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Cianwood's... Cianwood's. It had to be close by. Eli recognized the shop to their left. They just had to turn around, walk a bit, and they'd be there. She was still waiting for Nicholas's response, but something else drew her attention before he could get a word in.

There were rushed footsteps behind her. Someone was in a hurry, but they were getting closer and closer. To Eli, it sounded like they were getting louder and heavier. Nic's eyes shifted to her left ever so slightly. He was looking at whoever was approaching. Who was it? She turned her head, just in time for Archie to nearly crash into them in an awkwardly fast motion. Normally she would have just laughed it off, but this time every inch of her body was screaming '[i]PANIC[/i]'. Her entire body froze. It only visibly showed the signs of a subtle flinch, although her mind was struggling between a fight or flight response. Something about seeing Archie in person- in human form, didn't frighten her as much. She dug her nails into her palm. Slowly, she let her hand relax again while releasing a small, barely audible breath. The thoughts faded until it was a dull ache in her spine. She was still tense, but there was no imminent danger. Just Archie being Archie, like he usually was.

[i]It's fine... Everything's fine.[/i]

Eli watched him closely. She couldn't help but feel like he was avoiding looking at her. Was he ashamed? Did he see how uncomfortable she was with this? The feeling of shame passed over her in a small wave. She knew that Archie wasn't a real threat. At the moment, he just seemed like a lovestruck puppy. The way he looked at Natalie... it was sweet. Someone had once looked at her like that, too. His eyes turned to Nicholas, and Eli thought that he looked transfixed by the sight of him. She glanced between the two boys. Did Archie remember Nic, from the bonfire? From the loading bay?

Something was off with Archie. Not because of her fear. Not because he was struck by love, or challenged by the other testosterone in the group. He looked... taller. Like... Like how he looked through her blurry vision on the night of the bonf-

[i][b]Pop[sup]!![/sup][/b][/i]

Eli's heart stopped. Her skin even paled for a moment. It was like she couldn't function anymore. Archie was... He was changing. Ever so slowly. She stared at him, her eyes expressing her concern and terror but her face as blank as a wall. If he looked at her he'd know that she knew. He was too focused on Natalie, and then on Nicholas. He seemed so casual. Like he wasn't growing millimeters by the second. Why was he playing it off like there was nothing wrong? She fought against the dark path that her thoughts were carrying her towards. It was something Lynn would have thought. Eli wasn't one to doubt her friend's intentions. Archie wouldn't put them in harm intentionally... [sub]would he?[/sub]

The others... Did they know too? She glanced between Nicholas and Natalie. They didn't seem to notice. Natalie must know, right? Or was she staying calm about it too? Eli stared at her too and hoped that she would catch on. Maybe pointing it out-making a scene about it- would push him past his limit. Eli didn't want to repeat it all again. She knew that if he morphed again, she would get herself out of there as soon as possible. It was best if she didn't mention it. Or if Natalie did and helped calm him down before it was too late. As much as Eli wished she could be that type of friend for Archie, there was no way she was going to do it alone.

It wasn't like Eli was scared of Archie. No, not of the innocent and awkward boy that stood before them. She was just scared of what he could [i]become.[/i] That thing had no way to discern friend from foe. It would wreak havoc on all of them, if it was set loose. It was like a physical amalgation of Archie's basic survival instincts. A purely predatory state of mind. It only thought that it should kill, or it would be killed. Eli had managed to bring the real Archie back in the loading bay. Could she do it again, after taking such a huge blow to her mental state? Reality was already distorted enough now. Surely she would go insane after the second try.

A thought crept into her head. That if Archie wasn't the sweet boat farmer boy that they all knew and cared for, he could abuse this power to get whatever he wanted. If he was even just a little bit sadistic, he would be just like the parahumans that were sent to the station's prison. To hold so much power like that, and to be unaware of it or repress it, was something Eli couldn't comprehend. It was either something incredibly brave, or something incredibly naive. How long could he keep this up before the world changed him for the worse? How long until the predator escaped it's mental prison and dominated his mind forever?


... Weren't they all like that, in a small way?


Lynn's voice, as clear as day, could be heard to Eli's left. It was hard to tear her eyes away from Archie, but she managed to turn her head to look at the girl. Lynn was looking at Nicholas, but she wasn't noticing Archie. Her eye-... it looked bad. It was healing faster than Eli thought it would, but it still was messed up. [i]Lynn... Look at Archie. [b]Look at Archie[/b].[/i] Eli couldn't be the only one to pick up on it. She knew that they were aware of his transformations, but were they aware that he could slow the process too? Lynn smiled at her, but all Eli could do was glance between her, Archie, and Archie's wrist watch.

Wait, he had the watch on? She glanced between his eyes and the watch. [i]How can he be like that... but the watch isn't going off?[/i] She swallowed, and looked at him like she was confused by it. [i]Is he... Did he stop himself? The watch... it would be going off if he was changing.[/i] Her brows furrowed, and she suddenly found it hard to think. Nothing was making sense any more. She could pass out, if she wasn't so damn wound up about everything.

[i]Damn it... I can't do this. Breathe, Eli, breathe! It's only dangerous if the watch is going off.[/i] She managed to take her own advice, and subtly inhaled through her nose before quietly releasing the air from her mouth. While she was still just as tense as before, the breathing was helping to clear her mind. They all just needed to sit down, somewhere that Archie could relax. If he managed to calm down, Eli would manage to be within ten feet of him. She just needed to keep cool about it, and hope that he wouldn't take her fear too personally.

After clearing her throat, Eli glanced around at the others. [color=E5D0FF]"Well, should we go sit? I think we... have a lot to talk about."[/color] She glanced at Lynn, and then Archie specifically. Lynn was the reason they were meeting, and Archie was the one she needed to understand better. Natalie and Amelia were good friends too, and well... Nicholas could come along because it felt like he was looking out for them in his own way.