Lucy had been drifting in and out of memories, at times having lucid thoughts and wondering when she would wake up, and at other times not knowing if they were memories or dreams and if they were hers or if they belonged to someone else. She was remembering things that she did not want to remember, feeling the pain of those memories as acutely as if they were happening to her for the first time.
When she opened her eyes and saw a man leaning over her with brown eyes, stubble on his chin, and one dimple on his left cheek, all the fear, pain, and anger at what she had just experienced rushed into her with a force that bypassed all reasonable thought, and she simply reacted. Every ounce of her will went into shoving the memory of that day away from her, wanting to blow it away with her powers as though it had never existed at all. That was the moment when she had felt the most alone in her life: waking up, unable to remember who she was, and having no one there to comfort her, or to explain what had happened, or to tell her that everything was going to be all right.
Lucy remembered wandering from that clearing in a daze, walking nowhere in particular until she stumbled down a busy street and into a 7-Eleven, where an older girl—maybe sixteen—made eye contact with her by accident. It happened easily after that: her connection to others through eye contact. She skipped from person to person, becoming like a second version of each person, doing and saying whatever would make them happy, always knowing exactly what that would be, until she had more of other people inside of her than she did of herself.
The noise was almost deafening around her, but a new sound broke through the rushing wind and reached Lucy at its epicenter. "Remember something happy!" a familiar voice yelled above the wind. For a moment Lucy thought she was going to be swept up in the storm herself; the emotions that raged within her and the power that they brought were so blindingly intense that she wasn't sure she could focus on something happy. But then she heard the voice again—this time it sounded close by—and for some reason she felt sure that whoever spoke was someone she trusted.
The wind stopped abruptly, and Lucy stood in the familiar kitchen of her mother's mobile home with its brown wood paneling and cheap appliances. She was eighteen in this memory, and she stood in the ugly kitchen alone. After breaking away from a petty thief who had led her to a brief stint in minor crimes, Lucy had had a rare moment of lucid thought, and she remembered her mother and the old run-down home she had grown up in. So she snuck her way home, expecting to find her mother, expecting to hate coming back—though she couldn't remember why. But the house had been empty, and even after a few nights of waiting, her mother did not come home.
It took a while before Lucy was able to relax, and when she finally did, it felt as if it was for the first time in years. She stood in the familiar kitchen when it happened: a thought popped into her head that made her heart skip a beat. I want some coffee. That was all it had been, but the fact that it had been solely about what she wanted took her by surprise—delighted her, in fact.
Searching through the cupboards cautiously, she found an old Christmas mug and a container of instant coffee, which she opened and poured into the mug, adding hot water and stirring slowly. One sip of the coffee told her it was too bitter. She liked it and she hated it all at once, which felt like a contradiction. She had had coffee before, of course, but only because her powers forced her to feel and experience someone else's love of coffee. It was different this time, and Lucy felt a jolt of excitement and giddiness at finding something she liked. Or hated. She still wasn't sure.
"You might like it more if you add sugar and milk?"
Lucy jumped, knocking over the cup and spilling the coffee that she had been stirring over and over. She looked up from the mess and into familiar brown eyes.
"I didn't mean to startle you," the man said gently, walking around the countertop to where Lucy stood, which made her back away suddenly. He stopped and put up his hands in surrender. "I'm not going to touch you, I promise. I just wanted to fix your coffee. May I?" he asked. After a pause, Lucy nodded.
The man cleaned up the mess and found a fresh mug, pouring hot water over the instant coffee grounds and then stirring before searching the cupboards and refrigerator for cream and sugar. He found some, poured them into the mug, stirred again, and handed it to Lucy, who took it slowly and then sipped it suspiciously. The bitterness was almost gone; it was sweet and creamy with a nice coffee aftertaste. It was delicious, and Lucy felt a warmth go down to her toes that wasn't just from the taste of the coffee.
"Who are you?" she asked the man, taking another sip.
"Tony," he replied, smiling at her enjoyment of the coffee. "Do you remember me?"
"You seem familiar, but I don't remember why," she replied from behind the cup.
"You've been through a lot. You hit your head pretty hard. More than once, actually," he said with a frown.
"Hmmm…" was all she said in reply, focusing instead on the cup in her hands.
