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[img]https://i.imgur.com/qObCsLJ.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/jzzw4on.jpg[/img]

[h2][color=8A3DFF]Emma[/color] | [color=33ec06]Marcus[/color] [/h2]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img] 
[hr][color=silver]𝕄: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕   / /   𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟   / /  ~𝟚𝟘𝟘𝟘[/color][hr]
[sub]Collab with [@Diggerton] [@Chasers115][/sub][/center]

Emma entered the APC wordlessly. Ernie, of course, wasn’t far behind her. It didn’t take her long to find her spot. Her spot, next to Marcus. She seemed hesitant, if only for a moment, to sit down. She gave Marcus a small nod. [color=8A3DFF]”Hey.”[/color] her voice was empty.

Truth be told, she wasn’t in the mood for talking.

Marcus gave Emma a silent look as she climbed aboard the APC. There were too many thoughts of his own that fluttered inside his head, and he was thankful for anything to come along and take him out of that moment. 

[i][color 33ec06]For making this all seem ordinary...[/color][/i]

How far off that little talk of theirs seemed right now. 

"[color 33ec06]Hey...[/color]" he replied, summoning the strength for a small, if hollow, smile. He slid over a little bit; an invitation for her to sit down next to him, to relax, to hopefully forget for just one moment how unordinary their experience had just been.

Emma accepted his invitation, this time forcing any hesitation away. Still, unlike the ride over, she allowed a little bit more distance between them. She returned his smile, with great effort.

No, that was a lie. It was easy to fake a smile. It always had been.

[color=8A3DFF]”So…”[/color] a small laugh came from her, forced, stilted. [color=8A3DFF]”I guess, ‘how’s it going’ isn’t really an appropriate question?”[/color] she said, feeling a hint of awkwardness. 

"[color 33ec06]Probably not, but I don't exactly see any better alternatives.[/color]" Marcus said, returning with a single, tired laugh. It'd be a long time before any of this left his mind, but for now, maybe it was just best to follow Emma's lead and pretend like nothing had happened.

"[color 33ec06]I think our card group is gonna be a little bit short now.[/color]"

Emma regarded Marcus with a slight frown. [color=8A3DFF]”Yeah…”[/color] luckily for her he was ignorant towards what happened between her and Ernie. Hopefully things would stay that way, but she was doubtful that Ernie would be interested in a game of cards with her now.

[color=8A3DFF]”At least…”[/color] Emma gulped, feeling a twang of guilt for what she was going to say, [color=8A3DFF]”Nevermind.”[/color] she said, shaking her head slightly.

[color=8A3DFF][i]At least we lived.[/i][/color]

[color=8A3DFF]”I’m just glad… glad that you’re okay.”[/color]

Marcus smiled again, a little more convincing this time; a little warmer. He scooted a little bit closer to her, if only just enough to know she was there. A reassurance for himself. 

'Okay' wasn't exactly the word he'd use to describe his situation, but he needed to put his brave face back on. The Marcus who's job it was to make sure that everybody else was also 'okay'.

"[color 33ec06]How are you holding up?[/color]"

Emma’s frown became a little more distinct. She found her hands squirming against each other uncomfortable in her lap. [color=8A3DFF]”I…”[/color]

A gulp.

[color=8A3DFF]”I’m fine.”[/color]

The words were convincing enough. A small lie to ease her troubled heart. In truth, she couldn’t stop replaying what happened over and over in her head. She was convinced that she could’ve, that she [i]should’ve[/i] done something. She blamed Ernie, but she knew that she was the coward. If she was anyone else, Savannah would still be alive

But she didn’t say that to Marcus. 

Instead, she just nodded to herself, letting him scoot closer to her, scooting a little closer to him in turn. A small smile came to her lips. She was glad, at least, that she had someone else. Someone to smile at her even now, [color=8A3DFF]”Yeah. I’m just glad we’re leaving.”[/color]

Marcus had said those words enough to know the true meaning behind them, but if his suspicious were raised by Emma, he didn't show it. There was no reason to push - they'd been through a lot, and it certainly wasn't like he was willing to spill his feelings on the matter.

