Alina quickly looked up and spotted Gwen leaning against the lab doors. "Oh. Well, hop on, then." She put on her coat again, walking towards her so she can help her make her short walk easier. She frowned a little at how her best friend held herself. She can understand why she would be limping a little, but it was almost as if...

Gwen groaned as she hopped into the cradle. "Let's get this over with."

She frowned a little, but she didn't say a word as she pressed a few buttons. "Alright. Since most of your injuries seem to be internal—and I assume Medusa's already done her work on you—this won't take a while."

Gwen nodded, closing her eyes as the Cradle did its thing.

The entire process took about thirty minutes as the Cradle sped up Gwen's healing. Alina smiled, admiring how the Cradle worked; never had she been so proud of something she'd created, and the fact that they were working on making it available for everyone made her immensely proud of her and everyone involved in its creation.

Alina cleared her throat when the machine beeped. "Right, let's test it out."

The taller of the two sat up, looking down at her arms that were now spotless, before throwing her legs over and standing up. She stretched. "Everything seems to be working well."

"Of course," Alina smirked a little. "I helped design it. Now, go take a shower. You have some explaining to do." 

author's note: i just couldn't wait to post this lmfao.

welcome to rem! i hope you enjoy your stay 

૮₍｡ᴖ ˔ ᴖ｡₎ა