Nighthawk: A Superhero Story (closed for Siobhancan99)

[siobhancan99]

Monica shrugged "I mean, its hardly surprising. He was strong. Stronger than me. Strong like, Centauri male strong. There's probably not cuffs they could put him in. They'd need like, old school thick ass chains and shit." She winced as she sipped her coffee "As for feeling like its on me... well its not. And even if I did feel that way my damaged ass isn't going after him. I'll fight him again, when I'm healed and I have armor on." Not for the first time, she wished she had a gun. Like a Centauri gun, not a human gun. That was spilled milk and all though. Still, she wondered if there were any on Earth. Probably. Probably over at that security company. "As for Chromium vs. Nighthawk I know that earlier in the alphabet is traditional but... I should get top billing. I mean, I'm the real draw" She laughed and then regretted it again. "Fuck." She groaned and then texted Austin "um. I fell last night fleeing the Chromium dude, but i'm quitting my job. How about tomorrow?" She put the phone down. Looking over at her dad she sighed "so anything about me in that article? Has that lady from the DA's office already released a statement that said ive made prosecuting chromium impossible?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica’s father yawned. “Okay, good. You know I try to be an open-minded parent, but I really have to put my foot down about my daughter fighting a metal man with a couple of broken ribs,” he said, a wry smile on his face. “I mean it, though. You saved this…Ellis’s life, and I have to assume he’s going to lay very low for a while. It’s not your responsibility to fight this guy. Healed or not healed.” He sighed. “That said…I can try to whip up something to maybe give you a bit of an edge. In the event that you do face him again.”

“Maybe we need to hire you a publicist,” he said, checking his phone again. “Fiona Haigler’s been notably silent. Probably isn’t a good look to criticize the girl who stopped your political opponent from getting murdered. Ellis is all in on you, understandably, as is Lazarra,” he said, referring to Prospect City’s mayor. “As far as I’m concerned, they need to throw you a damn parade and give you the key to the city, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. By the way, I don’t have a good feeling about this detective. You didn’t mention he’s…your friend’s dad? Does he know? Does she?”

A few minutes later, James was preparing to leave.

 

[siobhancan99]

"He has to know. I mean. I don't know. when he thinks about who called him and whatnot to get his daughter saved and all that well. I mean, I figure we will just be like batman and the guy with the mustache. um, commisioner gordon or whatever. Like, he will pretend to not know that I'm billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and I'll pretend he doesn't know and it will be all good fun." She shrugs "Either cat's out of the bag now or he will never put it together. Either way. To be fair I didn't know either till he showed up at her dorm one fucking day. That was a not very nice surprise."

She sighed and painfully washed, then got herself dressed in loose clothes. She had to at least try to meet her friends. This sucked though. She wanted to bail but halloween was a week away."

 

[Halcyon638]

Monica received a reply from Austin: “Sorry about the fall. Was it bad? Does 6:30 sound okay? Let me know what you all want from GrubHub or we can decide when I get there.”

James gingerly hugged Monica at the door. “I’m sorry the reception-thing was ruined. It was good to see you, though—both of you.” He gently put a hand on her shoulder. “I love you, kiddo. If anything were to happen to you…Just know you can walk away at any time, okay?”

Gabi arrived about 45 minutes after Monica’s father had left. “Hey,” she said in a subdued tone, making her way over to her girlfriend and wrapping her up in a hug. She held Monica for a while, nuzzling against her neck and stroking her blonde hair.

Gabi then sat at the table, looking off into the distance for a moment. “Um…so…I heard about Ian. Apparently he was at some protest about that Lehman Yards project? Some apartments they’re tearing down. He and Caleb and Trey were there and there was some kind of…scuffle, or something. Somebody accused him of throwing a brick but he says he didn’t do it.” She played with a pen on the table, spinning it in a circle. “I’m kind of relieved. Thought it’d be drugs or something.”

Gabi sat quietly looking at her phone for a minute or two. “So, are we good to go?” She checked the group text thread in which Layla and Hadley had discussed meeting them at a bus stop on campus around 12:15 to hit Founder’s Square around 1:00. “I absolutely have to hit the gym today when we get back. Promise to nag me if I don’t.” The first hints of a smile appeared on her face, but she seemed preoccupied and tired as they made their way to the bus stop and rode with Layla, Hadley, and the bearded Brit from Hadley’s play, Cameron.