"[color 33ec06]Yeah...I've had about enough of this place for a lifetime.[/color]" Marcus said, an unusual amount of cynicism in his voice. There'd always be places like this one, but for now he was happy to put it behind him.

He let the thought hang there, as he shifted slightly with the vehicle's movement, the wheels softly crunching gravel beneath them.

[hr]

At some point during the APC’s journey to the town of La Plata Emma had fallen asleep, head falling unceremoniously onto Marcus’s shoulder. Sleep would’ve been a blessing if not for the dreams. It seemed that her sleep these days wavered between the nightmares and a blissful state of dreamlessness. 

The good dreams, it seemed, were far and few between.

Today she dreamed of the day USARILN had come to take her from her family. It wasn’t one she liked, but it came often. She squirmed uncomfortably against Marcus’s shoulder as the APC made its way towards their destination.

But no respite came for her.

Instead, she awoke when the door to the APC opened and a soldier announced their arrival. She gave Marcus a small glance, slowly coming to the realization that she had used his shoulder as a pillow. A small moment of hesitation before she said, [color=8A3DFF]"S-sorry."[/color] with a slight smile. She wasn't sure if she had to apologize, but they had only been a 'thing'  for a short while, so she erred on the side of catuion. 

Marcus had stayed awake; there certainly wasn't going to be much sleep for him anytime soon. As the silence had grown deeper and Emma had leaned over on him, he'd simply given her a quick look, and tried to shuffle himself into being more comfortable without waking her up.

Warning bells rang in his head as they stopped; this certainly didn't look like the school they'd been taken from. It looked quite similar to the place they'd just left, save for the fact that it seemed to be in one piece. They'd apparently stopped at a motel, if the dingy sign out front was to judge by - the other vehicle had continued onward, taking the injured students somewhere farther down the path. While Marcus tried to crane his neck to see, he stopped as he felt Emma shift, thinking he'd woken her up by accident.

When the door finally flung open, he surveyed the situation a little more. Seemed like a quick pit stop for now - a temporary housing as they made their ways back. Probably didn't want to risk travelling in the dark after the last incident. He was reminded of their first transport, and how similar it seemed now.

Marcus glanced down at Emma, now satisfied with the answers he'd come up with. He gave her a small grin as she apologized. "[color 33ec06]Oh hey sleepy-head, have a good nap?[/color]"

[color=8A3DFF]”Well… not exactly.”[/color] she said, looking around as she started to wake up properly. [color=8A3DFF]”Where are we? This isn’t the school… did I miss something while I was asleep?”[/color] she said, starting to get up.  

"[color 33ec06]Some small town, I don't think we're that far away from Wisford. My guess would be that we're just stopping for the night. Don't want to worry about getting ambushed in the dark or something.[/color]" Marcus said, taking a moment to stretch. It was the best guess he had at the moment, although he'd certainly be taking the time later to find out for sure.

[color=8A3DFF]”Right.”[/color] 

Emma hesitated once again.

[color=8A3DFF]”Well, I guess if we’re at a motel we should go grab rooms… or… well, if you’re not tired we can take a look around the town. Uh, only if you want to, of course!”[/color] Emma said, rubbing the back of her head.

"[color 33ec06]Well, Sleeping Beauty, I think wandering the town isn't the best idea right now. Unless you want to be torn apart by rabid journalists.[/color]" Marcus said, nodding over at some of the more confident souls who prowled the perimeter.

"[color 33ec06]But if you'd like to stroll about town, we can make it a date![/color]" he said with a grin. An odd thing to suggest after what they'd been through, but perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea.

Emma laughed, giving a small blush at the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ comment. [color=8A3DFF]”Hmmm. I’ve always wanted to be on TV.”[/color] she said with a hint of sarcasm. [color=8A3DFF]”And I don’t exactly mind another date. Something to take our minds off of things..?”[/color] yeah, that didn’t sound too bad to Emma.

