The Remnants, Volume 1: Sionnach

“Focus…empty your mind of everything, except for how it feels. How it feels for it to course through your body, how it feels in the palm of your hand.”

He takes slow, deep breaths, and he does what she says. His eyes are closed, but he knows what it looks like in his hand; that orb of smoke, as deep red as blood, floating just above the skin of his palm. It runs from his chest through his arm, a gentle tingling sensation, and coalesces into a kind of warmth that makes his hand feel a little numb, especially his palm.

“Now imagine a light, in the center of the orb, just a spark. And fuel it with your will, making it stronger, brighter.”

He obeys. He can picture the spark, and then…then it sputters, and the spark goes out.

“Focus, Niall. Try again.”

He tries. The spark reappears, a weak flame that begins to catch, to get bigger…and it flickers out again. Irritation begins to boil up from his stomach.

“Try again.”

“I am trying!” He snaps back, and he immediately feels like an asshole. He knows that it isn’t her fault. He’s pretty sure (or at least he hopes) that she knows he’s just getting frustrated.

“I think that’s enough for today,” she says after a few seconds of silence, and he sighs and opens his eyes, the orb of smoke dissipating in his hand as he turns to face her, already opening his mouth to apologize. “You’re doing well, Niall. It just takes time. And I don’t know if you’ve realized this,” she says with a hint of humor to her tone, “but you need to work on your patience.” He can’t help but grin at her, and she grins back as she pulls back her magenta hood and looks around for a moment at the forest around them, as if she hears something.

“Are you alright?” Niall asks. She looks at him with another smile, but this one is clearly just to put him at ease. It doesn’t work.

“Can you make your way back from here?” She asks instead of answering him. He immediately frowns at her, and she gives an apologetic smile back. “I’m fine, Niall. Now answer my question.”

“Yes,” he replies, a bit more curtly than intended. She sighs and steps forward to give him a hug, which he accepts. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She steps away after a moment and looks around again. “We’ll meet back here at the same time on Monday. If I’m not here…”

“I’ll wait for you to send me a message,” he finishes for her, and she nods and pulls her hood back over her head, walking in the opposite direction that they came from, farther into the woods. “Be safe, Siobhan.” She looks back at him, smiling again.

“I worry more about you, Niall.” She laughs at the irritated look he gives her, and with a puff of magenta smoke, a starling takes to the air where she had been standing. He watches her fly for a little while, then turns and makes his way back through the forest.

The forest really isn’t all that big; just an acre or two of uncut woods that borders the city’s park…which in itself isn’t all that big, either. Which Niall always thought was odd; why would you name such a small patch of nature ‘Greenman’s Park’? He makes a mental note to ask Blake about it later.

There are several other people in the park; an old couple feeding the birds, a young woman jogging along the paved path, and a middle-aged man throwing a tennis ball for his dog. It’s picturesque; this is the kind of moment that Seth would be bringing his camera out for. Niall doesn’t really see the appeal of it, it’s just people going about their lives, but he supposes that might be what’s so nice about it. Maybe. He isn’t really sure.

Anyway, there are a few people in the park, but the only one Niall is actually interested in is the one sitting on a bench by the fountain; handsome, tall…wearing a very tight shirt. He looks up as Niall approaches, and he’s made all the more striking as he smiles.

“Hey, baby,” he says as he stands up, and he pulls Niall into a hug. Niall can’t help the dumb grin that spreads across his face as he hugs back. He wonders if he’ll ever get used to hearing that.

“Hey, Ash.” They stay enfolded together for a few seconds before Niall pulls away and reaches up to run a hand through his boyfriend’s dark hair, which somehow manages to be a tangled mess in spite of the short fauxhawk he’s started to style it in. “How was work?” Asher shrugs his broad shoulders and turns, wrapping an arm loosely around Niall and pulling him close as they begin the walk to campus.

“Oh, you know. Same old shit, different day.” He squeezes Niall just a bit tighter against his muscular frame, and Niall feels his face warm up. “What about you, mi cariño?” Niall gently elbows Asher’s side, which just earns him a laugh. “What did I do?”

“You know what,” Niall mutters, his face growing even hotter as his boyfriend continues to laugh, then leans down to kiss the top of his head.