"Is this your happy memory?" he asked, a strange look on his face.
Lucy nodded, downing her cup with a sigh. "It's the first time I had coffee—the first time I really tasted it," she said.
"Well, if you enjoyed that cup, then you should wake up. I think we can make you a cup that would blow that one out of the water," he said.
"Wake up?" she asked, looking confused.
"You've been asleep for a few hours now. Like I said, you hit your head pretty hard, but your head should be healed now. You just need to wake up," he replied.
"No, that doesn't make sense. I've been here in my mother's house for a few days. I'm drinking coffee and… and…" Lucy backed away, shaking her head and looking scared and confused. She was about to turn and run out the door, but then the man named Tony grabbed her wrists gently and turned her back to him.
"Wait," he said, forcing her to face him and lifting her chin so she had to look him in the eyes.
"Why doesn't anything happen when you look in my eyes?" she asked him, feeling uncomfortable but not turning away.
"I don't know. Might be because my power lets me see through deception. I can see if you really don't like something or if you say you like it but you don't," he said, not letting go of her wrists as though he was still worried she would run.
"What if I don't want to wake up?" she asked, unable to stop tears from stinging her eyes.
"I know things haven't been great," he said, gently squeezing her wrists, "but I promise we will help you. We will figure out your powers and teach you how to control them so you never have to drink another cup of coffee again unless you really want to."
"What's going to stop me from bonding with you when I wake up?" she asked, now letting tears flow freely down her cheeks.
"Since your magic doesn't seem to work on me, I'll keep you safe. I'll make sure you don't, uh… don't get lost again," he said.
Tony's words felt familiar to Lucy, as though she had heard something similar before, but she pushed the thought away, feeling the unfamiliar tug of intuition telling her to trust him. Then she removed her wrists from his grasp so she could wipe her face with her sleeves before saying, "OK, I'm ready."
…
Lucy opened her eyes and found two men leaning over her, their heads close together, staring down at her with eyes wide and expectant. When she screamed in surprise, they jumped and hit their heads together with a loud thump.
"Hahaha!" a female voice laughed behind them. "You guys just made a sound like two coconuts ramming together!"
"It's not that funny, Daisy!" Tony said, rubbing his head. Then, turning to Lucy, he said, "Are you OK?"
Lucy had stopped screaming as soon as she had seen Daisy, and the memories of the past two days came flooding back into her like a tidal wave of trauma and fear. What had happened to her? Was she hit by a car? Attacked by shadows? Chased by witches? These thoughts ran through her mind as she tried to sit up on the couch and realized—and also remembered—that her arm was severely broken and in a cast.
"Here, let me help you," a handsome man said, who looked older than Tony but not so old as to be out of his prime, as he helped her into a sitting position. Lucy felt dizzy for a moment as the blood rushed out of her head and the room came into focus. She was in some kind of large, industrial-looking room full of furniture, computers, and a little kitchenette. There was a table with books strewn all over it, and a green-haired man sat at a wall of computers typing on a keyboard.
"We haven't officially met, but my name is Maverick," the man said, holding out a mechanical hand for her to shake. Lucy did shake it, feeling its cold metallic skin against hers, and looked up into Maverick's eyes. They were blue and kind, and she felt a sense of relief wash over her—then a dizziness and a powerful tug that threatened to form a bond between them.
"Careful, Mav!" Tony yelled, pulling Maverick back and standing between them. "She can't control her powers, remember?"
Maverick shook his head as if to clear it. Lucy looked away from him and at the floor, feeling ashamed. She closed her eyes and took slow breaths while repeating to herself, "My name is Lucy and I like coffee," over and over until the dizziness subsided and the familiar tugging sensation went away—mostly.
"I'm sorry, Lucy," Maverick said, sitting down in a chair and intentionally not looking in her direction as he spoke. "That was careless of me."
Lucy nodded, also not looking in his direction but down at her lap instead. Then, realizing he couldn't see her, she said quietly, "It's OK."
"How is this going to work?" Daisy said to Maverick. "If she can't even look up?"
"How did you manage to get her here without bonding with her?" Maverick asked the other two in surprise, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"She was on drugs from the hospital," Daisy said. "She was doped up. I guess it dulls the effect of her powers and makes her less susceptible or something."