"[color 33ec06]Well, you certainly have the face for television![/color]" Marcus said, standing up and offering Emma a hand. It would be hard to tell what exactly there would be for them to do in this town, especially with the restrictions that would inevitably laid out for them.

It just left the slight problem of the publicity. He didn't like being the center of attention, or at least not big attention like interviewers and stuff, preferring to stick to the smaller crowds that Class Clown rewarded him with. Just this once, though, he'd make an exception.

"[color 33ec06]Choose a direction, I guess. We can walk until we find something, or get tazed! Perfect date idea![/color]"

Emma gladly accepted Marcus’s hand. [color=8A3DFF]”Right. Maybe if the cameras catch us we’ll be like Sparrow and Kadabra.”[/color] she joked. Of course, she knew that there was no way they could be as popular as the beloved Precursors. After all, they were just ordinary Subnaturals, something to be reviled by the normal.

[color=8A3DFF]”Let’s just hope the school doesn’t decide to taze us. Getting electrocuted on camera wouldn’t be very cute.”[/color]

It took every inch of willpower for Marcus to spoil the moment with a 'shocking interview' joke, but he managed it, replacing the pun with another warm smile to Emma. "[color 33ec06]Looking up to TV's cutest couple, huh? I guess I can live with something like that.[/color]" he said, following the guard into the motel.

[hr]

Marcus listened intently to the guard's speech, if only to know what he had to do to avoid being tazed in the middle of the street. It wasn't long after the man's speech ended that he flagged down the nearest guard and got the 'all-clear' for departure.

Even the braver of the reporters hadn't quite surrounded the building yet, so Marcus and Emma were free to leave unmolested. For now at least; time would only tell how long that would last.

"[color 33ec06]I don't think getting back in is going to be as easy as getting out...[/color]" Marcus quipped, turning around to see if they were being followed. "[color 33ec06]But I guess that's a problem for later.[/color]"

Emma nodded. [color=8A3DFF]”I guess so…”[/color] she said, taking a breath, contemplating her next words, [color=8A3DFF]”Marcus… do… do you think…”[/color] her toned darkened a little. She hesitated for a moment before abruptly continuing, [color=8A3DFF]”Do you think Lily’s okay? You were closer to her than I was, and she seemed pretty banged up.”[/color] 

It wasn’t the question she was going to ask.

"[color 33ec06]I wouldn't call us close, exactly...[/color]" Marcus said sheepishly. They'd only even interacted during battles; the first time she almost got him blown up, and the second time he almost forced her into taking too many injuries and bleeding to death. Certainly not the kind of relationship where they'd be described as 'close'.

"[color 33ec06]I hope so, though. She transfered the injuries away, but that's a rough deal: taking everyone's injuries on herself? Not something I would have picked.[/color]"

Emma couldn’t help but giggle a little. [color=8A3DFF]”That’s not what I meant, ace. You were [i]standing[/i] closer to her. But… yeah. She was really brave… what an awful power. I don’t know if I could do that.”[/color] Emma said, nodding to herself. [color=8A3DFF]”I’ll have to stop by the hospital and check up on her.”[/color]

"[color 33ec06]O-oh.[/color]" Marcus stammered, his face flushing a bit as he figured out the miscommunication. "[color 33ec06]Right. I knew that. She looked fine.[/color]" he quickly said.

His immediately embarassment was fortunately able to cover up by the appearance of a small stop across the street. A wooden sign, which probably used to be a dark shade of blue but was now faded to a soft sky color designated the location as the 'Blue Moon Ice Cream Shack'. He stopped for a moment, pointing out the small building to Emma.

"[color 33ec06]Looks like it's open, wanna swing by and grab a cone?[/color]"

[color=8A3DFF]”Hmmmmmm.”[/color]
 
Emma, for a moment, feigned deep contemplation before a small smile crossed her lips. [color=8A3DFF]”Very well, I’ll allow it.”[/color] she said, with a twinge of sarcasm, taking off towards the store.
 