Hadley introduced Gabi to Cameron, and before long, they had arrived at one of Founder’s Square's thrift shops.

 

[siobhancan99]

"I do dad" But she couldn't. She knew a little now what motivated her mother. That sense of being involved in something bigger than you. Something more important. It sucked, but she got it a little.

She held Gabi quietly when the brunette returned, just breathing in her scent and feeling her curved against her good side. She breathed shallowly, trying to spare her ribs. Everything hurt, but having Gabi there made it a little better. "Well. That's like.... responsible." she needed to reach out to the journalist kid about the dead journalist at those projects. She felt like something was going on there but at the moment it was all quite above board. Also she had to be careful in case the lowells were involved. She could be labled a terrorist pretty quickly if she fucked up some rich guy's project and it seemed like she had a vendetta.

When they met the crew she was putting on a brave face but she had little to no desire to be there. She wanted to get wasted and sleep. She was also starving, as a bowl of cereal wasn't really cutting it. She stopped at a truck and got a burger, eating one handed as they met Hads and Cameron "hey you two. good to see you. so where do we start?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“We need to hit up Starlight first,” Hadley noted, referring to a thrift store she and Monica had hit up briefly on a trip down. “I know you and Gabi were thinking vampire and they’ve got lots of cool vintage stuff there. I need to see if I can score a beret.”

“What are you going as?” Gabi asked.

“Slutty mime,” she said in a tossed off fashion. “No, I’m going as Patty Hearst if I can find the right stuff.” Gabi nodded and they began making their way to the store.

“Who is Patty Hearst?” she asked Monica when they were alone.

Gabi seemed similarly less than enthused as they entered and began to look. There was one old-fashioned dress that she seemed somewhat interested in, but eventually, the group decided to move on.

At the next store, they had more success. Gabi began to perk up a little. “Ooh, this is cute,” she said, holding up a long, dark, Morticia Addams-style gown near Monica. “Or this.” She pointed to a nearby Victorian-style dress with a wine-red corset and a black flowing skirt. “I’m guessing you won’t want anything too tight around the ribs. I’m thinking I’ll either go old school vamp or maybe like, modern goth vamp. What would you like to see me in?” she said, smiling, before leaning in and adding, “or take off me?”

 

[siobhancan99]

"she's an actress. She was in a johnny dep movie and uh... a John Waters movie called Cecil B. Demented. She was like, kidnapped as a baby or something. I can't remember."

"I was going to do like, a waistcoat, vest, lacy shirt with frilly cuffs, tight pants, a boot and a tophat. Sort of Lestat-ish. But yeah, getting into all that seems like it would suck right now." She looked around "maybe ill go as my 600lb life or something. wear a mumu" She grinned at Gabi and ran her fingers along her arm "As for what you want me to take off you, well no matter what it is i'll manage but maybe avoid something with too many buttons and fasteners." She laughed and leaned in, kissing her girlfriend's lower lip "They take too long to fuss with."

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi nodded. “Gotcha. Didn’t know if that was just what you were telling my mom. Sounds good,” she said, pulling another dress off the rack before putting it back. Gabi laughed. “You could definitely rock a mumu.”

The brunette returned the kiss. “Mmm…easy access is important,” she teased. “The goth things sounds fun. It’ll be like that 4 months in sophomore year when Devin Morse made fun of me in front of the whole class.” Gabi had gone through a brief goth-ish phase when her crush had acted like an asshole toward her.

Gabi picked up a small black dress and a studded black leather choker, then continued to put together her costume at the last stop of the day, scoring some boots, fishnets, and gloves. It was a more costume-oriented shop, and Monica was able to piece together the pieces of her costume as well. Cameron and Hadley seemed to be enjoying themselves, which had the side effect of seemingly making Layla feel like a 5th wheel.

Perhaps noticing, Gabi summoned the energy to include Layla a bit more, helping her with her costume, a 30s-style noir detective she had played in one of her roleplaying campaigns. “This is the perfect jacket!” Gabi said, holding it up and calling to Layla, who came over to try it on. It was a bit long on her, but otherwise seemed to fit the costume.

“Cool,” she said, “thanks. I’m definitely ready to face down some elder gods.”

