frowning a bit. "well, maybe-" She suddenly popped through the wall again, and was gone... smooshing his face a bit, he sighed, stared at the wall for a bit.

Well... If she said she was okay... He would have to keep an eye on her. His eyes widened, however, as he realized something. He... didn't know Juniper's birthday!


~~

He'd gotten her a gift. It was a Ukelele. He knew she liked acoustic instruments, and knew how to play them, and when he saw this one, with the little flower painted on it, he thought it sorta just... fit her, you know?

Still, the trouble was... he just... hadn't seen her. She hadn't answered her door, hadn't been at school.

So, for the past week and a half, it had just sort of... hung out in his backpack, carefully wrapped, mind you. He never knew when he might run into her. She did have a tendency to disappear here and there, but she always came back in the end!

He could depend on her in that way. Still, his brow was forrowed in slight worry as he walked home from school. He'd chosen to walk in order to make contact with more of the sidewalk. It never hurt to have more surface area to play with when it came to his new power, after all. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a passerby saying hi.

Oh, it was Alice! He had a nice conversation with her, and went on his way. She sure was nice! She kept giving him her number, which was funny, because he already had it. He just hadn't really needed to call her a whole lot! Still, it lifted his spirits to talk to a friend. He rounded the corner, deciding to take the long way around in order to make more footfalls in the city. Soon, he would be able to go wherever he wanted! It was exciting!

Keith was fiddling with his phone. A lit rolled cigarette hung from his lips as he muttered and poked. He never had been really good with the latest technology.

"Pepper, be a dear and make sure that post is visible for me? I can't figure it out."

He'd grown comfortable around her in the last week and a half. Comfortable enough that he wasn't constantly trying to remind her that he was there and keep the fear in her riled up.

Simon had said as much... Just lay low, let him let his guard down, thinking that she'd given up and accepted her role. So far so good, it seemed.

Juniper took the offered phone, plucking away through the settings of an app she didn't use with ease, and making sure his posts were visible. Even though everything in her wanted to set them on private and not tell him.

"Done." She handed the phone back and went back to slouching beside him as they slowly meandered through an alley in a shortcut through to the other side of the block.

"Atta girl, Pepper." He reached out a big hand and ruffled her short hair, and it took everything in her not to visibly cringe. "You've really been on your best behavior lately. I should buy you a treat, ya know? What do ya say?" He chuckled, exhaling thick smoke into the cold air. "Good doggies get bones, right Baby girl?"

....Godshehatedhimsofuckingmuch.

They exited the alley shortly after, and Keith gently collided with someone just as tall as him.

"Oop! Sorry there, fella. Wasn't watching where I was going. You okay? Here, lemme dust that off of you." Some of the ash from Keith's cigarette had ended up on the tall Blonde's clothes.

Juniper turned to see what the fuss was about and froze. Her breath stalled in her throat and her eyes rounded.

... Xavier.

One of her hands immediately went to the collar, barely hidden behind her scarf.

Oh, sh*t Xavier!

"Pepper, what's wrong girl? You look like you've seen the devil himself." Her Uncle turned to her, caught the expression on her face and where her hand was, and a dimple appeared on one bearded cheek.

She broke out in a cold sweat as Keith free hand snuck into the pocket of his denim jacket.

He bumped into someone. Someone about as tall as he was, which was rare, because he sure was tall!

"Oops! Sorry!" He felt a hand patting something from him even as he took in the man's features. He was a little ragged, wasn't he? Though... oddly... There really was something nice about him, wasn't there? "Oh, it's okay, I should have watched where I was- Oh... Juniper?"

He hadn't seen her at first. His expression shifted from surprise to a big, wide smile. "Juni! Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you!"

He looked over to the the man, and smiled as well. "Oh, hey! I'm Xavier, Juni's neighbor! Nice to meet you! How do you know Juniper?" Pepper... That was an interesting name to call her. A nickname? Were they old friends?

Wow, though, seeing Juniper and meeting a new friend all in one go? What a great twist of fate! And all while he was taking a detour as well!

Her hand dropped from her neck immediately, accidentally revealing too much metal that wasn't supposed to be there. Keith reached over and tugged it right back up.

"Oh, ain't that sweet? You two know each other?" He took his place beside her and a little bit in front. "Xavier was it? Now that's a good name. Don'cha think Pepper?" He shifted slightly, slinging one long arm around her and resting his palm over her shoudler.