“I think you’re just mad because I have two languages of sappy nicknames to work with and you only have one.”

“You can’t prove that.”

“Why else would you be pouting?”

“I am not pouting.”

“You’re crossing your arms, your face is as red as a tomato, and you look annoyed.” Niall lets his arms fall to his sides, and Asher squeezes him closer again for just a second. “Seriously. How was your day?”

“Siobhan’s been trying to teach me a new way to use my powers.”

“Mm. And how’s that going?”

“Blegh.” That gets Asher to laugh again.

“That bad, huh?” He asks. Niall sighs and leans his head over onto Asher’s side. It’s not very comfortable, but it does make him feel a little bit better. He raises his left hand up and starts to chew on his fingernail for a moment, before wringing his hand instead and dropping it.

“Well, not nearly as bad as that one time-” He begins, but Ash cuts him off.

“Don’t. You apologized, I forgave you, it’s done with.” They stay in silence for a little longer when they pass by a small group of students at the gate to Lao Tzu university. Ash speaks again once they’re out of earshot. “Also, that happened, like…two months ago.” Niall snorts, a smile playing on his lips.

“I still beat myself up about stupid things I did in elementary school, Ash.”

“I’m aware.” Ash doesn’t sound quite as amused. Every now and then, Niall forgets that Ash has never cared for the whole ‘make your insecurities into a joke’ brand of humor. He remembers the time that Asher had asked Keith how he was doing while he was studying for an exam, and Keith had looked up and responded with ‘thinking about jumping off a cliff, what about you?’. Asher had stopped what he was doing to stare, worry etched onto his features, and it had taken Keith a moment to realize why before he specified that he was kidding. Ash…hadn’t found it funny, to put it mildly. “Hey,” Asher kisses his head again, “what’re you thinking about?”

“Your sense of humor,” Niall replies, grinning as that brings a brief, incredulous laugh out of Asher.

“My sense of humor is great; I just don’t like depressing jokes.”

“Sweetheart, most of your jokes are puns.”

“You like puns too!”

“And?” Niall grins, then jumps a little when he feels Asher’s fingers start to dig into his ribs. “Hey!”

“Sorry babe, this is what happens. You’re mean to your boyfriend, you get tickled. I don’t make the rules.” There’s a huge grin on his face as Niall tries to get out of his grip, and he wraps both arms around Niall’s waist and lifts him up. Niall lets out a surprised yelp, reflexively wrapping his legs around Asher’s waist, then he glares when he realizes what Asher’s doing. Ash just grins back at him and keeps walking, now carrying Niall.

“My roommates are never going to let me hear the end of this…” Niall mutters, resting his chin on Asher’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m counting on it,” Ash replies, then he laughs when Niall flicks the side of his head.

Once they actually walk into the building, though, Ash lets Niall down, and seems content to just hold Niall’s hand as they walk to his room. Niall’s silent for a little while, but eventually he looks up at his boyfriend, wondering if this is a good question to ask. Ash is harder for him to read than most other people. He’s not an angry person, but at the same time, if he’s annoyed about something, he’s more likely to bottle it up than to vent it out unless Niall asks him to. And sometimes, not even then.

“Did you have a bad day?” He finally asks. Asher looks down at him, momentarily surprised before he just smiles and stops walking to lean down and kiss him. His lips are soft and warm, and he’s a great kisser (not that Niall has much experience in that department), but the act doesn’t make Niall feel any less worried. He knows that Asher can see that when the kiss is over, because he looks annoyed for a split second before smiling again and continuing their walk.

He’s not mad at you, you know that.

Still, Niall can’t help the brief surge of anxiety that pools in his stomach.

“We can talk about it later, alright?”

“Okay…” He squeezes Asher’s hand. Ash squeezes back.

Asher already knows that Niall’s roommates aren’t around when they get to the door (he doesn’t hear them), but he stays silent and lets Niall knock on the door to check anyway.

“Zoey? Guys?” Niall calls in. “Are you in there?” No response, of course, and when Niall tries the door, it’s locked. He flashes his student ID card in front of a brightly colored bar above the handle. There’s a high-pitched electronic ‘beep’, and then the click of a lock, and the door opens.