[color=8A3DFF]”By the way, don’t think I didn’t notice how embarrassed you just got.”[/color] she said, a devilish smile planting itself on her face.

"[color 33ec06]You always notice things like that, how am I supposed to pretend like you didn't?[/color]" Marcus teased back, following behind her.

The shop was being tended to by one cashier in a striped uniform. He didn't look much older than the two subnaturals that had just walked in and had obviously been watching them from inside. He gulped back his fear and remained silent, allowing them to browse over the flavours on display for the moment. It was obvious that the pair weren't very welcome here.

Emma gave a wary glance to the cashier, and another wary glance to Marcus. She leaned towards him, [color=8A3DFF]”I… don’t think they care too much for subnaturals here.”[/color] she whispered to the boy, feeling a tinge of red in her face. She wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or anger, suddenly conscious of the cashier’s gaze.

"[color 33ec06]Yeah, I'm starting to get that feeling myself.[/color]" Marcus whispered back, still checking out the different ice creams available. "[color 33ec06]You want to leave? I'm sure there's got to be [i]somewhere[/i] around here that's a little more friendly.[/color]"

Emma glanced at the cashier and then at Marcus. [color=8A3DFF]”No. I want ice cream.”[/color] she whispered back, frown clear. [color=8A3DFF]”The regulars can be scared of us if they want to be, we’re not going to hurt them.”[/color] she continued. She didn’t wait for Marcus’s approval before walking up to the counter, [color=8A3DFF]”I’ll have a scoop of butter pecan, please.”[/color] Emma mustered all of the politeness she could, smiling, doing her best to set the boy at ease.

Marcus shrugged nonchalantly; she was right, even if they were frightened by a little smear of color across a random kid, there certainly was no reason to be. Hell, if the normal civilians here had known how much they'd just done, they should have been treated like heroes.

"[color 33ec06]Peanut butter swirl for me, please![/color]" Marcus said, following Emma's lead and trying to look as nonthreatening as possible.

The cashier nodded wildly, his hands managing to stop shaking as he scooped the corresponding flavors from the displays. Despite the store's signs clearly showing options for varying toppings and cones, the boy said nothing and offered the two orders in the standard blue cups.

[color=f7976a]"S-six..."[/color] his voice was barely audible as he feebly asked for payment.

Emma nodded slowly. [color=8A3DFF]”Six…? Six dollars?”[/color] She gave Marcus a slight glance before pulling out her wallet, retrieving her school card, and extending it towards the boy. 

Marcus internally smirked at the kid's reaction. Surely they weren't [i]that[/i] frightening? Just a couple of teenagers trying to get a scoop of icecream! Nothing weird about that at all! Sure, they had superpowers and all, but that certainly meant nothing when it came to the enjoyment of a frosty treat.

But he was getting off track.

He reached for his wallet at the same time Emma was apparently reaching for hers, displaying his card at the same moment. "[color 33ec06]Hey now, if I recall correctly, you paid last time.[/color]" He turned to face the boy, still giving Emma a sideways smirk, "[color 33ec06]Here, take mine.[/color]"

[color=8A3DFF]"School's paying for it either way, but sure, if you want to feel good about yourself."[/color] she said, putting away her wallet with a small smirk.

The cashier eyed both cards fearfully, unsure of which one to take until the X-marked girl made the choice for him. Wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible and avoid any physical contact with a subnatural, the boy practically swiped the card from Marcus. The panicked action had its consequences, however, as it slipped from his grasp and bounced off his other hand, landing right into the tub of pistachio flavor. All the color drained from the server's mortified face as the card and its USARILN East logo pointed up at him like a death sentence.

[color=f7976a]"I-I'M SORRY!"[/color] he screeched, as he fished the card from the display and rinsed it off. The transaction was soon made in record time and the card was pitched back at Marcus over the barrier.

