(shorter chapter)
The Plane — Somewhere Over the Pacific
Eri watched the sunset until it finally faded and the window became dark glass, showing only her own reflection staring back at her.
Her eyes then moved to the man in the aisle seat.
He was on his phone but he noticed her looking at him almost immediately.
He put the phone down and met her gaze.
Eri felt her fear rise again and the instinct to pull to look away, to make herself smaller, tand hide as best she could, then she remembered what the man in front of her told her when she was scared during their first meeting.
"Best learn to hide that"
She took a slow breath and closed her eyes for one second before looking up.
She held his gaze as best she could.
"Why did you take me?" she asked quietly. "From Overhaul..?"
"Because I think you can help us," he said.
Her hand moved automatically to her arm, pressing down on the bandages beneath her sleeve.
Crane noticed.
"Not like that," he said. "I mean heal others and save people."
Eri looked up at him.
"Your Quirk can undo damage," he continued. "You can help keep us healed but the main reason is there's someone who's been sick for a long time and I think you might be the only one who can save her."
"Really…?"
He nodded once, though this was mostly true he did want to use her blood for the bullets and something else but knew that doing it too early would lose any trust she had in them.
Eri looked back down at her hands and she remembered her father and how her mother abandoned her after she made him disappear in an accident.
"I can't control it," she whispered.
"I know, but-" Crane said.
"I'm ready to help you with that, as best I can."
She looked at him again.
"You remind me of myself," he said. "When I was young." He glanced briefly up the plane at the others further up away from them. "Actually, most of the people on this plane probably feel the same way, you won't feel out of place here."
Eri thought about the two heroes she thought could save her and about how tightly the green one had held her in that alley, like he would save her at all costs.
"Do they know I'm okay?" she asked. "The heroes."
Crane was quiet for a moment.
"You shouldn't worry about them anymore," he said.
"They didn't save you," he continued, voice even. "I did"
Eri looked down, she remembered the alley, and how the blonde hero seemed to be trying to be nice to Overhaul and didn't try to help as much as the green one did; he didnt even say anything when she left with him.
"Heros really only care about themselves," Crane said. "About their rankings, which villains they stopped, or even-." He paused. "They'll move on to the next thing that keeps them popular, that's what they do."
Eri tensed.
"Really…?"
She kept remembering the green hero not wanting to let her go in that alley but then he did after the blonde one convinced him.
She still didn't fully understand why.
Crane looked at her.
"My mother is a hero," he said.
Eri looked up sharply, surprised.
"She abandoned me," he continued. "Almost immediately after I was born and left me with someone who didn't want me"
Eri looked down.
"I was hurt for a long time," he said, "and afraid like you." He met her eyes, "but I survived and someone found me and took me in. That's why I'm helping you."
Part of him meant it.
Eri was quiet for a long moment, hands folded in her lap.
Then she said, very softly: "Okay…"
She looked up at him again, a tiny, hesitant smile touching her lips.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore," she said. Then her expression faltered. "But… I don't like the man with the pig mask."
Crane rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching in what might have been the start of a smirk.
"I'll keep him away from you as long as you want" he said.
She relaxed a little.
They had been talking for a while.
"Do you want to see Silver again?"
Eri looked up, something tentative and hopeful in her face.
"Is that okay…?"
"Yes," he said, standing.
The Plane — Main Cabin
Eri followed him.
She stayed very close, close enough that her shoulder brushed the back of his leg as they walked down the aisle. Her hand found a fistful of his coat and held on for a second before she realized what she was doing and let go.
The main cabin's lights were dimmed as some were trying to sleep. Black Mask's men were scattered through the middle section, some of them playing cards, laughing about something one of them had just said. A third was watching a video on his phone, something about trouble in the Falcone family.
Eri moved closer to Crane's leg as they passed.
Black Mask was at the card table, and from the look of the others Crane could clearly see he was on a winning streak and William sat across from him in his Pyg mask trying his luck in the game.
Eri saw the mask.