The suite itself isn’t quite as fancy as one might expect. At least, compared to how a lot of the other buildings on campus look. Still, it’s cozy enough, and has quite a bit of room. Niall double checks to make sure his roommates are all gone, and then he lets out a sigh of relief and flops down onto the couch, face-down. Asher smiles and kneels down next to him, running his fingers through Niall’s thick brown hair.

“How much longer are you going to let this grow?” He asks. Niall just grunts, probably an ‘I don’t know’. “Are you tired?” He raises one hand into a thumbs-up. “Do you want me to ask Seth to cover for you tonight?” A pause, and then he turns his hand over into a thumbs-down. He sighs and shifts over onto his back, and then he looks at Asher and he smiles.

God, he’s adorable. He knows that Niall doesn’t care much for being called that, especially when they’re on duty, but it’s the truth.

Niall’s always been a little more serious than the others; he doesn’t smile very often when they’re all together. But he almost always smiles when he looks at Asher, and it’s a real smile, one of contentment, and whenever he does, it makes Asher’s heart pound.

How did I get so lucky, he wonders, looking into Niall’s emerald eyes, and then he leans down to kiss him. Niall kisses back.

“My day wasn’t that bad,” he finally admits. Niall raises an eyebrow, which makes him grin. “I’m serious, baby. I’m fine. It’s more of a…well, it’s just a ‘me’ problem, okay?” That doesn’t look like it makes Niall feel any better. “Do you trust me?” He asks, already knowing the answer.

“That depends, sweetheart.” Niall sits up with a wry smile. “Do I trust that you love me? Yes. Do I trust you with my life? Absolutely. Do I trust you to talk to me about your problems instead of letting them build up? Definitely not.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s fair,” he admits with a laugh. Niall’s smile vanishes after a moment, and he looks worried again. Ash stops laughing and holds his hand out. Niall takes it and gently squeezes. Ash squeezes back. “You sure you’re feeling up to it tonight?”

“Yeah,” Niall nods. “Are you?”

“Yep.”

Foxy Loxy: Hey guys, Ash and I are about to get some sleep before work tonight. Remember to keep your phones on in case we need help! Kate, can you still update us on any suspicious activity?

Foxy Loxy: Also, Keith, change my name back.

Spider Dance: It was a wip anyway.

Niall: Thank you.

Alaska Blue: Yep, I’m on it. Going to be pulling an all-nighter anyway.

Mama Bird: You two be careful, okay?

Little Red: Will do.

Little Red: Keith I swear to God.

Big Bad Wolf: Did you change my name to match it?

Big Bad Wolf: Hell yeah, I love this one.

Little Red: Please don’t encourage him.

Spider Dance: I mean it makes sense. Red motif, wolf, he’s made a sexy joke about eating you at least once, etc.

Illuminati: You know, he’s got some good points there.

Little Red: Oh my God. Goodnight.

Spider Dance: <3

God. Watching Niall suit up is one of the hottest things he’s ever seen. For more reasons than just the fact that he gets to see his boyfriend strip down and then get into a tight suit. Niall notices that he’s not putting his own costume on and looks up at him, then snorts.

“Don’t do that,” he says, trying hard not to laugh and failing as he sits down on the bed to pull on his boots. Asher laughs too and continues putting his own costume on as well.

“Don’t do what, baby?” He asks innocently.

“The bedroom eyes. We have work to do.”

“Yeah, I know.” Asher walks over to Niall, then leans down and kisses his forehead. “Have I ever told you how sexy it is when you go into Leader Mode?”

“Many times. Usually before you try to make out with me when we’re supposed to be patrolling.”

“Mm.” He smiles, looking into Niall’s eyes. Niall looks back, his own smile slowly fading as they just stare at each other for a moment. Finally, Niall looks away, his face turning an absolutely adorable shade of red.

“Alright, cut it out.”

“Aww, you’re no fun.” Niall gives him a deadpan look. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.” They finish putting on their costumes, and Niall opens up his window, looking out into the campus to make sure that nobody will see them. Then they slip out into the cool night air.