The store also had some pre-packaged costumes, including the nurse costumes Monica had discussed in reference to Austin’s invitation. “So, we still doing this?” Gabi said, looking at the revealing garment. “I’m up for it if you are.”

When they made it back to the apartment, Gabi again seemed subdued, as if she’d used her last reserves of pep to keep Layla’s spirits up. That evening after the gym, after knocking, she made her way over into Monica’s room where her girlfriend was sitting and studying.

“So…after church today, Mom and I…we discussed the whole living in the city thing.” She paused. “I…I told her there was no way. That I’d get a job, that it was my decision, and…” Tears began to trickle down her face. “We got into this huge argument. I swore at her. I’ve never sworn at her before. I said a lot of things…I said some things that I probably shouldn’t have, just to…because I was so pissed at her.”

She paused, pulling on the sleeve of her hoodie. “I didn’t tell her…about us, just so you know, but…” Gabi started to sob softly and moved toward Monica. “I’m sorry, I’m just so…frustrated. And I’m not good at this. Arguing. It sucks and I’m not good at it.”

 

[siobhancan99]

"I mean, I would be ok with you telling her, Gabi" She ran her fingers through her hair "You're not good at what?" she leans in and kisses her forehead. "We're not arguing. And look. Gabi. You've been letting Sara micromanage you since we were kids. Like at some point you gotta cut the strings. She didn't do this to your brothers. Yeah you're her baby girl and all that but... You know you're an adult. If your older brother lived in a bad neighborhood she'd nag him and pray for him but she'd leave the decisions to him. She's gonna not do the same for you unless you're firm with her. and yeah that sucks. Like, its not fun. My mother and I had a huge blowup when I was 12 and she was leaving. I told her if she wanted to whore around space with her space boyfriend and forget her family she could just fuck right off. Do I regret it? I mean... yeah. But like at the same time I had feelings too you know, and they weren't really part of the equation. She just assumed early on that I was coming. Like I was just gonna go to some hellish colony planet and live my life in service of the empire or whatever. After that, she was more... realistic about the fact my life was here so. Yeah it sucked but it was necessary. I mean I'm sure it didn't help that it was in my broken Centauri." She smiled at her girl and cuddled her close, kissing her softly "so what are we gonna do to get Porter and Layla together?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi nodded, cautiously cuddling up against Monica as if not sure whether she might hurt her. “I mean, arguing with her. Or confrontations in general. I wish I was a little more like you sometimes.” She curled against her girlfriend as Monica discussed her argument with her own mother. “God, I can’t imagine how hard that must have been, carino. You’re right. About my mom and having to kinda take a stand. I was already telling myself I need to apologize and take back everything, but, I mean…she was in the wrong, too.”

She placed Monica’s hand onto her stomach. “I am going to tell her, just so you know. I’m thinking Thanksgiving break. If you’re not sick of me by then,” she teased.

“Ooh, matchmaking,” Gabi said, grinning. “I like a challenge. I think we need to plant the seed in Porter that he could actually get a girl to go out with him. Layla—well, it would help if she was going for something a little more…cute for Halloween. Not that—I mean, maybe Porter’s into that, no judging here. And I have heard her talk about boys before, so…there’s at least some chance there.” She smiled. “You have class with Porter, so maybe you work on him and I’ll work on Layla?”

Gabi briefly checked her phone, then began to softly rub the ball of Monica's left foot. “By the way, did you check your email—your school one today? My advisor emailed me about setting up spring courses and I’ve got an appointment with her the Tuesday after mid-terms.”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica had been fucking her email off "no" she groaned "guess I better get on that too. Lovely" she kissed her girlfriend's temple and sighed "yeah I'll see what I can see about Porter. I mean, its so awkward trying to put people together but I think they could both stand to get laid you know? and well... we're off the table" she laughed and winced "fuck" then breathed shallowly "so is Hads. Nick's gay. That one dude. the sort of tall soulful poety looking dude from the beginning of the semester? he just fucked right off into the ether. We can't exactly set her up with Ian... plus they are into all the same nerdy kind of things. I dunno. I'll see what I can see but honestly I feel like that needs to happen."

