Seven knew the badger was out of their league in a fair fight, and since there was nothing technological behind him, the playing field had tipped against them. But Seven did have an ace up their sleeve, though they weren't entirely sure what the woman was capable of, she was surely capable.

The badger began to circle like a wolf that cornered it's prey, and Seven turned with him, never letting their back face him. That, they knew, would be catastrophic for them. And that was when Cora sprung. It happened fast, but Cora had the badger lassoed and on his ass in no time and Seven capitalized, running forward and connecting their shin to the side of his head. Then, they sunk their knife into his chest and pulled it back out, leaving him lying there motionless.

Seven was bloodied, sweaty, and starting to get winded as they brushed their hair out of their face, peeking out into the hallway. "All clear." They kept the switchblade ready. "Where to now? I'm just the muscle."

Mae's powers had always been something that created peace for her. A place of safety, silence; a place where she could escape to. Having an angry mutant stare down at her, foot on her arm, and rage in his eyes created the first sensation of fear she felt toward the sound proof barricade. She started to contract her powers, when barbs from the taser shot into her arm, and she quickly let it back out to stop the electricity.

"Your pick. You can keep your powers up and stop the electricity, or let them down and try to call for help."

Before she could consider which, the foot slammed back down harder on her arm. Something snapped. She remembered screaming. She remembered fighting. And then when the pain was too much she remembered darkness.

------------

The next time she woke, the world was moving beneath her, literally. It had been years, but she still knew that motion.

Boat. Ocean. Boat.

The revelation made her want to hurl, and she leaned against the bindings holding her, trying to stabilize the spinning world. Her arm hit her side, and she tried to cry out in pain, but her mouth was gagged. She tried to pull her powers closer, and electricity jolted her, forcing her to expand the field again.

Same dirty trick. She felt anxiety stopping rational decision making, tugging harder to get free.

"I don't think you want me to knock you back out, sweetie. I hear Seven's on their way to get you, and it's going to be a good show."

The voice moved beside her ear, and she tried to pull away, causing them to laugh. The laughter continued and he grabbed her arm, obviously delighted by her pain. Mae whimpered, trying and struggling to hold onto the information she had been given.

Seven was on their way. She clenched her jaw and slammed her head back, catching the man off guard. He cursed, taking the shot to the nose and returning a cheap shot to her jaw. She couldn't fall, tasting blood, but still determined as ever.

"They're going to have fun f*** killing you," She spat. The man grumbled, and yanked her so she was looking out a window to the sea.

"Let's see them try. They're on the wrong boat, sweetie. And I think their time is about up..."

------------

Cora was checking her shoulder when the comment of 'what next' came up. She looked down at the string on her hand...and cursed.

"Holy f*** they moved her! Quick, look for a radio, electronic something..." There was a distant boom and the boat lurched. She cussed a few more times, and staggered over to the nearest window, looking out and following the direction the string pointed. "There! Jump ship, that's the new plan."

"****....Yeah there's gonna be a lot of guesswork, but If I have a direction I can somewhat pinpoint it. If you pray...now would be a good time," they said as they pulled out another flip-phone. Then...they got an idea and dialed a number. Mae's number. It rang and Seven grabbed Cora in an awkward embrace as the phone clanged to the ground, following the signal.

Mere seconds later, the signal dropped and the two of them fell in a heap on the floor of another ship. There didn't seem to be anyone in the area. "What was that? Company must be here..." a voice down the hall muttered, followed by footsteps.

Seven clambered to their feet, switchblade in one hand, brass knuckles on the other. As soon as someone came into view, Seven was already rushing, leaping at them with a brass-knuckled superman punch which floored the man who honestly had no idea what he was getting into. They patted them down, not finding anything on his person worth taking.

"Dammit," they grumbled as they heard more footsteps coming from around the corner. "I'd give a boob for a gun right now" they grumbled as they took a fighting stance. "Get ready. And I'm not getting much of any signal here. They were prepared for us. For me..."

Cora was usually better at landing on her feet, but teleporting was not in her list of skills she generally used. It ws like getting thrown from one boat onto another, and she had to resist cussing a bit as she got back up. Seven was already taking out a nearby guard, and Cora followed more slowly, grabbing a handful of threads that seemed darker, more akin to coworkers.

