"How's super-bitch?" Yolanda asked when Clint walked into the apartment, watching Fuse struggle with a soda can.
He sighed and shook his head. "Halo's doing better. How's your everything?"
Yolanda rolled her eyes, snatching the can out of Fuse's hand and pulling the tab before handing it back to him. "Been a few days. Becca working some spy magic to convince her to join our side? With this one the way he is, having her around'll certainly make life easier."
Clint laughed. "Don't let Lin hear you say that. You know how defensive she is about him."
Fuse smiled at Yolanda, then at Clint before sitting down at the table and sipping at the drink.
"I hate seeing him like that." She sighed.
Clint dropped onto the couch. "At least he isn't afraid of you anymore. As for Halo, we're not trying to convince her of anything. Making her feel safe is kind of the priority right now."
"None of us are safe, though."
"Be that as it may..." He said firmly. "God only knows what it was like for her with that thing in her head."
"The doc have any theories? About what it was doing in there?" She asked, pulling the tab on another can and walking over to the recliner.
"Only that it upped her aggression. Whether it was meant to drive her insane or not is up in the air."
She nodded idly, then took a drink. "Is she stable or is there a chance she could flip shit on us again?"
"It's hard to say." He sighed, resting his head on the back on the couch. "I don't think we need to worry about her attacking us, but she's pretty fragile. Maybe more than he was at first."
"Alice." Fuse said confidently.
Yolanda leaned back in the chair and looked at him. "What's that?"
"Halo isn't her name. It's Alice." He repeated, staring at his can.
"You remember anything else?" Clint asked, sitting up straighter.
Fuse shook his head quickly, grabbing his can and walking from the room. Clint rose to follow him, but Yolanda's foot pressed against his chest and she shook her head slowly, narrowing her eyes at him.
"But-"
"But nothing. Leave him alone." She said sharply, then got up from the chair and handed him the can. "I'm going to talk to Lin. If he remembered that, maybe he mentioned something to her. You are going to leave him alone until I get back."
She picked up her sandals and headed for the door, turning and giving him one final sharp look. "I mean it, spy. Leave him be."
"For the last time, I'm not a spy and is this the last one?" He asked, holding the can up.
"I'll pick up more on my way back." She said, pulling the door closed behind her.
He stared at it. "It's nearly empty, though."
~
"That our new armor?" Yolanda asked, pointing to the parts on the table.
"No." Lin said. "I rebuilt the same armor I made for Kuro so I had a baseline for the new ones."
"I think I would've found a way to be happy with what he had." She said, grinning.
"I can make it better now." The teen replied as she worked. "I know what I did wrong."
"That makes one of us. Where's Eve?"
"In here." Came the muffled reply from in front of Lin.
"Good, look, me and Clint talked to Fuse a little and... I think he's remembering things." She said quickly, getting it out there before she lost her nerve. "I was wondering if he's said anything to you or mentioned something that was out of the ordinary for where he's at mentally right now?"
Lin tapped a panel and Eve was able to sit up. She pulled the helmet off and sighed. "Is this a concern for Fuse or for if he remembers who he is and decides not to be Fuse anymore?"
"It's a general concern." Yolanda patted Lin's head. "Sorry, kid, I'm not trying to be a downer, but-."
"I understand." She said with a sigh. "Everyone thinks they know him, and everyone else is afraid of what he does or might do unless he's doing it for them. But right now, he's like me. He doesn't know who he is and it makes him so sad that everyone treats him like this person that he doesn't even know."
Eve gave her a sad look. "Lin-"
"They gave me that name, you know. Those people who locked me up in the lab to build or fix or invent things for them. It's the only thing I knew how to do and I don't even know how I know to do it. I knew nothing before Kuro rescued me. He had to explain how a bathtub worked. And I was so amazed with him just knowing how to survive. Let alone understand so many things that so many take for granted." She smiled sadly at the thought. "It hasn't been that long, but it feels like a lifetime. And I'm still learning about myself and the world. But the last few days, I've learned what it was like for him with me. He's not the Fuse I met, or the Fuse you all know, but the least we can do is let him figure out who he is without treating him like he's someone else."
"You're right." Yolanda said, looking at Eve. "But we have to prepare ourselves for if he-"
"He'll be alright. Just trust him." She murmured, picking up a probe. "We should get back to work, now."
The two women shared a look before Eve pulled the helmet on and laid back down. Yolanda leaned against a table and watched for nearly an hour before excusing herself to head back upstairs, stopping to pick up more of the canned drink on her way.