"You two were neighbors? Why didn't you say so, Darlin'?" He huffed, puffing at his smoke for a second and blowing away from them. "Here I am looking like a shmuck for not noticing. She never mentioned being friendly with anyone!"

Juniper had gone from looking at her friend in horror, to pointedly looking at the concrete like she had just witnessed some horrible accident.

...She.... she needed to get him to go away. He couldn't be involved in any way, or he'd mess things up, or put himself in danger! She needed to tread carefully, as if on very thin ice and super far from shore.

"Sorry."

Keith ignored her, offering a hand to Xavier after he deposited his spoke back in his mouth. "Ah, that's okay. All water under the bridge right? I'm Juni's uncle, Keith." He was sizing the boy up through the friendly smile on his face. Where had he seen this kid's mug before?

"You two don't seem like just neighbors to me, ya know... Don't think you can fool an old man." He chuckled, and his grip tightened a little on her arm. "How close are ya?"

How much did he possibly know? How big a threat was he?

Xavier sure was having a good time thinking about how nice this guy seemed! He just... radiated friendliness. His eyes caught the glint of metal. Was that? Keith tugged her hoodie up. That was a little strange, right?

He was distracted by the man's words. "Oh, thanks." He felt... a little strange, right? Like, things were odd, right? It was like, he'd seen something that would make him very alert, but the alert side of him felt like it was running through molasses, while the part that was simply enraptured by UNCLE Keith was in tip top shape!

"Oh! She never mentioned you! Nice to meet you, Keith!" He mentioned them being more than neighbors. "Oh, yeah, I'd gladly say Juni is my best friend! I've known her since I first got to the city..."

His brow furrowed a bit as he found his eyes landing on her covered neck. What was it... oh, right... that thing... "H-hey Juni... What's with the collar?" He'd seen those before. When they rescued those people... Why would she be wearing one?

Keith managed a hurt expression, but it never quite reached his eyes.

"I'd say I was hurt, but if you know anything about Pepper's family it's easy to see why she has trouble talking about any of us." He ruffled her hair, perhaps a bit too roughly. "It would have been nice if you would have at least mentioned me to some of your friends, ya know. I did basically raise ya."

Juniper glanced at him, expression carefully flat, and looked back to her friend. She wished she was able to convey what she was thinking to him. Send it right into his brain. He needed to leave.

Go away, Adonis! Go away!

He noticed the collar. She winced, and Keith's smile widened to show all of his perfectly white teeth.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that Buddy." He stepped back onto the alley a bit and used someone passing them on one side as an excuse to move.

"Say, why don't we talk a bit more out of the way? Kinda blocked the road here, heheh. I know a little place with good food pretty close to here. C'mon, Pepper."

She moved to follow, but not before looking at her friend in the eye and shaking her head at him once, firmly. Maybe he'd get the hint and get the hell out of there.

"Say, Xavier, did you know your little Juni here has had a heck of a time making friends?" Her uncle called back, his lit cigarette glowing orange in the semi-darkness within the alley.

"You should wear that title proudly."

He blinked a few times as the man ruffled Juniper's hair. Was that right? Juniper didn't like people touching her. They were really close, then! Why didn't she talk about him at all. His head tilted a little bit when he said he'd practically raised her.

Was... Was that right?

He nodded a little bit as he cleared them from the street. "Oh, right, wouldn't want to get in the way!" It was only polite, after all. Boy, was this alley dark.

"Oh, Where? I have tried to eat at all of the places around here! I love to try new things, though~" He smiled brightly, almost enough to lighten up the alley. He paused again. Wait. they were talking about something, weren't they?

Oh, she had a hard time making friends? "Really? She's made plenty since she got here, though! She'd a great friend, after all!" Her uncle would be proud that she'd grown in that regard, right?

"I do, though! Juni's awesome... Hey, about that collar, though... Why..."

Keith let Xavier ramble on along all on his own while drawing them deeper into the alley. They hit the center, where it intersected with another pathway between buildings. A lone light illuminated the area, casting dull yellow tones across the walls and floor.

Juniper stopped dead in her tracks when her collar gave off a soft beep, a signal that it had been deactivated. What was-

"Pepper, Darlin', take care of him, will you?"

The request knocked the breath right out of her and her ears started ringing.

...take... Take care of him?

The same way Eli was supposed to take care of Simon?

She turned, just as Xavier was finishing up with another question about her collar. She felt sick. This was..

This wasn't fair! Why did it have to be him of all people?

