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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀʀᴛʏ ᴍᴄғʟʏ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛʜᴇ sᴡᴇᴇᴛ-ɪsʜ ғɪɴᴅ ꒱　


❝ I'LL DO BETTER, I PROMISE ❞

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March 14th, 2014

The day started out as normally as any other and continued as so. Well, barring some of the odd stares that she received from the other staff members. Since starting at the school, Alexa had kept to herself and made minimal contact with the rest of the faculty so they already viewed her a little strangely. It didn't help that they sometimes caught her talking to herself so it wasn't completely out of the ordinary for gazes to linger on her in the hall. Luckily, the airy art teacher persona she'd developed helped keep them from sending her to a nuthouse.

These stares on this particular day, though, seemed to occur even more unusual. While she normally ate her lunch alone, she'd gone to the lounge to heat it up and at her appearance, Alexa could've sworn all conversation ceased. The reason for these strange occurrences remained a mystery for the entire day until her walk home where she passed a bookstore selling a recently-published author. This, in itself, would not be unusual, but Alexa recognized the picture on the cover. The title read: Extra-Ordinary, My Life as Number Seven.

Curiosity peaked, she pushed open the bookstore door and purchased a copy for herself. She'd had no idea her sister was a published author. She slipped it into her bag and made her way home, promptly forgetting the new purchase. At least, she had until she'd settled down for the evening in more comfortable clothes, made some tea and set up her sketchpad and pencils. As she tapped the writing utensil on the paper, there was a cough that made her jump. Looking up, a dark-haired boy was sitting in the chair diagonal from her position on the couch.

"What?" she asked irritably, not liking the smug look on his face.

"I think you're forgetting something," he said with a pointed glance at her bag. She gave him a puzzled look. "Vanya's book. You know, the one you just bought?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh!" She got up and rooted through the bag until she found it. As she sat back down on the couch, the boy got up from his chair. 

His hands were shoved his hands in his short's pockets and meandered over behind her to peer half-bent over her shoulder. "What'd she write about?"

Alexa huffed. "I just bought the damn thing. Give me a minute." She cracked open the volume and turned to the table of contents. There, she saw nine chapters: a prologue plus eight sections.

"She didn't," the boy sounded impressed.

"Why am I not surprised?" Alexa murmured. Her eyes hesitated on chapters five and six. Shaking her head, she leaned against the couch and lifted her book slightly as she flipped to the last section.

Chapter Eight: Number Eight

Name: Alexandra Hargreeves Codename: The Protector

"That explains the stares, then," she said aloud as she remembered the faculty's odd looks. No wonder. While she hadn't made an effort to hide her last name they certainly hadn't put two and two together until now. A prickle of irritation swept over her before she continued:

As last in line, one would think that Number Eight was least important but our father did not number us by our contributions to the team. Instead, he sent our eighth family member on nearly as many missions as my other siblings. I suppose her powers were useful in the field. With skin like armor, The Protector could not be harmed. She could even expand this protection outwards to help my siblings, creating brilliant blue shields that were as impenetrable as she was. Another asset to the team was her Power Transfers where, at the slightest touch, she could spread her invulnerability over her siblings without outward force. The downside to this, however, is that separating parts from a whole made her weaker over all and closer to the average human.

Perhaps it is this humility that has shaped her personality. She is not as commanding as Number One nor does she fade into the background as Number Four. She is, perhaps, the most unique of my siblings. She can follow orders when given explicit instruction but at times can drift, allowing mistakes and slip-ups. I believe this is, in part, due to her fascination with art. Our father was not one for so-called 'frivolous' activities but for an unknown reason, he allowed her to pursue this interest and create paintings for our robotic mother. Because of this, she had an escape from reality that none of my other siblings had and could veil our barren, bleak existence under the sheen of bright colors.

I believe this escape led to her part in Number Six's death. Had she been more focused, more aware of her siblings' turmoil, she would have been able to prevent such a catastrophe—

Alexa's head jerked up abruptly, the room swimming slightly as prickles threatened behind her eyes.

"I can't believe she wrote that!" At least he had the decency to sound upset.

The blonde sniffled slightly. "Well, it's what everyone says."

"It isn't true, though," he protested. "Lexa—"

"Shut up," she snapped. She didn't want to get into it. "You aren't real. I can make you go away."

"Can you, though?" He sounded entirely too smug.

Alexa twisted around to glare at him. "Yes, I can."

He rolled his eyes. "Mmm. I'm sure. You like having me around."

She huffed. "You're insufferable."

"You love me, though."

Pain twisted in her chest. "I ask myself why everyday."

"Ouch." There was a moment of silence. Then: "aren't you going to keep reading?"

She sighed. "What's even the point?"

He grinned at her. "Don't you want to get to my chapter?"

"I'm not finished with mine yet, you egotistical prick."

"Now who's a hypocrite?" She turned and stuck her tongue out at the image of Five only she could see.

☂☂☂

The car stopped next to a vast cornfield and Five let out a frustrated groan as he leaned his head against his hands which were resting on the steering wheel. Alexa grinned at his annoyance. "Well, isn't this a-maize-ing!" she said happily as she reached for her door.

He glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "Really? Corn puns?"

"Yep!" She opened the door and stepped out to wait for him. Together, they began to make their way through the crops as they vaguely followed the direction from the tracker. Apart from the rustling of the stalks, silence fell over them which gave her time to think.

They only had eight days now. Soon, everything around them would be ash and rubble again. She sighed. I wonder what it would be like to have an easy life. Probably boring and overrated, anyway. She'd tried that for what was now sixteen years.