When she entered the apartment, she was shocked to see the blonde sitting on the sofa. Clint and Rebecca blinked when she walked past, seemingly engrossed in whatever was being discussed before her interruption.
"That bad, huh?" She muttered, setting the drinks on the counter. "Where's Fuse?"
She saw Halo tense, but Clint jerked his thumb toward a door. "Still in the room."
"He's scared." Rebecca added
"Really? He didn't seem scared earlier. What happened?"
This time it was Halo who replied, her hands moving in the flow of the Universal Sign Language the GA developed.
"He's scared of you? In that case, give him a few days and you'll be best friends when he remembers who you are." She said dismissively.
"Wouldn't bet on it. It's because he remembers her that he's scared." Clint said, eyeing the drinks. "Those are the wrong flavor."
"I bought them this time, I get to pick the flavor." She said sharply. "Well, best not to push things. Lin said some stuff that made sense. Scolded us, really. But she also said that we should trust him. Not that we should be afraid of Miss Rocket-Punch, there, but... you know what I mean."
They nodded and Halo looked concerned, but kept her hands in her lap.
"I miss anything else? Anything not concerning Fuse?" She asked, finding it hard not to enjoy seeing the girl tense when his name was said.
"Apparently trust is a hard thing to come by among their group." Clint started, taking the can she offered him. "One of them, Tim, went AWOL shortly after he woke up. Which is why they woke her. And along with that thing they put in her head, there seems to have been some kind of... mind control."
"Huh?"
"We don't really get it either, but that Rinku guy can apparently control others somehow. And made it to where she couldn't attack anyone other than who she was specifically told to go after. Near as we can figure, it worked in tandem to basically cripple her with pain if she tried. That included attacking herself, as well." He said, pulled the tab and frowning before taking a drink.
"Jesus, they kept you from killing yourself?" Yolanda blurted.
Rebecca made a sharp sound of admonishment, but Halo was already replying.
"They kept you from thinking too much because that's what led you to killing yourself." Yolanda interpreted. "But are you still, you know, programmed?"
"Removing that device seemed to break the control over her. There's still lingering effects, but she can ignore them now." Rebecca said, taking the can from Clint. "God, this is awful."
"I like it." She quipped. "Lingering effects like flinching every time I say Fuse's name?"
"Yes, so we've been avoiding using his name."
"What about the orders to kill my family?" She asked flippantly. "Who am I supposed to be angry with? You all for not telling me and having to find out while I was lying in a fucking hospital bed? Her for doing it? Or the one who issued the order?"
Clint looked over at her quickly. "Yolanda-"
"Oh, was I not supposed to find out about that? Or talk about it ever? No, it's fine. I get it. She wasn't in control of herself. But I want to know who made the call so I know who to kill." She said, glaring hard at Halo. "Give me a name, kid."
"Caspar." Rebecca said.
"I want her to tell me."
Halo flinched, but moved her hands before dropping them back in her lap. Yolanda closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before grabbing two cans and walking toward a room.
"I'll be with Fuse if you need me." She said, pressing a button and walking through the door, leaning against it once it closed. "Fuck."
"I'm sorry." Fuse's voice said from the other side of the bed.
"I'm not mad at you, kid." She said, circling around to see him on the floor curled into a ball holding his head and crying. "Jesus, are you okay?"
"They won't stop!" He whined quietly. "I don't want to remember the bad things, but they won't stop!"
She tossed the cans onto the bed and lay down next to him, working her arms around his chest. "I don't like remembering the bad things either."
He turned in her arms and pressed himself against her chest, still sobbing quietly.
"I'm scared." Came a quiet whimper after a few minutes.
"It's okay to be scared." She said gently, rubbing his back. "I'm scared all the time. In fact, I don't think I've been more scared in my life than I've been the last few weeks. But it's how we handle being scared that matters. I get angry when I'm scared. Eve fights harder. Clint and Becca try to understand what they're afraid of, so they don't have to be scared of it."
"What did I do?" He asked shakily. "When I was-"
"You? You..." She sighed and rubbed his back. "You faced everything down without hesitation. You always knew the right thing to do in any situation and didn't let something like fear get in your way."
"I think I'm scared the most of myself." His voice was breaking and he began to shake. "I don't want to be him again."
She pulled the teen closer to her and held onto him tightly. "We've been treating you like him since you woke up. That's what Lin told me. But here's the deal, kid, you don't have to be him, okay? And you don't have to be afraid of his memories because we'll make new ones. Happier ones. Lin likes it when you're happy right?"