The city of Herla is big. A sprawling metropolis, dotted here and there with spots of green and blue among the artificial technicolor of cars and billboards or the sterile gray and silver of stone and metal buildings.

Their team has its own ‘section’ to protect, a few blocks that the Einherjar and other heroes have vowed to keep away from unless they find it necessary to intervene. It feels pretty large when they’re patrolling it, but it isn’t even a double-digit percentage of the full city; they aren’t ready for any more responsibility than this, apparently.

Naturally, this is one of the parts of the city with the smallest crime rates; and of those crimes, very few of them have anything to do with the kind of villains that Niall and his team are training to fight.

Which isn’t to say that it isn’t still dangerous. Hell, Niall’s been on the business end of a loaded gun more than once, and sometimes his abilities were the only things that saved him from getting a hole in his forehead.

He keeps checking on Asher.

He’s always seemed to be made for this job. It was thanks to Ash that creating the team was successful, because otherwise Niall wouldn’t have had the courage to try putting it all together. It was Asher standing next to him, silently supporting him, that gave him the strength to argue with Odin himself until he wore the old man out enough to negotiate with him.

Also, he can’t help but stare. When someone built like Asher wears a suit that tight, you kind of have to stare, in admiration if nothing else.

Granted, they wear padded armor as well, it’s not like they’re just jumping around in bodysuits and nothing else.

Orange flames wreath his eyes, his muscles visibly flex and bulge as they hop from building to building, and a thick, black fog surrounds him as he makes leaps and bounds against empty air to get to further or higher buildings. He’s strong, and he’s almost frightening, and yet he’s the most beautiful person that Niall’s ever seen.

Niall’s so busy staring that he nearly forgets how to make that same jump, but thankfully the copy catches him and gives him that boost when it appears, and he stumbles a little when he lands, but Asher catches him, a smile on his face.

“You okay, babe?” He asks, and Niall feels his face flush, but he just says what he’s thinking anyway.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Asher looks surprised for just a moment, and then he laughs, and then he’s pulling him close, and Asher’s lips are soft and warm against his, and too soon, it’s over.

“That’s what I said to you before we got together,” Asher says, still holding onto him. “So I think you know what my response is going to be.” Niall’s face gets hotter, and he nods, and Asher kisses his forehead, and they get back to it. This time, Niall keeps a more alert eye out for any suspicious activity.

After nearly an hour of nothing to see and sparse conversation, Niall’s earpiece crackles to life, and Kate’s voice comes through.

“Fenris, Sionnach, this is Juno. Do you read me?” Asher looks at him with a grin of amusement, and Niall has to grin too. Kate always talks to them through the intercom like she’s a military commander.

“Yeah Juno, we can hear you just fine,” he answers. “You have something to report?”

“More like a hunch.” A few seconds of silence pass. “We’ve got a series of robberies throughout the city. Banks, jewelry stores. Always late at night, in and out quickly, with the security guards always either not knowing anything happened or saying that they saw the criminal, but for reasons they can’t explain, weren’t suspicious at all.” Niall feels a little spark of excitement in his chest. Finally! “This has been happening all week without anybody catching or properly seeing the thief, but the pattern places them possibly going after the Herla Museum.”

“Why the museum?” Asher asks. “That doesn’t really fit the kind of places that are being robbed.”

“Usually, no. But the museum got a new display recently; Diana’s Moondrop. It’s pretty much just a bigass diamond.”

“How big?”

“Over one-thousand carats.” Niall isn’t really sure how that measurement works, but based on the way Asher’s eyes widen, it’s probably pretty huge.

“Alright, we’re on our way there,” Niall says. “Thanks, Juno.”

“No problem. Be safe, boys.”

Asher knew from the moment that Kate told them about the thief’s MO that he’d need to be keeping an eye on Niall. That look in his eyes is never a good sign.

They get to the museum pretty quickly; turns out they were just about ten minutes away. They scope out the place from a building across the street; there’s a guard at the front entrance, probably at least one inside as well. At first, Asher doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary…and then Niall grabs his wrist and points to the corner of the block to the left of their vantage point, where a young woman walks around towards the museum. This wouldn’t be so odd if it weren’t for…well, her looks.