"There are a cluster of threads leading up. Only one or two scattered elsewhere. I don't see any phones around here, which means someone dropped you a line." Cora remarked. She didn't say what she was thinking, but it hovered in the air: Mae had found a way to get Seven over to them, which meant she was at least alive, and responsive.

Cora led around a corner, holding onto a thread from the downed man. It was draining using her powers so much, but there wasn't time to rest yet. Up a stairwell, they were finally on the bridge of the ship. This one was fancier, and the larger cluster of guards seemed to be waiting near the control room. It made sense: they couldn't turn off all signals, so they planted men where Seven was most likely to appear. If they had actually made the drop there, it would have been a few quick shots, and they would be dead.

Mae had saved them a very short rescue mission.

Reaching out, Cora collected a few Threads while motioning to Seven to stay silent. She made her way through the men, cutting as she went. Goodbye to your work relationships, hope you at least remember how to get home later. Or don't. Cora didn't care. The last thread took a bit more oooomph to cut. She felt winded and light headed. She only cut one per goon, but it made her body feel like she finished a marathon. She would let Seven move from there. The disoriented men were a much easier target when they couldn't quite remember why they were on the boat in the first place.

"Yeah; we've got a guardian angel, it seems," they said, shaking off a bit of grogginess. They too were showing signs of wear, and not just from the fighting. All the teleporting was taking its toll on them, and it wouldn't be long before Seven probably got a nosebleed. Though they were probably safe for another trip or two. They knew it had to have been Mae, meaning she was alive, and aware that they were coming.

Which probably meant the goons were ready too. Cora...did her thing, disorienting the goons, and giving Seven an opening. Knife and brass knuckles started flying, goons dropping left and right as Seven's anger and exhaustion bundled up with their injury which just made them a five foot nine inch ball of fury, and eventually not a one was standing. When they got to the door, they just gave it a swift kick, splitting it in two as it fell to the floor and they stepped into the control room.

"Mae!" They called as they stepped inside, knife and switchblade ready as they stepped into the room. She was in the center of the room, with a familiar face behind her, one that made Seven even angrier, and that was before they saw Mae's condition.

They rushed him, but he turned invisible and their fist connected with nothing, then doubled over as they felt a sharp pain in their ribs, then their face which knocked them to the ground. They let out a rare cry of pain as the invisible mutant stomped on their already injured ribs, spitting blood on the ground. But....it didn't hit the ground. Bingo.

Their arm swept, aiming for the hovering spot of blood that had hit his shoe and took the invisible guy's legs out from under him, aiming the blade where they thought their stomach should be, and they were pretty much right. He turned visible as Seven picked up the knife, then swiftly finished the job without even looking back, fighting through the pain as they got to Mae and undid her restraints. "You're okay...we're here."

Cora stood watch awkwardly while Seven released Mae. They had done what they came to do, and now she had to just make sure they got to land safely. It would probably involve stealing a ship to get back to shore. She took the chance to start that while the cuddly stuff happened. As the X that was more torture than she really wanted to put herself through.

Mae tried to stand when she was released but it turned into a staggered fall, holding onto Seven more than she intended to. "I'm sorry, you're hurt, I..." She felt her legs shake and she shut her eyes. The world was still moving, her brain still trapped with the overwhelming revelations colliding behind her eyelids. Boat, Seven, rescued, pain.

"I just want to be home," she whispered sinking against them. "It's...It's been a long night."

Seven held back the wince as Mae held onto them, fighting through the pain because she needed them right now. And they needed her. "No, Mae...I'm sorry. This is my fault. You got hurt because....because they were after me," they said softly, their voice as emotionally pained as it was physical.

"Me too, but...it's not over yet. We're gonna get back to dry land soon, and then we're both going to this clinic I know that doesn't ask question. Your arm is probably broken and I might as well get fixed up while we're there." They sat on the ground, leaning against the wall as Mae sank against them, both of them now on the floor in an oddly graceful and sweet manner despite the injuries.

They held onto Mae, minding her injuries, leaning down and kissing her forehead as they closed their eyes. She was hurt because of them. Because they couldn't just get a legitimate job, because they had to piss people off. They almost died today...no. Worse. Mae could have died today. When the boat came to a stop, they scribbled down an address before helping Mae to her feet, meeting back with Cora and getting back to the motorcycle.