He nodded and she patted his head before separating from him and looking into his eyes. "I know you'll figure it out. But I don't want to lie to you, we've got a lot of bad things happening all around us right now. And you might not be him, but we desperately need him. So if you can find a way to stay you, but be him at the same time..." She sighed. "It's selfish of us to rely so much on you, Fuse. I'm sorry."
"He was alone, so he had to be strong. Stronger than anyone. But I'm not alone. I have you. And Lin. And everyone else. If he comes back, I might lose all of you. And it'll be because he doesn't want you to get hurt for him." He said, sniffling. "I don't want you to get hurt either, but I don't want to be alone."
"That's why I know you'll figure it out. You're you, but you're still him, too. And he always figures it out." She smiled at him. "Besides, I don't think he likes me too much. But you do. And I don't have many friends, either."
He laughed. "You're scary, but you've always been nice to me."
"There you have it. So figure it out, kid. But if it gets too scary and Lin's not here, come find me."
"I'll figure it out." He said, but his expression was still unsure.
The door opened. "Yolanda?"
She disentangled herself from Fuse and sat up, seeing Clint in the doorway. "What is it?"
"We need you out here. Something's happening."
Nodding, she grabbed one of the cans off the bed and handed it to the teen. "You remember how to open it?"
"I'll figure it out." He said, more confidently this time.
She smiled at him. "Good."
~
"Guess Caspar isn't wasting anymore time." Tim said looking up. "Or Rinku isn't."
Veronica sighed and holstered her weapon. "I don't recognize those. They must be Rinku's."
"Well, we're about six hours out from the Spire." He muttered. "And we're already burning the engines up pushing this hard."
"Can your rifle hit one of those?" She asked, shielding her eyes.
"I can hit one, sure. But at this distance, it'd be like throwing a pebble at this thing."
"And once again, God shits in my breakfast." She grumbled angrily, walking into the cabin and throwing herself onto the bench.
Tim continued looking up, seeing standard transports mixed into the unknown models. "You should've just run away."
~
Erik nodded to Yolanda as she entered the room and dropped onto the arm of the chair next to Rebecca. Once Clint sat down, the older man clapped his hands together gently. "It would appear that your enemies are making the first move. As we speak, a large collection of transports and ships we don't recognize are heading for us and will arrive within the hour."
"The armors aren't done yet. The only working one is Fuse's prototype." Eve said. "And even it isn't complete. Lin dismantled the helmet, so it doesn't have any system management."
"I'm afraid that this is out of your hands. The council have asked me to tell you that you're not to engage with the enemy. No matter who it is."
"What about self-defense?" Yolanda asked. "If they break through whatever lines you've got and come for us, are we not allowed to defend ourselves?"
"Of course you are, but not if you wish to remain within the borders of The Spire." He replied. "I tried to make them see reason, but they can do nothing but see your presence as the reason for this attack. And while you're here and under my protection, my authority is apparently not all-encompassing."
"Blame the attack on the outsiders, then wait for them to prove the assertion correct. Good misinformation tactic." Rebecca said bitterly.
"Almost like they wrote your playbook, isn't it?" Yolanda muttered, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"So, we can't fight without becoming enemies of the state." Clint sighed. "If we can't fight, then we should run. Get out of the Spire. Maybe that'll help curb hostilities, if we make it obvious enough."
"Ah." Erik said gravely. "Unfortunately, a declaration of war from Rodinia has already been issued. Nothing will stop what's coming, but you're right about getting out. I've arranged transport to take you to Echelon's satellite. From there, you'll be sent back to Rodinia Proxima to fight on your own front."
Rebecca opened her mouth to argue, but Clint made a gesture to cut her off. "He's right. We can't do anything here, even if we could fight. We've got to stop them directly. That's the only way to end this."
"What about them?" Yolanda asked, gesturing at the two teens in the room. "We're making decisions about what to do to fight in a war, but what about them? We can't just drag them along with us and demand that they help fight."
Alice signed quickly, but Yolanda shook her head. "It's not your war. It's not even ours. We're just taking responsibility. And I'm against using kids, which is what you three are."
"We can table this for when we have to make an actual plan, but they're safer with us than on their own. Can we agree on that for now?" Clint asked.
"We can." She spat. "But I'm still going to be against it when that time comes, Roberts. And I'm aware of your tricks, so don't bother trying them on me."
His expression hardened. "You only know what I've shown you, Cruz."
"Shooting your gun, getting your ass kicked, and manipulating people. Think I've pretty much got it covered, spy."
"Stop it." Eve snapped. "I don't want them to fight either, but I won't stand in their way if it's their choice. They have a say in their lives, don't they?"