 

[Halcyon638]

“You don’t have the best track record with trying to set up your friends,” Gabi said with a playful grin. “Remember trying to set me up with Paul Hoendorffer?” She reluctantly began to pull herself from Monica’s grasp. “I’m going to throw together something quick for dinner for us and then get back to studying,” she said. “If I spend another minute in your arms, I’m not going to want to get up and then I’ll fail out of school and then I won’t have any choice but to move back home.” She tilted Monica’s chin up slightly and kissed her lips. “You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, baby. I swear they're like a tractor beam pulling me toward you.”

Checking her email, Monica saw one from her advisor, Chuck, and a message from Professor Townes answering some questions other classmates had raised about the in-class exam on Monday.

 

[siobhancan99]

The test was brutal, hard to concentrate with the discomfort she was going through, but she managed... she thought... to have said enough about theme and mis en scene and all that to satisfy the thoughts of Alex Townes. She stopped by work to quit, showing off her injuries. She was glad to be free of the job if she'd miss the income. She had been stretched far too thin this semester. This would, ironically, give her more time to focus on being the Nighthawk. She reached out to Morgan again to ask questions about the dead journalist and to see if he or his contacts agreed with the assessment of the police that it was all a tragic accident. She also needed to hook up with Ian and see what he and his friends knew about it all. She could do it as herself, in the guise of just being a concerned citizen. That left study time. She got home, then sat and took a few minutes to herself before Austin arrived. they ordered Thai, and set in to study physics as Gabi curled up on the couch and read whatever. Bio she assumed.

 

[Halcyon638]

Monday afternoon not long after Monica had emailed Morgan, she received a reply from him. “I will definitely ask around. BTW, I never got to properly thank you for the whole interview opportunity. The Herald offered me a full-time job and I’ve gotten some interest from places like Buzzfeed and so forth. If there’s anything else I can do, just let me know.”

A few hours later, Morgan’s friend, getting around a little better on the crutches now, arrived at Monica and Gabi’s apartment. “Let me know if I’m too loud,” Austin called over to the couch from where he and Monica sat at the table studying.

Gabi glanced over, earbuds in, then took them off. “What?”

“Oh. Just let us know if we’re too loud over here,” Austin said.

“No, you’re good,” she said, about to slip them back in.

“Thanks,” he said. “For being cool with…” He indicated Monica and him. “Studying.”

“Oh, sure,” Gabi said, a casual smile on her face. The three of them returned to studying.

As the evening went along, at one point, Austin’s eyes shut and he closed the cover on his tablet. His usually short facial hair was a bit on the shaggy side. “Uggghh…I need a break.” He leaned back in the chair that seemed comically undersized with him in it. “So. You might need to deal with me for another year.” He got up, slowly, then took his water bottle to the sink. “I’ve got a medical redshirt. Technically, I could come back to play next year. Or I may end up going in to the draft. I was looking at maybe late 1st round and now they’re saying late 2nd or undrafted if I declare this year. But I can go back to school if no one picks me. On the one hand, it’s really depressing to be this close to getting done and then have to think about a whole ‘nother year. On the other hand…I don’t know.” He sat back down at the table with the water.

“Sorry. I know this isn’t a real problem. I’m going to have an obscenely high-paying job for one year at least. I just…you plan things a certain way, you know?”

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica nodded "I mean. I know a little something about having the rug pulled out from under me. So yeah. You plan your whole life like some things are inevitable. In your case, it's this whole going to a team NBA thing. For me it was coming here, marrying Tom. Having kids and working on cool robots together. Then.. all in a moment that was over." She sighed and put her hand on his arm "And honestly you feel super lost. because that thing that you were using to navigate the rest of your life... that one constant you could always come back to, well its gone. Then it is like what the fuck do you do, right?" She shrugged "so what will you do if it doesn't work out? go back to Indi? sell cars?"

 

[Halcyon638]

Austin’s green eyes focused on Monica’s while she spoke. “Yeah…obviously, what you went through is a lot more intense, but…it’s nice to talk to someone who understands. I don’t want to get all emo about it because, hey, still super-privileged here, but…thanks for listening.” His hand rested on top of hers as it touched his arm, though only for a moment. “Oh, hell no,” he said to the question about selling cars. “I can’t even tell you how sad it would be to go back to my hometown as a failed basketball player and just do what my dad does. I would rather be, like, a fry cook here. I don’t know. I really like political science, actually. Just…understanding our system, and other countries’ systems…I kinda want to do something with politics, but not, like, running for office. I’m writing a paper on this idea from this guy named George Lakoff called framing, which is basically about how the words we use to talk about some political debate or concept can skew things. So, you know, calling one side ‘pro-life’ instead of ‘anti-abortion.’ Like, who’s going to say, ‘yeah, I’m pro-death.’ I’m looking at framing in the War on Terror.”