She blinked, felt hot tears sting her cheeks, and couldn't bring herself to look at her friend.

Was he worth it? Was saving him worth throwing everything else away?

Her gaze bounced around uncertainly for what felt like too long but was only a few seconds. She spotted a large, camouflaged sewer pipe behind Xavier, and another even further past that, out in the road beyond the alley.

"...I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, fully weeping, and phased one foot out of a shoe. The moment her skin made contact with the ground she phased it, the whole patch under him. She watched as he dropped, swallowed up into the ground until there wasn't anything but his backpack left on the dirty concrete.

Her collar beeped again and she slipped her shoe back on.

"Gooood, girl, Juni. I'm so proud of you!"

Her uncle's arm wrapped around her neck squeezed slightly and jostled her about, and then he started steering her from the alley. Kicked the backpack out of the way as he went, too.

"That's my wonderful, darling baby girl."

He followed Juniper and his new friend, her uncle into the alley, a strange feeling of conflicting contentment and worry washing over him. Was Juniper okay? She... didn't seem okay. He knew her well enough to know when she felt like running away. He knew that look on her face.

Keith told her to take care of him. His brow furrowed. "Uhm, what?" He looked to Juniper.

She... She was starting to cry? His eyes slowly widened. What was- She apologized.

He fell into blackness. Panic. He felt himself land. It was dark. So dark. Had... Had Juniper killed him?! He reached up and touched his face. He wasn't dead. Oh... OH it smelled!

He coughed. Where was he? His hand drifted to his side... SQUELCH... "Oh..." That... that wasn't a pleasant texture... Even in the darkness, his eyes clenched closed.

He used his other hand, trying to dig out his phone. There! Flashlight...

The light kicked on, causing several rats to scatter in all directions. What had just happened?! JUNIPER! He jumped up, landing in a disgusting swill of waste of all types. Coughing again, he looked around with his flashlight until he saw what he was looking for. A ladder. He was up in in moments, forcing off the manhole cover and throwing himself up onto the street. "JUNI!" He looked around in a panic... The streets were crowded. He couldn't see them.

He looked about in a panic. Damnit, he couldn't fly here yet... No with any effectiveness... He started to run, trying to find his friend.

A soft beeping filtered in, and that was the moment she realized she was awake. With her eyes still closed she groggily came back to the world of the living. With a groan, she dared to crack an eye open and look at whatever was directly in front of her.

White, stiff sheets. Metal guard rails up on either side of the bed, and generic hospital furniture beyond that.

... damnit.

"...Not dead yet..." She groused to herself, voice scratchy and soft from the abuse that had been dealt to her neck. Really, she thought she wouldn't have woken up this time. When that cowl-faced bastard had ahold of her, she'd figured that was it. Donesies.

She was aware of how tired she felt like she hadn't slept in a long long time... but otherwise couldn't feel any pain. Her gaze sought out the host of IV's and wires connected to her in various places. Ah. Well, drugs explained that.

Oh, hey, she wasn't alone. She was too tired to flinch or jump and took a few seconds longer than normal just figuring out that the person beside her bed wasn't just a figment of her imagination.

He had coffee. It was necessary at this point, as he'd been up nearly 24 hours. Not waiting here, or anything. He was a busy man, after all. He sent an envious glance toward the young woman laying on the bed before him before taking a sip of his coffee and looking back down at the case file before him. She'd been sleeping for three days; not comatose, mind you, just recovering from one heckuvan ordeal. Apparently she was severly malnourished, and had wounds from what looked like a wild animal attack.

He wasn't reviewing that right now, though. He was looking at the info from the attack. What did they call them? The... Molotov Murderer? Well, he supposed it was fitting. Four attacks, three of them fatal, and no solid witnesses. Until now. Not even Andrea had a solid recollection of the attacker.

He looked up when he heard a faint, scratchy voice, sitting up in his chair. "Nope... Still hanging in there..." He stood from his seat, looking down at the young woman as she came to. She was still in a pretty rough state, though the rest had done her some good.

"Don't go trying to get up or anything... You'll prolly be in here a few more days, yet. How do you feel?" He reached over and pressed the call button; the nurses had instructed him to if she woke up. "Don't panic or anything... but we got a lot to talk about... And you're gonna hafta stay for it. No running. Can you promise that?"

She thought about what he said. A few more days? How long had she already been there?

