Chapter Sixteen: The Project
The window to Monty Burns's office shattered, Thor's hammer easily breaking it into shards. He, Glitch, and Natasha swooped into the large room, and instantly looked around for threats. Upon seeing none, they sighed in relief and moved further into the office.
"I shall return momentarily, my friends." Thor announced.
"Thank you so much for bringing us up here!" Glitch exclaimed.
"It is no problem, Glitch," Thor replied, smiling warmly. He stepped to the edge of the window, spinning his hammer in a circle beside him, before jumping off and flying back to the parking lot. Glitch turned to Nat.
"So where should we look first?" they asked.
"Let's start with his desk," Nat said. "Even if the plans for the Project aren't there, we could find some other useful stuff."
"That's true."
Nat and Glitch moved over to Monty's highly-polished mahogany desk. They both grabbed different drawers, pulling them open, and began to rifle through the papers and objects within. Inside were resumes, legal papers, and other work-related items. Glitch noticed a series of letters at the bottom of one of the drawers, and pulled them out.
"What are those?" Nat asked.
Glitch pulled a paper out of one of the unsealed letters, and began to read aloud.
"'My dear Waylon-'" Glitch paused, beginning to laugh.
"Who's Waylon?" Nat asked.
"He is Monty's second-in-command, according to Wonder," Glitch explained, still chuckling. "She also said that they were very gay for each other, but they had denied it. I think that she might like to read these when we see her."
"Interesting..." she mused. "Keep reading them, I'll keep looking for the papers."
Glitch cleared their throat.
"'My dear Waylon, today marks the anniversary of the day I hired you at the Nuclear Power Plant. I chose you as my right-hand man, rather than anyone else, because you were...different, for lack of a better word. You emit an aura of kindness and trustworthiness, something that few others possess. Every day, I thank my younger self for making that decision. Our friendship means the world to me, but over these passing months, I've wished for something more. I believe that I have fallen for you, beloved Waylon.
"Over these past few weeks, I have been conversing with Quackity more and more, and I feel as if I have been neglecting you. This is in no way your fault, but mine. This Great Plan of ours is very important, but I realize that it had caused me to forget about matters of more importance; you. I love you, Waylon, and if you do not reciprocate these feelings, I would not blame you. Just know that I deeply care for you, and-"
"Glitch!" Nat interrupted. "I found it!"
They paused, mid-sentence, and dropped the letter in their haste to see what Nat had found. She pulled out several blueprints from a drawer near the bottom of the desk, and opened them. On the top of each of the large sheets of paper were emblazoned the words "The Project".
"YES!" Glitch cheered. "We found them!"
"Should we head back to Wonder before we see what's on the blueprints?" Nat suggested, and Glitch nodded.
"Yeah, let's go," they responded, taking the blueprints from her and putting them in their pockets, along with the love letters. They were about to stand up before they noticed something odd on the bottom of the drawer.
"What's that?" Nat asked. Glitch pulled out a single sheet of paper, which looked ancient and weathered, with small tears along the edges.
"I don't know..." they said, skimming the page. "It's called The Re-"
Before they could finish, a blast filled the air, and the office was suddenly engulfed in flames, objects and furniture crashing against the walls from the force of the shockwave. Glitch and Nat were thrown back, away from the desk, sliding across the floor to the broken window. Nat's close proximity to the explosion had blasted her much further than Glitch, and if it hadn't been for their quick thinking, she most certainly would have plummeted to her demise. Glitch had thrown themself across the glass-covered floor, scraping their skin in the process, and grabbed her hand just before she could fall.
"NAT-" Glitch gasped, as Nat's weight pulled them to the edge of the building. They held onto the frame of the adjacent windows for dear life, their body still on the floor of the room. If they let go for even a moment, both they and Nat would fall. Summoning all the strength they could muster, they attempted to pull Nat up to safety, but to no avail.
Nat looked down to the ground below her, before looking up at Glitch slowly, realization and sadness filling her eyes.
"Let me go."
Glitch looked down at her, shaking their head, refusing to let go of their beloved. They loved her. They couldn't let her go.
"No," Glitch's voice shook as tears began to form in their eyes. "please, no,"
A small smile formed on Nat's face as she regarded them with serenity. Their handsome face, laced with despair, would be the last thing she saw.
"It's okay..." she whispered.
Glitch's voice broke. "Please-"
Without another word, Nat kicked off the side of the building, pulling her arm free from their grip. Glitch pulled themself further into the room, ensuring their safety, before glancing over the edge once more. Tears blurred their vision as they saw Nat's body on the ground, far below. She had sacrificed herself to save them. Even in death, she looked as beautiful as they day they had met her. Sobbing, Glitch turned from the edge and ran through the burning office, grabbing the ancient paper as they went by.
Nat was gone, and all hope was lost.
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