A smile appeared on Austin’s face. “But I don’t know. I really should have started looking for internships or shit relating to this this summer, but that ship has sailed. So, what about you? Are you figuring out a Plan B?”

The two of them returned to studying. “Shit, remind me to get the liquor out of my bag before I go,” Austin said, referring to the supplies Monica had requested for their party on Friday. Gabi was poking around in the refrigerator, taking a break.

“So, I hear you’re like the Queen of D&D,” Austin said to Monica’s girlfriend. Gabi turned.

“Oh…I don’t know about that,” she said with hints of a shy smile. “Do you play?”

“I tried it once but couldn’t get into it,” he said, “but I think that might have just been the guy running it. He wasn’t really good at teaching it, so I didn't know what was going on half the time and it just slowed everything down.”

“Oh,” Gabi said, pushing aside a milk container. “Um…well…if you want to learn sometime, I’m…I’m kinda teaching Monica to play, and we’re going to have a group thing—a group game. Like, with our other friends. If you wanted to…”

“No, I…” Austin said. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to invite myself or anything. Monica just mentioned that you all were going to play and I was…”

“No, it’s cool. The more, the merrier!” She reached down and softly touched Monica’s shoulder. “You mind if I finish the yogurt, querida? There’s only a little left.”

 

[siobhancan99]

"no. there's not a plan b. there's a new plan A. There's a difference." she looked over at Gabi and smiled even though the girl was immersed in her music. "A plan B means whatever is like second rate. And this is shaping up to be good." She smiled and looked back to Austin "Anyway..." turning back to their studying.

As for DND...Monica wasn't so sure that she should invite Austin. There was a substantial chance that Gabi was just being nice and well, it was awkward. Maybe she was the only one who thought it was awkward, but her former fuckpiece and her current girlfriend hanging out seemed bad. It should be bad right? It didn't HAVE to be bad, but it seemed like being bad was inevitable. Either Gabi misread a moment of affection between her and Austin, or Austin gets maudlin and regretful over the breakup of their relationship as his college basketball career flops and he doesn't get drafted. Or maybe she would just be the weird one. Anyway, she wasn't exactly trying to be in the middle of all of this. But she wasn't trying not to be. "I'll talk with the group and see who is in and who is out." That was noncommittal enough.

 

[Halcyon638]

Austin smiled earnestly as Monica talked about her relationship with Gabi. “Awesome. You deserve someone great, and Gabi seems pretty great.”

Taking a break from studying and checking her phone, Monica saw that Daunte Ellis was still planning to take part in a public debate with Fiona Haigler and the incumbent DA Ron Delacourt Tuesday night. The mayor had pledged to keep the event safe, stating that certain steps had been taken to “prepare for any type of threat.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Austin said casually about the D&D talk. “I’m probably going to be buckling down pretty hard with schoolwork even after mid-terms, so my schedule might look a little crazy. But thanks,” he said, smiling at Gabi. After a bit more studying, he unloaded two bottles of vodka and a bottle of rum from his backpack. “I hope this helps make your party even better.”

“Nice—rum!” Gabi responded.

“I saw you hit that rum and Coke pretty hard back at the beach house.”

Smiling shyly, Monica’s girlfriend said, “Uggh, was I that embarrassing?”

“No, no,” Austin said. “I just have a good memory for important stuff like that, not so much formulas for, like, conservation of energy. Speaking of which…thanks, Mon. I feel like some of that stuff is sticking to my brain better. See you on Wednesday.”

After Monica and Gabi saw him out, Gabi wrapped her arms around the blonde girl’s midsection from behind, being careful with her ribs. “Hey, carino,” she said, cautiously nibbling at Monica’s ear for a moment. “How did the studying go?”