The whole spectacle was laughable, especially as the fearful kid dropped his card directly into an open tub of ice cream, eliciting a very sarcastic "[color 33ec06]Well [i]that[/i] can't be sanitary.[/color]"

He was less humoured when his own, wet card came flying out of the booth at him, fluttering through the air to hit him directly in the face. It did no harm other than a single rivulet of water that dripped across the the bridge of his nose, but it did leave him slightly irritatted, evidenced by the singular second of scowl he gave.

He bent down to pick his card out of the dust, sighing to himself as he brushed some of the dirt off of it, giving Emma a look that amounted to '[i][color 33ec06]Can you believe this guy?[/color][/i]'.

'Timothy', if his nametag was anything to go by, continued apologising profusely. He removed the pistachio tub from the counter with the excuse of [color=f7976a]"need...c-clean"[/color] and promptly disappeared into the back of the store. It didn't seem like he was heading out any time soon.

Emma gave a small sigh, returning Marcus’s glance. [color=8A3DFF]”Guess he didn’t want a tip, then.”[/color] she said, grabbing a spoon and heading for the door.

"[color 33ec06]I've got a tip for him: be nicer to your local superheroes![/color]" he said, placing his hand to his mouth to shout the last part into the back. Grabbing his ice cream and following Emma, he left the shoppe behind him, taking small comfort in is small bowl of dessert.

Emma shook her head a little, giving him a quick glance of disapproval. [color=8A3DFF]”They already hate us enough, we should avoid giving them more reason to.”[/color] her sentence was followed by a small sigh as she took a contemplative bite from her ice cream. 

"[color 33ec06]What?[/color]" Marcus said incredulously, taking his own spoonful of ice cream. "[color 33ec06]I think that went very well![/color]" This part of his statement he could not finish without chuckling a bit to himself.

"[color 33ec06]Most people wouldn't have been as restrained as I was, so I'd consider myself to have been the paramount of courtesy just now![/color]"

Emma’s eyes widened a little, a restrained smirk planted on her face. [color=8A3DFF]”Really, you call [i]that[/i] courtesy? Kid was scared out of his mind, I don’t think you’re ‘comments’ were helping.”[/color] she said, her tone was placed between teasing and serious. 

"[color 33ec06]I would have said the same thing to anybody, given the situation! Because I, unlike [i]some people[/i] don't discriminate.[/color]" He tried to hide his mischevious grin with another bite, failing miserably.

"[color 33ec06]Not my fault the kid can't take a joke![/color]"

Emma sighed. [color=8A3DFF]”All I’m saying is that your ‘jokes’ might end with  a ‘Villagers marching on Frankenstein’s monster’ kinda situation. We don’t want a bunch of rioting angry normals marching on the hotel, right?”[/color]

"[color 33ec06]That's...fair.[/color]" Marcus said, slightly humbled by her argument. She made a valid point; perhaps what he thought of as 'funny jokes' weren't exactly the best in a situation like this. If his interactions with Callan had taught him anything, it was that not all problems were solved with humour, as he'd originally hoped.

"[color 33ec06]I suppose you're right, I probably shouldn't trigger the everyday worker bees. You want me to go back and apologize? 'Cause I'll do it![/color]" he said, turning around to face he building, wicked grin on his face.

Emma gave a small laugh. [color=8A3DFF]”Maybe not the best idea, don’t want the poor kid to have a heart attack when you walk back in. I appreciate the attempt, though.”[/color] Emma looked down at her ice cream, taking another bite. Her smile slowly drooped into a frown, her thoughts turning away from ice cream and Marcus’s jokes.

[color=8A3DFF]”Hey… hey Marcus, can I ask you something…?”[/color] her tone soured a little, suddenly downcast. 

Marcus's jokester attitude shifted completely at Emma's sudden tone shift, and he turned back around to walk along with her. The question, the sudden drop in the mood; he recognized the atmosphere. These kind of things weren't his home turf - he did far better with a lighter mood.

"[color 33ec06]Yeah, what's up?[/color]" he said, the slight hint of curious concern being the only betrayal to his thoughts.