Yolanda rounded on her, but sighed when she saw Lin looking at the door to their bedroom. "I'll drop it for now." She grumbled, walking over to the kitchen. "Sorry, Clint."
"It's fine." He said quietly. "For what it's worth, I'm on your side."
"How soon can we leave?" Rebecca asked.
Erik stood up. "As soon as you're ready. Shuttles can only move three at a time, though. So we should go quickly. Before the attacks start."
"I'll go get Kuro." Lin said tightly, getting up and walking quickly into the room.
"We should talk about teams real quick." Eve said. "There's an odd number of us, so someone's traveling alone."
"I'll take the solo flight." Clint said. "Eve, you're still injured, so... Bex, you, and Alice."
"I'm not leaving Lin." She said adamantly.
"And we can't separate her from him." Rebecca stood up. "It's prudent. Yolanda's in better shape than you are and she's got a rapport with Kurokawa, which is really important right now. You still can't move without being in pain and I'm not a soldier, but if Alice doesn't mind being the muscle..."
The teen shook her head and gave a thumbs up.
"I don't agree with this." She murmured.
"I'll keep her safe." Yolanda said, giving Eve a firm look. "If something happens or doesn't go to plan, I'll keep her safe. You've got my word."
"It's settled, then. We head out in five." Clint said, getting up from the couch. "I'll let them know."
"I've got the first shuttle prepped and ready." Erik said, placing a comm back into his jacket.
~
"It's okay, Kuro." Lin said, pulling on the much larger teen's arm. "We're nearly there."
There was a high pitched scream then an explosion far above their heads as one of the transports slammed into a building. Fuse whimpered and tried to pull away from Lin, but she held onto him tightly.
Yolanda shoved him forward. "The longer we're out here, the more danger she's in! Get moving!"
Lin glared up at the woman, but Fuse started walking once more as explosions continued to echo in the distance. It took them nearly an hour to make it to the hidden dock where Lin finally froze up staring fearfully at the shuttle.
"Your turn." Yolanda said, nudging the girl more gently. "You can have a panic attack once we're in the air, okay?"
The teen nodded as Erik pulled the comm out of his pocket once more. "They're readying the next shuttle. Let's get the first group aboard."
"Us first. The longer we wait, the harder it'll be to move them." Yolanda said, shepherding the teens forward.
Clint nodded. "See you up there shortly."
"Copy that, boss." She said with a smirk as Fuse and Lin climbed the steps up into the cabin.
"Smartass."
"This whole thing is your plan." Eve said as the hatch closed behind Yolanda.
He shook his head. "We've all had an equal hand in it."
"That's not true." Rebecca said. "We've all contributed, but you've been taking point since- DOWN!"
The shuttle launched just as a transport crashed down onto the launchpad. The explosion threw them all through the air. Clint heard Eve screaming in pain and ran over to where she was impaled on a bar sticking out from the ground.
"Alright, good news, Eve. I'm pretty sure you missed the important stuff." He panted as she grabbed onto his jacket tightly. "BEX!?"
"Over here!" She called back. "I'm fine!"
"Can you make it to us!?"
"No!" She shouted. "I have to find another way around! There's a hole!"
"Fuck!" He hissed. "What about Carthage and Alice!?"
"No sign! But there's a lot of debris! They might've gotten trapped!"
"Alright! Eve's injured pretty bad! I've got to find her some aid so we can't hold position!"
"Understood!" She shouted back. "Don't die!"
"Was just gonna say the same to you!" He focused back on Eve. "Alright, what do you want me to do? Leave you or pull you off?"
"Pull me off. We need to stay mobile. Use your jacket as a tourniquet. Tie it as tightly around the wound as you can." She said, closing her eye and taking a breath. "Feels like my ribs are really messed up in there, so if you could made it a clean pull, I'd really appreciate it."
He pulled off his jacket and draped it over his shoulder before bracing himself against the debris and grabbing her around the waist. "Alright, on three I'm gonna pull your straight up. Ready?"
She nodded and before he started to count, he lifted her off the pipe. Her scream echoed through the haze as he let the jacket fall from his shoulder before setting her down on it, then knelt down to tie it off.
"Thought we were going on three." She moaned weakly.
"You were gonna scream either way, so..." He said, grinning as he worked. "Alright, done."
"Thank you." She whispered. "I think I'm going to pass out now."
"I've got you, Eve. Just rest."
"Lin..." She murmured, her eyes rolling as she slipped into unconsciousness.
"Yeah." He said, looking up. "Not sure how many miracles we have left if they made it."