Her hands brushed the leaves of the growing plants and she stopped for a minute to close her eyes. Five's movements grew fainter as he continued walking. The corn rustled softly around her in an invisible breeze. The stalks, which were almost taller than her head, crowded out the bright blue sky. The things we take for granted. 

There was a bright flash and Five was in front of her looking reasonably irritated. "What's with all the lollygagging? We don't have all day, Lexa."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. Can you just wait five minutes? I mean, has it ever occurred to you that while you're running around saving the world, you're forgetting why you're actually saving it?"

"I'm one of the ones living in it, that's why!"

She huffed. "Besides that, I mean. Close your eyes for a second."

They narrowed instead. "Lexa—" he started warningly.

Alexa mimicked his expression and tone: "Five. C'mon, just two minutes."

He huffed. "One minute. That's all you get." Then, feeling incredibly silly, he closed his eyes.

"Spread out your arms," she instructed him.

"They'll hit the corn stalks."

"Just do it, nerd."

Behind his closed lids, he rolled his eyes so hard he was surprised they didn't get stuck. Still, he did as she said and stretched his arms until his fingertips brushed the leaves on either side of him.

"Do you feel that?" she asked quietly. "The breeze? The smell of the soil? The rustling of the corn? There's probably a million living things right underneath our feet and we don't even know."

Against her wishes, Five couldn't resist opening his eyes again but he left his arms outstretched. When he did, he couldn't help but stare at the girl in front of him. The girl who, not so long ago for him, had been a thirty-year-old woman that he'd been afraid to lose forever.

Now, she stood feet apart from him with her eyes closed and arms outstretched, the light that filtered between the corn setting her hair to the same golden color. Hair which had previously cut short in the same manner he'd seen her in the apocalypse all those years ago, the same style he'd seen the day he'd come back that had confirmed his fears. But against all odds, she was still here, in front of him, doing something reminiscent of their childhood.

His mind flashed back to the previous night where she'd fallen on top of him in effort to save him from Pogo's attack and the obvious fear that had been in her shout as she'd shoved him aside. How could she still— after all this time— trust him like this?

Alexa opened her eyes, causing him to startle. He'd been caught. She didn't seem to notice the redness of his ears, though, and instead gave him a bright smile. "Alright old man, let's go get our sister. I've tortured you enough for one day."

She looked at him expectantly and he realized he was supposed to agree with her. "Uh, yeah," was all he could manage though as any usual snappy remark died in his strangely dry throat. It was probably from standing in the sun for so long.

She also didn't say anything as they turned and practically ran the rest of the way through the field, bursting out into a small clearing. Cautiously, he crept forward and parted the growing plants to reveal a woman in a blue shirt who was crouching on the ground. "Hi, Vanya."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm your brother."

"I have a brother?" she asked as she stood.

"Look," Five said shortly. "You can either stay here and wait for IKEA mafia to come back and kill you or you can come with me."

"Wh-why are they trying to kill me?" she stammered as she looked warily at the blonde girl who she could now see.

Five was already making his way back through the corn but Alexa couldn't help but stare at the sister she hadn't seen for three and a half years which left her to be in last place as the boy replied, "because you're not supposed to be here, Vanya."

"In Dallas?"

"No. Here, in 1963."

The group converged on a vast, open space of flattened corn.

"Oh, crap," Alexa breathed as she recognized her sister's powers. At least she didn't blow up the moon this time.

At the same time, Vanya said, "holy shit."

"Yeah, pretty wild, right? It's good to see your powers are still intact."

Vanya glanced at her. "Who're you?"

Alexa smiled softly. "I'm your sister, Vanya."

The brunette's eyes widened. "I have a sister!" she exclaimed happily.

"Two, actually," Five corrected. "I haven't found the other one yet."

"Can I hug you?" The blurted question made Alexa blush with embarrassment.

Vanya gave her a surprised look. "Oh. Um, sure." She opened her arms and the blonde rushed into them to hug her tightly around her middle.

"I missed you so much," Alexa mumbled against the blue plaid of her sister's shirt. Even with Elliot's pictures, she'd still gone three years without seeing her sister, without even knowing if she was alive beyond her arrival in the alley; unlike the others, Vanya had never returned. 

Vanya relaxed under her grip and bent her neck to press her face into her sister's hair. "I'm glad someone did."

A lump formed in Alexa's throat as she murmured, "of course someone did, V. I love you."

Her sister's arms tightened around her. "I wish I could remember."

Alexa pulled back, looking slightly guilty. "I wasn't the best sister in the past and I'm sorry for that. I'll do better, I promise."

Despite her confusion, Vanya gave her a soft smile. "I guess we can start over fresh, then, since I can't remember anything."

There was a loud sigh from the boy. "This reunion is touching and all but we need to go."

As they followed his direction, Vanya gave her a look. "Is he always like this?" she asked in a stage whisper as the boy walked ahead.

Not bothering to quiet her voice, Alexa grinned. "How do you mean? Grumpy? Irritating? An annoying little prick? The answer is yes to all three."

"I can hear you, you know!" Five called from ahead of them.

Vanya looked embarrassed to have been caught talking about him but the blonde girl winked at her teasingly before she replied, "that's the point, dear." The sweetness of the endearment marred by the sarcastic tone it was spoken in, an echo from similar usage from a long-forgotten time. 

Ahead, Five stumbled on an invisible root as, despite the new pinkness in her face, Alexa gave a giddy, slightly mocking laugh at his mishap.