Morose

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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She sighed, slowly unwrapping her arms from her legs. A pang of guilt went through her. Just go tell him how you feel.... But she couldn't, she was stuck. For someone with powers relating to light, she couldn't have felt more in the dark. New York was coming more and more into view, the same view that liberated people, felt like a death sentence to her.

~ Sixteen Years Ago... ~

Edwina, age six, sat in her room, absolutely terrified. Her parents had thought staying at the famed Lizzie Borden's house would be fun, a family bonding experience! They insisted that Edwina sleep in her own room, as they had more grown-up activities to take care of. And so, there she was, tiny and huddling behind a quilt, as she watched the shadows on the walls dance.

"Beware...Beware..." the walls seemed to chant. The shadows grew larger and larger, until they resembled people in their own right. Edwina gulped, curling up into a ball underneath the blankets. The small light in her room began to flicker, on and off, on and off, on and off, until the room was plunged into darkness. The scraping of nails and the pounding of steps brought tears to Edwina's eyes.

But she didn't cry.

"Cry, baby, cry!" the monstrous figure commanded, as the sheets were taken away from her. Edwina's eyes widened, seeing the formless shape advance at her, more and more. Backing up so her back was pressed against the headboard, she could smell the monster in front of her.

She could smell the blood.

"D-Don't hurt me!" Edwina cried, grabbing the lamp beside her bed. She chucked it at the creature, only to have it soar right through the figure with a clatter.

"You'll have to try harder than that..." the figure taunted. Edwina cringed, as it rushed at her, and screamed as her insides felt like they were turned to ice. A whispering presence tickled at her ears, and in her terror, she hardly noticed as a blinding light filled the room.

"Beware Lady Liberty....She is liberty in death...Young Lucifer..." the voice whispered, before vanishing.

Edwina slowly rose from her bed, staring at her hands in terror. "Liberty in... death?" Edwina squeaked.

There was no answer.

~ Present ~

Edwina rushed up to her feet, her heart beating. This was where she was doomed to die. Liberty in death. Lady Liberty was dead ahead, and she glanced around wildly, unable to tell what it would be.

"Mercury!" Eddie screamed, running over towards him. If she was going to die, she'd at least be able to do this, then. She placed a delicate kiss on his forehead, her heart beating wildly, as she watched as the statue grew nearer and nearer. Biting her lip, Eddie rocked back and forth on her feet, hardly waiting for Mercury to acknowledge anything.

"I like you."

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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”You don’t need to worry about that ever again. I’m never going to leave you with one of my masks again.“

"Woah....Mercury?" Eddie's eyes widened in shock, staring at the sparks of electricity. There was definitely something wrong with him.

Her suspicion was further confirmed when he backed away from her on the ship. Biting her lip, Eddie crossed her arms, squeezing herself with her hands. Her heart beat accelerated, going into full fight or flight mode. ”I’m gonna go rest elsewhere. Because clearly you’re afraid I’ll make you into a mask. That I’d actually hurt you, don’t want you being uncomfortable now do we? You’ve had quite the traumatic experience.“

She didn't know what to say to that. Instead, she nodded, her arms still crossed, and walked by herself to the opposite end of the ship. She'd give him his space. Conflict wasn't something she was especially skilled at. Sitting down against the wall of one of the cabin's, she hugged her knees to her chest, and attempted to soothe herself by running through various formulas and equations in her mind.

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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Eddie relaxed. "Good, Warlord threatened to eat me like a snickers bar or trade places? Not sure. Sounded terrible."

She turned her focus back to maintaining the light, beginning to be under strain. All of the light and energy was coursing through her, traveling like blood does through the heart. In this case, it felt to Eddie like she was attempting to hold up the weight of the sky, unable to back off or waver. Beads of sweat rolled off of her face, and she was careful not to shine the light too close to Mercury.

"Survivors!" a high pitched voice squeaked. "Throw down the rope, men!"

A boat loomed into view, and Eddie quickly had the light fade away, hoping that it would look like the natural fading of a flare. A tiny search and rescue vessel gently came up alongside the raft, hauling Mercury and then Eddie inside.

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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”Alright, looks like we got Magi going, and she likes you already Eddie. Good job. Funniest part is Magi, and Warlord were once lovers in life. Now they don’t much like each other.“

Eddie couldn't help but see a bit of symbolism there. Biting her tongue to avoid making things awkward, watching Mercury switch the masks. She couldn't tell if they actually gave him his power, or if they were like mental training wheels....Though, she supposed, they had to have some merit to them.

"So um...Are all of these masks...people?" Eddie asked. "Please don't make me into a mask...I'd really like to be sent down a river in a fiery canoe when I die."

Mercury grabbed some oars -- from where, she had no idea. He started paddling, explaining to her that they were nearly towards New York. Eddie rolled her wrists, before putting all of her energy into a blinding beam of light. It shot straight upwards, parting the dark and brooding clouds. Any ship would most likely see it as some sort of act of a god, and hopefully, come speeding towards them.