She’s beautiful, to put it simply. Like a model straight out of a magazine. Wavy, flowing brown hair, an hourglass figure beneath a flattering red dress…but it’s her eyes that set off alarms.

They’re, quite visibly, glowing a faint pink.

“We’ll follow her in,” Niall says quietly. “If we confront her now, she has plenty of room to run. There are only a couple of ways to get in and out of the museum, and we can block all of them off.” Asher nods, and they keep watching as the woman approaches the guard with a flirtatious smile. She says something, and the guard blinks…and his eyes turn that same shade of pink as he responds, and he turns and unlocks the door to the museum. She says something to him again, then kisses his cheek and walks in.

“Wow,” he says, then jumps a little when Niall elbows him. He looks over to see his boyfriend grinning. “What?”

“Should I be jealous?” He asks. Asher rolls his eyes and leans over, giving him a kiss.

“Absolutely not, sweetheart.” Then he hops down from the building. The dark fog surrounding him moves like it has a life of its own, gathering beneath him like a pillow and cushioning his landing. He looks up, unable to contain a grin; he never gets tired of seeing Niall do this.

Niall takes a few steps back, and then runs, kicking off of the edge of the roof. Ruby-red smoke surrounds him as he does a slow backflip in the air, and he lands perfectly on his feet, with no sign of injury despite the well over 30 foot fall. The red smoke vanishes, but his eyes have turned from a soft jade to a dark red reminiscent of blood. He looks up at Asher then, a big grin on his face, and then he looks away, his face turning almost as red as his eyes.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he mutters. Asher grins.

“Oh, so you can stop in the middle of patrol to tell me you’re in love with me, but I’m not allowed to silently adore you?”

“That sums it up, yeah.” Niall grins at him and heads towards the museum. Asher just follows him; Niall almost always has a plan ahead of time when it comes to this job. In other fields…not so much.

The smile Niall gives the guard is a far more professional looking one, but there’s a sense of strictness to it.

“Excuse me, sir, but I believe I just saw you let somebody into the museum, and I don’t think that I need to tell you that it’s long after closing time,” he says. The guard seems stunned for just a moment, and then the pink color begins to fade from his eyes as he stutters out a response.

“I…well, she said she was…”

“If you wouldn’t mind, my partner and I would like to go inside and ensure that she is here on official business.” That same tight, professional smile, and when the guard starts to speak again, Niall holds up an empty hand as if he has something in it. The guard’s eyes narrow at Niall’s hand, he blinks, and then he slowly nods.

“Yes, of course.”

As soon as the doors are shut, Asher looks at Niall, both amused and a little puzzled.

“Why can’t you lie that well any other time?”

“Because I’m usually not using my powers when I lie.” He looks towards the doors again, frowning. “Honestly, he probably wouldn’t have believed us even then with how we’re dressed, but whatever she did to him was still in effect too.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” is all Asher says as he walks ahead, looking around at the museum.

It’s mostly natural history, a lot of it fairly recent, like relics from the founding of the city. The building isn’t very big, either, so where would they put the diamond?

“This way,” Niall says quietly, pointing to a sign and then walking down to another area of the museum. The sign reads 'Geological Findings'. Asher sighs and follows Niall, hoping that his boyfriend doesn’t get too eager for a fight and do something stupid.

The young woman is already at the display case in the center of the room, where the diamond is. Niall motions for Asher to stay on one side of the entryway to the room while he slips over to the other, so they can both see her clearly.

Asher knew that it wouldn’t be cut, but it’s still a little weird (after all the heist movies he’s seen) to see a diamond that isn’t in that shape people often associate with gemstones. It’s just a large, translucent chunk sitting in a simple glass display.

She hums a slow, soft tune as she walks around the case, her eyes faintly glowing and a smirk on her face as she eyes the diamond.

“Feel free to come out anytime, boys,” she calls out to them, without looking up. “I know you aren’t going to make this easy for me.” Ash looks at Niall, who looks as wary as he feels, but then he nods, so Asher steps into the room with him. They stop a good dozen feet away. She finally looks up at them, her eyes no longer glowing, instead fading to a dark brown that, in the darkness, makes her eyes look black. “I’ve got to say, I’m impressed you caught on so soon. I’ve been able to sneak out from under every other hero’s nose so far.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Asher says, crossing his arms. “They all have better things to worry about than another jewel thief. You’re barely a blip on their radar.”

