Participants:
| Scene Title | Wonder Woman, Jesus, Spider-Man |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Leonard reminds Helena she is none of the above. |
| Date | October 19, 2009 |
Undisclosed Phoenix Safe House
The new HQ in the Bronx is built into an equally new branch of Alley Cat Couriers. Access to the secret portions of the building is restricted to Phoenix members only - absolutely no exceptions. It's also where Helena lives - an entire wing devoted to her residence, or 'zone' as Cat likes to call it. Things have been quiet from the Phoenix leader, she's made no statements, though news did hit about Karolina's death.
Teo's gone. Just gone. Leo is furious. Add to this what went down the other night, and the post-Tetsuo psychic hangover migraine….and he's one angry redneck. He left a few little craters in the ruins, just now. But for Helena's sake, he's pasted on the appearance of calm, as he comes in. In hoodie, jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, six-pack of beer in hand.
She is not immediately evident. It may take a moment to realize this, but if he stands still long enough, he'll hear it: the sound of someone in a distant room, having a close and intimate conversation with the porcelain throne. Trying to quit even a minor morphine addiction isn't pretty, from the sound of Helena's retching.
Shoulda brought a can of broth, maybe some Gatorade. Leo winces at the sound, puts down the beer by the door, and goes clomping for her. He knocks on the frame of the bathroom door, puts his head in worriedly.
And there she is, pale and limp, eyes darkly shadowed as she blinks at the emergent red hair and self-consciously wipes at her mouth with the back of her hand. "Hi, Leo." she says in a tired but casual voice, like she's just got a little flu bug, and isn't the weather lovely outside? She remains seated on the floor. "I remember you were there." she informs him seriously. She still sounds a bit detatched, a soldier who's finally seen just a touch too much more than they can handle. Leonard may know the look, the tone.
Helena takes the hand, curling her fingers around his and hauling herself to her feet. "This will pass soon." she notes. "I keep telling myself it will. I mean, it's not like they were shooting me up with full doses. Hang on a sec." She leans against the bathroom counter, turning on the faucet and reaching for mouthwash. As she pours some into the cap, she says quietly. "Thank you for coming for me. I need to thank everyone, really."
"Same as it ever was, darlin'. No man left behind," Leo's tone is matter of fact. "I'm sorry about all of it. Most of all, sorry what happened in the vault. I wish we'd been faster."
"The vault?" It takes her a second. "He was crazy." she says. "And he was one of us. Dad used to be so good at selling cars, and now I know why. Projective empath." She sips some mouthwashes and swishes, spitting it out in the sink, leaning against it tiredly. "I didn't think anything could scare me as bad as Verse."
Leonard lays a hand, tenderly, on the middle of her back, between her shoulderblades. "Yeah. Me, neither," he says, quietly.
Helena crinkles her brow at him, and then beckons out to her living area. "I keep waiting to feel things." she says. "I mean, I kind of expect to be falling apart - is that beer? I'm not thirsty, but you should have some, you brought it."
"Don't worry about it. A thought on my part that wasn't all that well-advised," Leo says, as he pulls her to him. "And you're at least partially in shock, as well as dealing with the aftermath of physical addiction."
More hugging. Helena rests her head on his shoulder, but doesn't seem to sink into it. She's just placing herself where she knows she's supposed to be. "Have you heard from Teo?" she asks. "I feel so awful. Karolina is dead, because she helped you all come for me. I wonder if McRae is going to say it's my fault."
Leonard tries really hard not to freeze at the mention of Teo. He only partially succeeds. "No, can't say I have," he says, very gentle. He strokes her hair, pets the line of her back. "No, it wasn't. It was theirs. Humanis First. Don't pick up anymore guilt than you gotta."
"He was mad at me." Helena observes with detatched thoughtfulness. "I saw him in the bus, not too long ago. I made him angry. Is that why he wasn't there?"