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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She raised an eyebrow. "Dude, I puked all over your magic mask. You don't need to apologize and promise you aren't sick after a bloody plane crash."

Backing off with the light, Eddie couldn't help but start to feel a little bit hopeless. Until, of course, she heard that one of the masks was female. "Another girl?! I like this one already. Magi is officially the best mask you have."

She laughed a bit, hoping that the comment would dig at Warlord. Pausing, she took a moment to evaluate her life. Here she was, stranded in the middle of what she suspected was the Atlantic Ocean, and she was trying to insult a mask. A mask that could talk and dish out insults. With her, there was some sort of masked creature, who either had a crush on her or massive indigestion.

"Maybe narwals are real?" Eddie smiled.

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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"You know," Eddie began slowly, "I've found that Warlord has some helpful ideas on occasion..."

She watched uncomfortably as Mercury spewed his guts, and bit her lip. There was definitely something wrong with him--perhaps it wasn't love after all. Her spirits fell slightly, but instead, she stood up on the makeshift raft, looking around for any signs of a passing ship. "I can try to make a flare, signal a cruise liner or something?"

Reaching into her pocket, she found her phone, largely in tact. With a chuckle, she held it up, trying to get signal or anything. There were no bars. Maybe we're in the middle of nowhere....

"Um, brainstorming ideas here but.... If there's a you....Then there are things like you, right? Maybe there's a nice friendly sea creature to help?"

Clenching her hands together, Eddie glanced down at the spew that had left Mercury. Without saying a word, she shined a bit of light on it, hoping desperately that it was just half digested chips. Unfortunately, it all seemed to have been washed away by the waves.

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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Distantly, Eddie could feel something press up against her lips. She screamed and kicked, the natural light turning harsh and bitter.

"WHAT THE....Oh....Mercury..." Eddie laughed awkwardly, catching her breath. The light turned to normal, and she glanced around, trying to make out where they were. From what she could see, they were on a raft in the wreckage. A silver glint caught her eye and she screamed again, nearly falling off of the wrath in terror.

"There's something over there!" Eddie whispered, staring at where she saw the silver glint. "There...There was a thing and a mask and....it was laughing?"

The wreckage, floating and going up and down, naturally revealed the silver object. It was indeed a mask, one with crying eyes and a wide smile. No one else was near it, and it quietly sank, ebbing beneath the water.

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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Eddie would have screamed. But instead, she felt someone forcing a mask over her face. Her instincts kicking in, she started kicking and squirming, trying to get what she was certain was a piece of human bone as far away from her as humanly possible.

The mask went on over her face, and she felt herself begin to hurl. Wait? It's plastic... Oh thank god... Inhaling in the oxygen, Eddie fumbled with her seat belt, figuring that it wouldn't do much to save her at this point. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mercury fiddling around with his masks, before turning into something...else.

The next thing she knew, she couldn't see. Everything was dark. Her powers weren't responding to her and she screamed, trying desperately to get herself free, and to somewhere she could see. The plane crashed into the ocean, and despite Mercury's best efforts, the impact knocked Eddie out cold.

Somewhere, distantly inside of her mind, she saw a face...It was silver and comical, leering and jeering...She tried to raise her mind to touch it, but it vanished instantly, just like a dream...

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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”Don’t worry about paying me back, and whatever you want hand back. I’ll pull something else out for you.“

"Oooh, cheese crackers with peanut butter?" Eddie grinned, accepting the bag. She munched on them slowly, sneaking furtive glances over at Mercury whenever she assumed he wasn't looking. As she recalled, he didn't have as extraordinary senses in this form. ”Maybe after we can grab an actual meal from a restaurant after we land.“

Eddie smiled. "Sounds like fun." She continued nibbling on the crackers, only to glance up and see Mercury peering into her eyes. She laughed nervously, the slightest tint of red in her cheeks. "Listen, Mercury, I..."

Only her words were cut off. As if the hand of fate had been played, the plane began to plummet, falling towards the ground with imminent speed. Somehow, the emergency exit door had opened, ripping out from the immense pressure and colliding with the red wing of the plane. Smoke and sparks and screams filled the air, as the oxygen masks came down out of the cabin as the plane headed straight for the watery depths of the ocean.

Powerbound: The story of Edwina, and Mercury

Edwina Fairfax

@Gilgex

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Eddie glanced at Mercury as he came back, eating yet another bag of chips. He was remarkably calmer, as if his entire episode was a thing of the past. Her stomach twinged, and she frowned a bit. It bothered her, for whatever reason. Shaking her head a bit, she went back to listening to her music, attempting to lose herself.

And then, of course, her stomach growled. Pausing her music and pulling off her headphones, she glanced around. No food cart in sight.

"Do you have anything I could eat?" Eddie asked tentatively. "I can pay you back for it..."

Her arm accidentally brushed against his, largely due to the close quarters they were in. The flight was hardly half way over. And Eddie had a feeling that somehow, they'd either leave the plane as something more than friends, or nothing at all.