Emma’s pace slowed down a little, [color=8A3DFF]”It feels kind of silly. We’re acting like nothing happened, but… I can’t stop thinking… thinking about Savannah. Do you think… do you think that things could’ve gone different?”[/color] Emma’s voice was shaky. She wasn’t saying what she really wanted to say, but it was close enough. She [i]couldn’t[/i] get the image of the girl’s twisted body out of her head.  

Of all the questions she could have possibly asked, why'd it have to be that one? The one question that had been hammering his brain since the moment he saw those lifeless eyes. He felt his blood turn to ice for a brief moment; of all the people to ask, it had to be Emma, too.

"[color 33ec06]I...[/color]" What was he going to say? That he'd effectively killed an innocent young girl because of a lapse in judgement? That he'd let an abberation onto the APC, and the whole fight could have been avoided if he'd been paying attention? That Savannah, Callan's arm, Siena's injuries - none of it would have happened?

He was taking too long to reply, how long had he been standing there without an answer? 

"[color 33ec06]I don't know....[/color]" he finally said, the words oozing out of his mouth like molasses. "[color 33ec06]It all happened so quickly...I honestly don't know if we could have done anything...[/color]"

Emma stopped walking.

[color=8A3DFF]”No… no, I don’t think that’s true. When I got the call from Brent… when he said that you were in trouble… I didn’t do anything. I just… stopped. If I had moved quicker, I think… no, I know, Savannah would still be alive.”[/color] Emma looked at him pleadingly. Her voice rung hollow. [color=8A3DFF]”Why couldn’t I do anything? It’s just like the Flag game, but this time it was real… someone died because of me, Marcus.”[/color]

Marcus stopped too, although his eyes weren't as pleading as Emma's were. He looked to the ground, as if searching for an answer written on the pavement. All of the things she was saying were sticking in his chest like a dagger. 

[i][color 8a3dff]Someone died because of me[/color][/i]

How desperately he wanted to tell her the truth, but that would mean condeming himself. Would mean standing tall and facing his problems head-on, and owning his mistakes.

He wasn't very good at accepting the blame.

"[color 33ec06]Emma, I was closer than anybody there. Trust me, I've already asked myself this question far too much.[/color]" It wasn't a lie, but he certainly wasn't being forthright. "[color 33ec06]I tried as hard as you did...but that's our life now, I guess.[/color]" he didn't have all the answers right now, but god did he wish he at least had one.

Emma looked down too. 

[color=8A3DFF]”Right.”[/color]

She gave him a small pat on the shoulder, [color=8A3DFF]”We can’t... I guess there’s no use worrying over what could have been.”[/color] Emma was trying to convince herself of that, not him. 

[color=8A3DFF]”It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”[/color]

Usually she was a good liar, but the words rung hollow.

"[color 33ec06]You don't have to be fine,[/color]" Marcus said, smiling weakly. "[color 33ec06]But you are [i]here[/i], and that's the most important thing.[/color]"

He punctuated his sentance by grabbing her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Even now, as he tried to make everything fall into a semblance of 'all right', the question still burned inside him, eating away like a parasite.

[color=8A3DFF]”Yeah… you’re right.”[/color]

This time, at least, she managed to make the words sound a little more convincing. 

[color=8A3DFF]”It wasn’t your fault either, you know that, right?”[/color] those word were easy. It wasn’t a lie, she really believed it. [color=8A3DFF]”It was just… something that happened. We can’t blame people… or blame ourselves.”[/color] she wasn’t sure if she was ready to give up her guilt, but now she thought it was something he had to hear.

[color 33ec06][i]If only you knew[/i][/color]

"[color 33ec06]Yeah...I know.[/color]" he said, giving her another weak smile. She didn't know; he didn't deserve her confidence, the ease at which she passed the blame off of him. But she said the things he'd been trying to convince himself of; without the abberations, none of it would have happened. Surely it was their fault and not his.

It helped a little bit.

"[color 33ec06]We should probably head back now, before Tim's mob catches up to us.[/color]"