Leonard tries to steer her away from the bathroom, towards somewhere more comfortable to sit. "No. I don't know what's up with him," Leo says, bleakly. "And I intend to find out."
Helena tugs Leo over to the bed, sits down on it. "What if he doesn't want to be found?" she asks reasonably, then, in sullen observation, "People who love you wouldn't want to run away from you, would they. Not really."
"Then he can fucking say so to my face," Leo says, as he sits by her, scowling. "But no, he doesn't love me. However, that doesn't mean he gets to run off scott free."
Helena puts her head back on his chest, but again, it just seems more like someplace to put herself. "I think he thinks we're stupid." she announces after a moment. "Maybe we are. I don't know."
She can feel him sigh - he smells of that fancy soap he always uses, as well as detergent and gun oil. "I don't know what in hell's wrong with him. I don't."
A smile summons, very faint, but it's a shade closer to genuine than before. "Men are jerks." she declares. "I'd follow this up with ice cream, except I've got the chills."
"Men are jerks," Leo agrees, without a moment's hesitation. "You need to sleep, or you feel up to taking some kind of liquid food?" Presumably, he doesn't mean the beer.
"There's soup." Helena says, perking a little. "I wouldn't mind some broth. I'll try to keep it down." She lifts her head, scooting so she sits up straight. "Have you ever tried Refrain?"
Leonard nods. "You'll need the salt," he affirms, heading for what passes for a kitchenette. And then he peers at her. "No," he says, flatly. "I think I got enough problems without drug addiction."
"My dad gave me a dose. I mean, he you know…he injected me." Helena says, looking away. "The memory was a good one. I don't find myself wanting more, but that's because I don't have it in front of me. I don't know what's going to happen if I come into contact with some. It was a really good memory, and it made me happy and feel safe."
Leonard is rattling around in the kichen, making more noise than is strictly necessary, really. He doesn't know what to say to that, at least at first. "I wonder why he'd do that?" he says, as he puts the soup in the microwave to heat.
"I don't know." Helena's tone is still a little drifted, but she's speaking directly, so that's helpful. "To addict me? To keep me docile while they moved Wendy? He said something…" she frowns a little bit. "It's hard to remember. It'll come to me, I guess." Her gaze goes sidelong, not that he can see it from the kitchen. "I want to feel happy and safe."
"Who doesn't?" Leo says, punching buttons, and trying not to break something. "s why the stuff is so damn powerful. Don't strain yourself."
"I won't." Helena shivers a bit, moving out to sit in a spot that's closer to the kitchen, where she can sit at an angle to watch him and curls up to try and conserve her heat. "I don't know what else to talk about." she confesses. "I should say something to people. Thank them. Shouldn't I?"
Leonard nods, as he brings out the mug of soup. "Yeah. When you can," he says, simply. "Don't push things. That's a fuckload of psychic trauma to be carrying, and when you've acquired it in less than a year…."
Helena reaches out for the soup eagerly, in an almost overly greedy fashion, but doesn't just start chugging. She cradles it gently, savoring the warmth in her hands, and blows across the top. "I'm supposed to be stronger than that." she says. Careful, measured sips. No gulping.
Leonard arches a brow. "I'm sorry, were you created on Themyscira by the Greek gods? Born of a virgin in Bethlehem? Bitten by a radioactive spider? No? None of the above. Sounds like you're purely human to me," Leo notes. "Listen. We both did jail time in fucking mutant gitmo and got our cerebrums raped. We've been fighting an insurgent war against both the government and crazed genocidiares. I missed the part where we got told about the benefits and the paid vacation. Take all the time you need, and don't try to live up to anyone's myth."
Helena almost sputters soup at those first bits. Setting down the soup, she puts her hand to her mouth as she listens, nodding and then beginning to giggle. Wonder Woman? Jesus? Spider-Man? The giggle has a sharp edge, and sounds discordant, and pretty soon, it's something the very opposite of giggling.
Which is….something. Something not merely numbness. Leo settles beside her, puts his arms around her.