"There's a clinic not far from here. I'll meet you two there," they said, not really keen on the idea of leaving Mae with Cora but three couldn't fit on the bike, and three couldn't teleport with Seven. And Seven couldn't travel with Mae because of her power.

They made the trip okay, thankfully that godawful radio signal they played at that clinic wasn't hard to find and track onto. They waited by the door for them to show up before escorting Mae inside.

Cora left the two to themselves, and managed to get the boat to land. Thankfully she had been on a smaller yacht before, and was able to at least get them landed. Whether the ship stayed there or bobbed away, wasn't her problem.

Cora took the address, and with Seven's gaze heavy on their back, helped Mae climb onto the bike in front of her. With the broken arm, it was necessary to cocoon Mae in her grip to keep the other girl secure, rather than having her ride behind like Seven had. It brought them much closer than she was sure Seven was pleased with, and was already prepared for the anger that would bring.

All to get Mae home. That was what she told herself. She would handle the repercussions later.

Mae for her part was quiet. Honestly, almost too quiet. She didn't cry, she didn't talk, she just sort of stayed curled against Cora for the short ride, and then was taken away by Seven when they arrived. Cora was fairly certain shock was the only thing keeping the girl moving at this point. With the adrenaline fading, it was like trying to handle a bird with a broken wing.

Threads never felt glad someone was dead before, but seeing Mae like this made her want to go back and stab someone all over again.

While Mae and Seven were taken care of, Threads waited outside with her bike, knowing there would be one last stop to get Mae home. They could have probably taken a cab, but she was here, and may as well finish the thing. She looked at her right hand, trying to process what she was feeling. It wasn't that she still loved Mae. Heck, she was glad she moved on and had someone to take care of her. But there were many regrets and feelings this night kept piling on top of her. She had hurt Mae in the past. It wasn't a broken bone, but a heart, and she had seen that lost, empty expression. A bird with a broken wing... Cora had wanted to never see that again, but here she was. She ran her hands through her hair and grabbed strands in frustration. If she could just cut that thread, it would be easy. If she could forget that girl, it would have been better.

But she couldn't, and she didn't. And it caused pain to both of them. At least now Mae had Seven.

It felt endless, but eventually, Mae and Seven returned. Cora has her arm in a cast, the blue plaster stopping before her elbow. At least that gave some range of motion, even if it was temporarily in a sling. Most of the damage had been done to her forearm. Seven had their own injuries taken care of, but Cora did the polite thing and didn't stare. Her shoulder had dried and she could deal with that later. With a nod at Seven, she took Mae the short distance and everything was finally over.

"Thanks..." Mae said quietly, giving Cora one last look before heading inside. She must have assumed Seven would meet her up there, but Cora could have sworn the teleporting mutant had stopped outside. Turning, she was right. She lifted her helmet off, wondering if there was something else the other wanted to say.

"If anything else comes up, I guess let me know. Glad she's safe..." Cora said lamely.

Mae was quiet on the boat, and that made Seven uncomfortable. But they didn't let go. It'd been a rough day for both of them, and they were gonna be there for her.

They bristled at how Mae had to ride to the hospital. It almost made them sick just seeing it, and....maybe it was a good thing they didn't have the laser eyes. They were feeling a lot of feelings that they had to iron out, and it was weird. Sadness, anger, fear, jealousy...things that Seven didn't normally did with. But..that warm tingly feeling that they had first felt with Mae a long time ago never really went away. It was even stronger after their little camping trip where they confessed that they, in fact, loved her. And she loved them back. And that was enough to keep them going but...now that the action was over, the reality of them working with Cora's ex settled in and....if not for that detail, they might have actually liked her.

The stay at the clinic was quiet, and Seven didn't need stitches, but Mae's arm was in fact, broken. They were doctored up, and they escorted Mae out when done, in silence. They didn't like the silence, but couldn't think of the words to break it. Again, Mae was on the bike with Cora, and Seven traveled the radio waves home, but they didn't go inside. They let Mae get inside safely before teleporting outside, just beside Cora.

When she saw them, she took her helmet off. Perfect. "Yeah, I will. And...I am too."