"We can't give her drugs, Daisy!" Tony said angrily.
"I wasn't saying we should," Daisy replied defensively.
Lucy just sat on the couch, cradling her broken arm and looking at nothing in particular on the floor. She felt her powers buzzing within her; with this many people in the room, it was like something inside of her longed to reach out and connect, and the closest things to connect to were the people in this room. The others were still arguing as Lucy closed her eyes and mumbled over and over to herself, "My name is Lucy and I love coffee, my name is Lucy and I love coffee."
"Guys! I think something's wrong with Lucy," Daisy said suddenly.
"Lucy? What's wrong?" She could hear Tony's voice, but she didn't open her eyes.
"I don't know. I can feel my power reaching for you all. Like it's stronger or something. I'm afraid I might bond with one of you without looking in your eyes," Lucy said. She said this last part with a shudder and had to resist the urge to get up and run.
"OK, OK. Don't panic. Everything is going to be all right. Why don't just you and I go to another room, OK?" Tony said, crouching down in front of her so they were face to face. Lucy opened her eyes and found that she was looking directly into his deep brown ones. She felt no tug, no response from her power.
"Interesting…" Maverick's voice said.
"Well, that's helpful at least," Daisy said. "Show her where the shower is and see if you can scrounge up some emergency clothes that might fit her."
"Good idea. While you do that, Daisy and I will think of a plan," Maverick added.
Tony took Lucy's hand and helped her stand, making sure he stood between her and the others. Together they left the large living area and walked to the back of the bunker, where a series of doors were. Lucy's legs were wobbly, but Tony held her up with his strong arms, not letting her falter. "Still getting your sea legs?" he asked.
"I think I'm hungry," she replied apologetically.
"Ah, you mentioned hunger before, after the hospital," he said. "Do you remember everything that happened after you got hit by the car?"
"Yes, I do. It's all very vivid—more vivid than anything has been in a long time," she said as he opened the first door and led her into a small room with a few chairs and a twin bed. There was another door inside that opened into a bathroom with a standing shower. Tony bustled around her as he spoke, turning the knobs in the shower and carefully checking the water's temperature until it was just right.
"Do you remember everything you dreamt while you were asleep? Do you remember me or Maverick?"
Lucy thought for a moment, enjoying the calmness of simply talking honestly with someone, and then said, "Sort of. I remember you. I remember standing in my old kitchen drinking coffee and you showing up. The rest is a bit hazy."
Tony nodded and then carefully opened several bottles of different kinds of liquid soaps that Lucy could smell from where she stood. One smelled like peaches, another like mangoes, and the third one smelled oddly like rain.
"I figured it would be hard to open them one-handed," he said by way of explanation.
Suddenly a hand—and then an arm—stuck into the small bathroom holding a plastic bag and a roll of duct tape. Then Daisy's voice came from behind the door: "Tape her arm so she doesn't ruin her cast."
"Thanks, Daze," Tony said gratefully, taking the items from her hand. Then he proceeded to wrap Lucy's cast in plastic, taping it more times than was probably necessary to make sure it didn't leak.
"OK," he said finally, tearing off the last piece of duct tape with his teeth, "there's no way this bad boy will leak now."
Lucy smiled shyly, feeling the unusual sensation of being with someone who didn't want anything from her. Leaning in so close she could smell his cologne as he moved around her, she found he felt familiar—more familiar than he should, considering the short time in which they had known each other. There was a comfort and an ease in the way he worked with her that made her feel like she could relax.
"Do you think you can do the rest yourself?" he asked uncertainly.
"Yes," Lucy replied with a blush, then added, "I'll be fine."
Tony nodded and then left the room, pausing at the door to say, "When you're done, there will be food, I promise," with a wink before leaving and closing the door behind him.
Lucy stood taking in the moment. She watched the steam pouring out from behind the curtain of the shower as it fogged up the small mirror on the wall and surrounded her like a warm hug. The last time she had been fully present to enjoy a shower had been when she had gone back to her mother's mobile home and lived alone for a few weeks.
She removed her clothes without hesitation, struggling a little with her pants but managing to finagle her way—one-handed—out of them. She tossed the grimy things in a corner, choosing not to notice the bloodstains, holes, and dirt that covered them, and instead stepped into the hot water and closed her eyes with a sigh.