“Hm. Fair enough,” she replies, raising her eyebrows, and her smirk grows. “So, what does it say about you two that you caught on to me so quickly?”

“Damn,” Niall says, sounding disappointed as he looks at Asher. “I really like her.” Of course he does.

“You’re sweet,” the woman says, and her dark eyes begin to glow once again as a beautiful, perfectly innocent smile graces her already stunning features. “We don’t have to fight, you know…” Her eyes flick between them, and Asher feels…something. He supposes that it’s probably what the guards felt when she talked to him, but…weaker. Too weak to have any real effect. She seems to realize this, because she blinks, and her eyes fade back to their normal color.

“We’re flattered, really,” Niall says, grinning at her like she just made a good joke, “but uh…wrong tree.” Her eyes widen a little, and for the briefest of moments she looks almost embarrassed.

“Ah. Well. Then I guess we do need to fight, don’t we?” She flexes her fingers, and her nails sharpen into claws. Asher can already hear Rachel complaining that she can’t do that. “Give me your best shot, boys.”

“Back at you, gorgeous,” Niall says as he reaches out to his side. Red smoke flows out of his palm into a long column that solidifies into a spear. He twirls it once, just for the added effect. Asher has to hold back grinning at the theatrics. Thick, dark fog surrounds him and gathers in his hands, solid. He grips the handle tightly when it forms. The fog keeps stirring until it takes the shape of a macuahuitl, the jagged obsidian teeth lining its sides gleam in the dim lighting. The woman just grins at them.

“Oh, this will be fun.” She dashes towards them first, and Niall is there to meet her. A quick swipe of her claws leaves him a deep, clean... nothing. A copy. Her confusion doesn’t linger as a metallic thud forces a pained growl out of her. Niall just hit a home run against the back of her ribs with the spear. She whirls around for a counterattack and Asher takes the chance to swing at her legs. The next thing he knows is a flash of anger in his gut, stumbling back as he clutches the side of his jaw. But there’s no follow up, Niall is already thrusting and swinging at her full force, and she has trouble dodging. Just when she thinks she’s turned it around, another copy takes the brunt of her swipe. His attack continues.

Asher summons his weapon back and swings again, towards her midsection. At the last moment, the weapon sweeps her legs from under her instead. A feint. The fall knocks the wind out of her and Niall leaps upwards, higher than any person should be able to, and then he launches downwards like a meteor. He barely misses, digging the spear into the floor where she should’ve been. Asher takes over, the speed of his swings throwing her off, a mistake that costs her a few locks of hair when she dodges just a split second too late. She scowls, or snarls, or both, but doesn’t skip a beat. That is, until something zooms past Asher and buries itself into her shoulder; a red arrow. She howls, and Ash drops his sword to kick her in the torso. She’s launched backwards a good few feet and rolls across the floor. The arrow vanishes into smoke, and she scrambles back up.

“You’re tougher than you look,” Asher says as he picks his sword back up and drags it along behind him, the obsidian teeth carving through the floor like a hot knife through butter. “I’m actually impressed.”

“Likewise,” she says, letting out a brief laugh as she stands up, holding a clawed hand to where Asher’s boot hit her. She starts to take a step towards him. Another arrow flies by, just barely missing her other arm.

“Take another step, and the next one goes in your neck,” Niall warns, walking up to Asher’s side, ready to fire another arrow. It’s an empty threat, Ash knows; out of all of them, Niall is probably the least likely to attempt any lethal hits. But she doesn’t need to know that. She doesn’t move, her eyes narrowing at Niall.

“It’s just a diamond, kid.”

“Don’t you have enough money from the last few robberies?” He retorts. “Or are you the type that gets everything she wants and still has to have more?” Asher smirks, barely resisting the urge to encourage him to really tell her off, but he tenses when he notices that her eyes are getting increasingly brighter. Something’s up. She opens her mouth.

And she screams.

At least, that’s what it sounds like for the split-second he hears it before a high-pitched, deafening ringing in his ears drowns out all else. He drops his macuahuitl and covers them, as does Niall, and by then she’s moving again.