"Wasn't really thinking about it. I haven't decided if I can even feel my legs yet." She wasn't lying, either. She hadn't bothered trying to move yet and whatever painkiller they had her on was working wonderfully. She was sure if she tried to get up and run she'd end up flat on her face just outside the bed.

As to how she was feeling? "Physically... like a truck hit me." She wiggled the one arm that wasn't hooked up to a thousand tube out from under the blanket on her.

Mentally? Man, Mentally she was a mess.

Saph caught her attention again with his warning about them needing to talk. She winced, but... well, it wasn't like she had much fight in her left.

"I promise." She wasn't about to get up, but she moved to try and sit herself up a little higher in bed. The strain she could feel in her body, even with pain meds, earned a hiss and a grimace.

"I wouldn't run from you, you know that."

Laying back in the pillows and angling her face at him, Juniper frowned and got settled in for story time. Which story was it gonna be, though?

"Whatcha wanna know? I'm an open book."

He nodded silently as she replied to his question. "Well... It sorta looks like one did. Why don't we start there? What happened to you? Where did you go after your uncle was killed?" He was careful about what he said. He set his coffee aside, and pulled out a pad of paper.

After some digging, out came a pencil. "I'm not recording any of this... I want to give you the benefit of the doubt... The truth is... I know a lot. I can tell you what I know. I can tell you what I have an idea about, and I can tell you the crazy stuff other people think. In the end, though, it's better if you tell me what you can. After that... We'll talk about what happens next."

Either way, they were going to be there a while. That was fine. THe nurses would come in with food for her... in small amounts, so's not to overwhelm her system. Drips would be replaced, and she would be instructed on how to adjust her bed, etc.

"No one but me knows you are up yet... We can get the story straight now before things get out of hand."

Now THAT got her attention. "He's... really dead?" Honestly, she'd had a hard time believing it. He'd haunted her life for so long it just felt like he was always going to be there lurking somewhere in the shadows.

The knowledge that he was dead and gone? It was... relieving.

She visibly relaxed into the bed a little more. "I don't really know, honestly. One minute I was there-" She thought back to the day, and everything that had happened. She didn't have to think too hard to know that Blue needed to be left out of the equation. Thoughts of the fight made her throat hurt, too. "...and then suddenly I wasn't. Like... I am dunno. My powers been on the fritz lately and it kinda felt like it all came rushing a back at once, and then I was somewhere else. It was weird."

She tried to stay on point while she explained a bit further... about the city that had looked like New York, but hadn't been New York at all. No people, no food. Empty streets and things.

"-got ruffed by a bit by whatever they were, and then suddenly I was back. I dunno how it happened." She moved to shrug, winced, and immediately stopped. "I hid out for a bit trying to figure out what was going on, and then... well, now I'm here."

She offered a bit of a smile at his concern. Get the story straight? Heh. Maybe a little too late for that.

"Thanks... I appreciate it, ya know? But... I dunno if it will matter." She went quiet for a moment, rubbing her torn fingernails on the cotton blanket. "I don't know what's gotten out already, but I know I've seen my face in the papers at least. The, uh... bank cameras." Her expression flattened a bit, "Things are already out of hand and I doubt anything I could say would fix it. Everybody knows it was me already, right? I can't hide anymore."

That wasn't even counting Keith's death, or anything that came before it.... did her mom know already? That would be a fun talk, she was sure.

"How'd he die? Like, officially? Did I kill him?" She looked at Saph again, and all of the exhaustion was there in her face. She was tired. Tired of running and fighting. Tired of not knowing.

He noted her expression change when he mentioned her uncles death. He only answered with a nod. As she went on, about going to another world. About creatures, and the like. He simply wrote down the gist of it, dates, times.

"Were you alone... When you disappered? Or... Was Azar with you already, then?" He paused for a second. "He... Passed away. I don't know how close you were, but the burns were too much. He likely went quick, if that helps." It probably didn't, if they were friends.

He blinked as she talked about the info in the papers. "Yeah... and I... Well, I did some digging, Juniper... You landed in a few places before you ended up here. All of those places, in the times when you were around... Similar heists took place." He shook his head. "It doesn't look good... Who ever gets put on the case will likely make the link as well.

He gave her a second to let that sink in before she asked a strange question. "How did he... Azar killed him, didn't he? I mean, he was immolated. They only confirmed it was him through DNA evidence." He took note of the strange question before moving back to the question of her presence in the alley.

"Juniper... The person who killed Azar... did you see them?" Like he said, they had a lot to talk about... This was a good start.