She ducked behind Crane's leg immediately, pressing herself against the back of his knee, trying to disappear into the small space he left behind him.
William glanced up from his cards.
Crane gave him one stern look.
William immediately looked back down at his hand without comment.
Roman laid down a card that apparently won the hand and made a satisfied laugh.
Crane waited until Eri's grip on his leg loosened, then started walking again then they reached the front of the plane where its first row of seats had been completely transformed.
Ivy was asleep, with vines she had grown along the overhead luggage racks, small glowing flowers blooming in soft clusters. A thick bed of moss and broad green leaves had replaced the fabric of the seats, turning the entire row into something that looked more like a quiet corner of a forest than an airplane.
Eri stopped.
She stared at the flowers. They were pretty, really pretty she had never seen anything like them in the tunnels before.
Crane waited patiently, and when she was ready, they kept going.
The Plane — Cockpit
Basil was in the pilot's seat with his feet propped up, the autopilot clearly handling most of the work. Silver sat beside him, turned slightly, the two of them talking as they had nothing urgent to do.
Silver saw Eri immediately.
"Eri," she said, smiling.
Eri peeked out from behind Crane's leg, then stepped forward a little. Silver turned her seat to make room as Eri moved closer until she was standing right beside her.
Basil stood, stretched his arms overhead, and walked over to where Crane had stopped in the doorway.
"Still about twelve hours," he said quietly. "Give or take."
Crane nodded.
Basil glanced past him at the girl, who was now on the arm of Silver's seat, looking at all the controls and the sky ahead as Silver spoke to her.
"She going to be an issue?" Basil asked.
"She's opened up a little," Crane said. "She seems to trust Silver, and me to an extent."
"To an extent?," Basil repeated, sounding unconvinced.
Crane looked at him. "You should try winning her over too, we need her to trust us and not see us as the enemy or we will never be able to get her to develop her Quirk and use it for us willingly, that's our ultimate goal for her."
Basil rubbed the back of his neck. "I have no idea how to talk to kids."
"You are an actor right?" Crane said, Basil wasn't amused. "You can just fake it if you want too"
Basil sighed. "Fine. I'll try."
He sounded resigned, but there was a small spark of professional interest in his eyes — the actor in him already thinking over the approach to this.
The Plane — Several Hours Later
Basil had, in fact, been good at it.
He had shown Eri his transformations into his past roles, cycling through half a dozen different people with the easy theatrical timing that came from years of performance. Eri had watched with both hands pressed over her mouth and her eyes very wide. Then he had turned into a perfect copy of her with her white hair, red eyes, small features and held it just long enough for her to register it before switching back.
She laughed albeit quietly.
That had been a couple of hours ago.
Now she was sideways in Silvers co-pilot's seat, legs tucked under her, eyes half-open, fighting sleep and losing.
"You should rest," Silver said gently. "It's a long flight."
"I'm not tired," Eri said before she almost fell asleep and woke up fast realizing maybe she was right.
"…Can I come back?"
"Later," Silver said. "Yes."
Eri uncurled from the seat slowly and looked at the door, then back at Silver.
Silver gave her a small nod that said it's fine.
Crane was waiting now at the door and Eri followed him. The plane was quieter now, Roman's men all mostly asleep, Cameron's as well, the card game long abandoned. When they reached the first row, Ivy was still in her plant bed awake.
Ivy raised one arm. A vine extended slowly from it, curving through the air and wrapping loosely around Eri's body.
Eri went very still.
The vine lifted her gently and lowered her into the plant bed.
The moss was soft and the flowers smelled soothing and she felt like it would make her fall asleep any second now.
She looked up at Crane, who had stopped at the end of the row.
"It's fine," he said.
Eri looked at the ceiling of the cabin. A small cluster of white flowers bloomed along the edge of the overhead rack, opening slowly in the warm air.
She closed her eyes.
She was asleep within a minute.
Crane and Ivy moved a couple rows back, far enough from the sleeping girl that their voices wouldn't carry.
"We finally deal with Carmine Falcone," Crane said.
Ivy smiled.
"No breaks, huh?"