He moves to grab his weapon again, but he’s too slow, and he throws his arms up at the last second.

But she doesn’t use her claws.

He recognizes the throw she’s setting up from his sparring with Rachel, and he tries to get ahold of her to throw her off, but then she latches onto his back.

Her hands are on his jaw and the top of his head, and he has just long enough to realize what she’s about to do before she jerks his head to the side.

Like breaking a stick with your knee. That’s what it sounds like when Asher’s neck breaks, and she jumps off of him as he collapses to the floor. And then he’s as still as a statue.

Niall can’t even move. It doesn’t occur to him that he needs to. He just stares at Asher’s wide-open eyes, their gaze fixed on nothing at all, and the flames emitting from them sputter and snuff out.

Then she steps towards him, and he’s jolted into action, drawing his bow back and letting an arrow loose. She dodges. His bow evaporates and becomes a spear again, and it becomes another stalling game. He swings, thrusts, kicks at her, just barely missing each time, but he can feel how much slower he’s going, and he keeps looking at Asher’s body.

His arm burns, and then he’s against a wall, and he doesn’t know if the crack he hears is one of the bricks or if it’s his rib. His arm is warm, and he doesn’t have to look down at it to know that it’s a deep gash. He forces himself to stay upright, not to fall or slump down, as she walks closer, taking her sweet time.

Niall looks at Asher. Then at her.

And he smiles as Asher taps her on the shoulder.

He catches her arm when she turns to take a swipe at him, and then she screams. He’s grinning at her, his neck still bent at an odd angle.

The flames in his eyes burn with a newfound fury, and beneath them, his sclera are black as coal.

“Nice one,” he says as he lifts her off her feet by the arm with ease. She slashes across his chest with her other one. He doesn’t even flinch. “A clean break. You impressed me again.” He turns, swinging her around, and he lets go, launching her into the opposite wall. Her back crashes against it, and she falls to the floor, a nasty wet cough ravaging her lungs.

Asher reaches up and twists his neck back into place, and there’s a series of clicking noises as the injury mends itself. Then he turns to look back at Niall, still grinning, his teeth much sharper than they were a moment ago…and then he tilts his head, and his grin fades into a look of confusion. He blinks, and his eyes are back to normal as he runs towards Niall.

Thank God, Niall thinks. Now would be the worst possible time for Ash to lose himself. His thoughts are interrupted by a flash of pain as Asher touches the slashes across his arm, and he swears loudly.

“I’m sorry,” Asher says softly as he, very gently, helps Niall move away from the wall, and then his hands are gently pressing against Niall’s back and sides, each time sending a throb of pain through him, but then Asher sighs. “Nothing’s broken.”

Niall looks past him, at the opposite wall.

The woman isn’t there anymore, nor is she anywhere else in the room. The diamond is still in its case, untouched.

He doesn’t say so, but as Asher contacts Kate to send some (straight female) cops to the museum in case the woman comes back…as they wait for said cops to arrive…as they make the much slower trek back to campus…Niall muses that it really is just a stupid fucking diamond.

Because he’d forgotten for a few seconds that it would take a lot more than a broken neck to kill Asher.

Ash’s neck feels sore. Anywhere he takes that kind of injury usually does once he recovers from it. He’s sure that Niall feels worse. He helps his boyfriend strip out of his armor and the costume, and then (after making sure Niall’s roommates are all asleep) takes him to the bathroom to clean and bandage the scratches. Thankfully, he’s pretty sure it’s a case of ‘looks worse than it is’.

Niall is quiet the entire time, and Asher is pretty sure that he knows why, but it isn’t until he’s undressed too and they’re in Niall’s bed that his boyfriend admits it.

“Sometimes I forget that you can’t die from just that,” he says softly. Ash sighs and gently squeezes Niall against him, not saying anything because he doesn’t know what to say.

Hell, sometimes he forgets that he won’t die.

He guesses that it’s like being in a dream, but he doesn’t see or hear anything. At least, not at first. Just darkness. And then he…well, he feels it before he hears it. A deep, low, steady rumbling, and it isn’t until he does hear it that he realizes it’s breathing. Not his own; something far bigger. And then he ‘wakes up’. It never takes longer than a couple of seconds. He remembers the first time he ‘discovered’ this ability…

He’s brought out of his train of thought when he realizes that Niall’s saying something.