 

[siobhancan99]

"let's just say he's lucky he's pretty and has an " She started to say 'enormous cock' but thought better of it "a job waiting for him at home" she laughed and pressed back into Gabi "he's a bright guy he's just never going to be a scientist you know?" she wriggled her ass back against Gabi "unlike my sexy girlfriend, who is going to be a biologist or doctor or both." she turned and draped her arms over Gabi's shoulders "my smart, sexy girlfriend." She sucked softly on Gabi's lip. "I'm worried about this debate with that guy on the loose. But you know whose problem that officially isn't? mine. I need to go talk to that girl from the bar whose brother I saved and follow up on that lead, but i'm not doing anything dangerous. Not for a while" she brushed her nose along Gabi's "not when I can stay inside with you, Corazon"

 

[Halcyon638]

Gabi’s right hand lifted up Monica’s shirt and toyed with her navel. “Uggh, I’m not going to be either if I can’t remember this stupid coefficient of linkage disequilibrium,” she said. “Did the studying help you? You know, you don’t need to tutor him.” Her tone was light, teasing, matching her grin. “Unless you’re planning on adding ‘tutored hot guys’ to your resume or something. Under ‘Community Service.’ ” Her fingers walked their way down to the waist of Monica’s jeans. “That was sweet of him to get us dinner. And rum. Ooh--maybe put in a request for a bottle of wine next time!”

The brunette let out a soft sigh as Monica’s lips touched hers. “Good. You’re only one person—super strong and smart and badass as you might be. It was the cops’ fault that he got away, anyways.” A mischievous grin graced Gabi’s lips as she began to undo the button of Monica’s fly. “You are definitely staying in tonight. You are going to lie down in my bed and let me do all sorts of fun things to you while you rest that arm and your ribs. Sound fair?”

 

[siobhancan99]

"I think that can be arranged."

The next night, she was half listening to the debate as she sat in the sliver, waiting to see if the bartender went in or out of the bar. Or Shaun. Anyone she could talk to. She still had the girl's address, if she wasn't working tonight it might actually be better. she could head over there and spare herself a night in the sliver and away from the warm body of her girlfriend. Still she would pay attention to the debate to see if she came up, and despite telling herself she wasn't fighting the metal man again... in case she was needed to head over there. Preferably not as she was fucked up. they could use a missile or something. Surely.

 

[Halcyon638]

The debate seemed to be going off without a hitch. Before long, Monica spotted Lily Loffler stepping out of her car in the parking lot.

“I was wondering if you were going to come back,” the dark-haired woman said, sounding slightly annoyed, though whether it was because Monica hadn’t followed up with her before or because she was showing up at all was unclear. Sighing, she said, “Damon,” referring to her ex and the guy who was suspected of having carried out a hit on the Russians for the Imperial before making the poor decision of mentioning the mysterious criminal’s existence and then completely disappearing. “He’s…he’s, umm, back in town.” Loffler looked off to the side as if expecting someone to be listening in. “I don’t know where he is right now, but I know where he’s going to be in two hours. Or so. He’s been hiding out in…in, um, this community center over near Benjamin Park.”

Between her halting speech, lack of eye contact, and the discomfort in her body language, Monica had the sense that Lily might not be telling the whole (or any of the truth), though it was possible that she was worried for her own safety.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica shifted a bit "how's your brother?" She assumed that being concerned about him might make the girl open up a little more. She looked around as the girl talked, trying to see if there was anyone who might be listening in. "Has he settled into his new place alright?"

She kept her breath shallow. she really didn't want to be involved in any conflict tonight and she was sure as hell hoping this Damon wasn't going to give her any. Still that was probably too much to ask "Anything I need to know about this place? or Damon?"

 

[Halcyon638]

“He’s…um…he’s fine,” Lily said, adjusting her purse. “Yeah, he’s—he’s good.” She attempted a smile, and it appeared wildly forced.

“No, no,” Lily insisted. For a moment, Monica saw a flash of sheer terror appear in her eyes. “It’s, uh…I don’t know why he’s hiding out in there. It’s…uh…I think it’s just temporary.” The bartender was not a very good liar, or at least, not in whatever circumstances she was in.

 

[siobhancan99]

Monica winced. The only thing more painful than being beat on by a metal man was prying information out of a witness like each word was spun from pure gold. She sighed and shifted, reaching for the girl in a friendly fashion "Lily, if you don't tell me what's bothering you it's not going to be resolved. So why don't you tell me what's going on and then we can work on whatever it is?"