Then, their fist clenched, and they did something they'd wanted to do since they'd first heard about this ex. They punched Cora, but...though they could have done damage, they didn't. They aimed for the jaw, not the nose, and they pulled the punch last second, so it hurt, but didn't do nearly as much as it could have. The punch was a 'this is for Mae,' but the pulling said punch the way they did was their way of saying 'thanks' and the closest thing to gratitude Cora was going to get.

Then, they teleported inside, ending up in their room. They made their way to the bathroom, taking care of the inevitable nosebleed that had come with the use of their powers. They were tired, they were sore, and their feelings were doing a number on them. Once everything was taken care of, they changed into an oversized tee shirt, and grabbed their cleaning supplies, taking care of the dried blood on the carpet. They had experience getting it out of their clothes, but carpet wasn't too much different. The only problem was the sharpie on the wall but they'd take care of that later.

Then, they cleaned their room and fixed the furniture in the living room. Nothing was terribly broken, thankfully, so it was an easy fix. A few hours had passed at this point, and Seven finally collapsed on the couch, curling up and pulling their knees up to their chest.

Seven could have considered rescuing Mae redemption for her past deeds. Cora could have expected them to part on almost friendly, grateful terms. But if they had, Seven would not have been the person Cora had gotten to know, and come to trust Mae with. Taking a hit to the face solid enough to knock her into her bike, split her lip, but not break her nose; it was fitting, and quite frankly, she deserved it.

Whipping blood from her face, Cora gave Seven a tip of her head, as if noting she would not retaliate. ”She’s safer with you. It won’t look like it now, but she is.” She didn’t need to say more. Maybe another day or hour they would have that awkward heart to heart, but Cora was tired, sore, and emotionally wrung our. She put her helmet on, got onto her bike, and went home.


Inside, Mae had already crawled into bed, clothes and all, and passed out, curled up like a cat. She slept while Seven cleaned, and only when the other didn’t come to the room she awoke, panicked as she scrambled from bed, hurrying to the doorway to look for them.

Seeing them on the couch, Mae stumbled over, and pulled Seven into a awkward one armed hug. “Why didn’t you come to bed?”

"She's safer with you...'
How? This whole day was my fault.

Similar words bounced around in Seven's head the entire time they were cleaning, and the entire time they were curled up on the couch. Their headphones were off, and they were feeling a whirlwind of different things in the moment, very few of them good. They just stayed curled up with their knees under their chin, disassociating from everything. They found a sound bite floating from a nearby apartment and just focused in on that.

"This is for the title, folks. If Anarkist loses this match, he can never challenge Manfish for the title again, and this bout is anything goes, no holds barred! And it begins when we come back from break!"

They were jolted when they felt a familiar touch, and they sat up, returning the hug and burying their face in Mae's shoulder. Their hand that was around her gripped onto fabric as their body began to tremble a bit. But they didn't answer the question.

"I'm sorry. Today was...was all my fault. That was supposed to have been me on that boat today, not you. I should have been the one taken..." They let their words hang for a moment then awkwardly added. "[colordarkgoldenrod]I punched her. Before she left.[/color]"

Mae moved so she was sitting, unable to hug with the dang broken arm. She wasn’t sure if it was Seven shaking or her at this point, they were both a mess. Her desire to be comforted and to comfort collided together. ”It it had been you, there wouldn’t have been a boat, Seven. You....you would be dead. It had nothing to do with fighting ability, but sheer f***ng luck tonight that I got home first. They planned for a teleporter, and didn’t expect you to have someone. But you do.”

The memories of the night haunted her, but not as much as now. She ran a hand through Seven’s hair, breathing in their familiar scent as if to verify they were both still there. ”Do you know what helped me when that asshole was in the apartment? They said your name. He realized it wasn’t you and panicked, and you know, that f***ng pissed me off. I found every knife I bought you and I was able to get Cora’s number on the wall because of you. I was never a fighter on my own, but I have something now I’m making damn sure no one takes away.”

She shut her eyes, remembering the feeling of anger. How it felt to fight not for herself, but for the one she had come to care so much for. Survival was one method of fighting, but this had been another. ”Boats scare me, so much. But all I cared about was having you back with me. It’s like, the world has been spinning my whole life, and I finally have you as a point on the horizon to steady me. I love you, Jess, and I’ll do anything, fight anyone, to keep you.”

She was still covered in dried blood, dirt, and who knows what. Her body was exhausted to a point she could barely function. But none of that had mattered until then.

She heard Seven comment about punching Cora, and sniffled a little laugh in response. She wasn’t sure when she started crying. The silent tears just sort of appeared on their own. ”I hope that means you two are even.” She kissed Seven on top of the head, trying to stop herself from drifting back into panic. But not about a boat, or the broken arm, or the man waiting inside their apartment that took her.

”I can handle all of this, every bruise and cut, any broken bone. But I can’t handle losing you. Please. Your the only thing I need to feel like I can take on the world. Please don’t give up on me.”

Seven kept their head buried in Mae's shoulder, one hand gripping the back of her shirt with a death grip. They were definitely shaking, and Mae's words bounced around in their head. They didn't know what to say; the day took a lot out of them, and they were weak, shaking, and they knew full well today probably should have ended differently. In fact, if not for Mae, it would have. At some point, the room melted away, and Seven wasn't in the living room, cuddling Mae anymore.

They were thirteen again, sitting in their room in a black tee shirt, cargo shorts and tennis shoes, their blonde hair in pigtails, being berated by their dad for not being 'feminine' or a 'good daughter.' They felt just as helpless now as they did the night they ran away.

...Why were their eyes stinging? And why was Mae's shoulder wet all of a sudden? After Mae had finished speaking completely, they looked up at her, eyes stained with tears, claw marks on their cheek, hair all a mess.

"You...you saved our lives today, Mae. I just want you to know that. I...I still feel like this whole thing is because of me, but...I'm never giving up on you. I love you too, Mae." Their voice was cracking but their eyes softened as they looked at her. "You saved your ex's life today, actually," they corrected. "You saved my life a long time ago. I've fought for my life since I was a kid...but...it's different, having someone worth fighting for. Someone to actually care about." They lay their head back on Mae's shoulder.

"I'll never understand what you saw in me, but...whatever it is I never wanna lose that."

The emotions and the stress from the night had been a lot for both of them. Mae held Seven for a moment, before remembering just how horrible this clothing looked, and grimaced. ”You got the rest of the apartment clean, I should at least get myself changed into something not so bloody. As much as I just want to stay here now.”

She ran a hand across Seven’s hair and let them have a moment before standing and returning to their room. With a bit of awkward struggling she managed to get free of her ruined clothing, and changed into a baggy pair of pajamas. Cleaner, sort of, she decided it would just have to work until morning. It would be a nightmare showering for a bit anyway.

”Come lay down now, please? I feel safer when you’re with me.” she insisted.

Seven was never really one for being held, but...something about being in Mae's arms was just so comforting. Knowing they had someone who actually cared. Knowing they had someone they actually cared about. The hand through their hair brought a smile to their tear-stained face, though the moisture from the crying really made that slash on their face sting.

Reluctantly, they let Mae get up to go change, and when Seven sat up, they realized exactly how hurt they were. Their ribs were bandaged at the hospital where the badger-mutant had taken a nice swipe at them, and their torso was covered in bruises, including a nasty foot-shaped one on their other side.

"I'm coming," they groaned, trying to hide the agonized wince as they stood to their feet and trudged to the bedroom. Now that the adrenaline was long gone, Seven was tired, hurt, and there were tons of little annoying thoughts buzzing in their brain. On the way, every little sound made them jump, be it footsteps on someone's nearby TV, or a random drum-solo from a neighbor's radio. Once in the bedroom they shut the door behind them, the fabric of the shirt aggravating the assorted bruises, so they just took it off and tossed it to the side for now before crawling in bed, on top of the covers, and just lying on their back, looking up at the ceiling.

Seven knew today turned out the way it did because of dumb luck. Luckily Mae's ex had the perfect method of tracking people. Luckily, the operation was a gang of thugs and not something more organized or militant. Luckily Seven managed to call Mae as she'd let her field down. Luckily, they were both alive. While being alive was good...Seven was troubled. What if they weren't strong enough to protect her?

What if they couldn't save Mae from a mess that they more than likely caused? Crossing their arms across their bruised and bandaged chest, Seven closed their eyes, another stray tear rolling down their cheek as their body heaved with sobbing.