“Sorry baby, what was that?” He asks quietly. Niall doesn’t respond for a few seconds.

“What does it feel like?”

“To ‘die’?”

“To start losing control. When you looked at me…what were you thinking before you snapped out of it?”

Fuck. That’s definitely a harder question to answer. He’s never been a good liar.

How do you tell your boyfriend that, for a few seconds, you looked at him, hurt and bleeding, and wanted to hurt him more? That there was a voice urging you to tear him apart? That it took a few seconds longer than it should have to bring yourself back?

He doesn’t know. So, he lies.

“I can’t remember. You know how when you get angry… really angry…and then afterwards, you can’t recall what your thought process had been?” He hadn’t been talking about Niall, specifically, but he realizes a moment later that Niall can relate to that more than he’d like to. “It’s sort of like that.”

“...oh.” Niall probably sees right through that. But he changes the subject. “Training tomorrow is going to suck…”

“So take a break from it.”

“I can’t…”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to.”

“You…” Ash sighs and kisses the top of Niall’s head. “You’re so stubborn…” Niall doesn’t reply. “...hey. You know I love you, yeah?”

“I know. I love you too.”

Niall usually doesn’t remember his dreams. He wakes up not remembering if he had a dream at all.

If he does remember it…then it’s usually important. This is one of those dreams.

He’s in the park that he meets Siobhan at every week. Just walking along one of the concrete paths towards the fountain in the middle. There’s only one other person in the park with him, and he’s sitting on a bench, looking at the fountain, his broad back to Niall. Niall sits down next to him.

“Hey, Dean,” he says. Dean looks at him, and his icy-blue eyes are piercing, but his smile is warm.

“Dia duit, Niall.” He has an Irish lilt to his voice, a bit stronger than the one Niall’s grandmother has, but still easy to understand. “How have you been?”

“Since we last spoke or in general?” Niall asks, smiling back at him. It hasn’t been that long since he’s met up with Dean like this…roughly two months, he’s pretty sure…and the gap between such meetings would be a lot shorter if Niall could figure out how to call Dean to him. But he’s always felt that asking Siobhan for help would be too inconvenient for her, since he’s pretty certain that it’s a much more difficult thing to pull off than a spell as simple as faerie fire (which he still manages to have trouble with), so for now, whether or not they speak is entirely up to Dean.

“Why not both?” He looks down at Niall’s bandaged arm and frowns, gently placing his hand over the bandage. After a moment, the dull pain fades completely. “Getting into riskier fights, I see.”

“They’re all risky in our line of work,” Niall replies, with a shrug. Dean nods.

“I suppose. How is Asher?”

“He’s…okay, I hope. He’s losing control a little quicker than he usually does during fights, but he brings himself back just as fast.” Most of the time.

“Hm…” Dean wraps a muscular arm loosely around Niall’s shoulders and closes his eyes as a soft breeze blows through the park, and Niall looks up to see dark clouds hanging over them. It’s usually sunny when they meet. But he doesn’t comment on it. “You didn’t answer my first question.”

“What?”

“How are you doing, deartháir?” He pulls Niall closer to his side. “I do miss you, you know. So tell me how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine. I just…” Niall shrugs. “I have good and bad days.”

“Ah.” Dean’s eyes move to Niall’s bare forearms, and Niall follows the gaze, noting to himself (not for the first time) that while he’s certainly pale, Dean has an almost deathly pallor to him. “How bad?”

“I haven’t had a day that bad in a long time.” That’s not entirely true. He hasn’t acted on the urge in a while, but he’s certainly thought about it.

“Good.” They don’t speak for a little while then, and Niall finds himself leaning his head on Dean’s shoulder, his eyes turned towards the overcast sky again.

“What about you? How’ve you been?” Niall asks softly. Dean hums.

“I’ve been well. Your life is no doubt more eventful than mine.” He chuckles. “But thank you for asking.”

“How’s your family?” He’s asked the question before, more than once, and usually Dean is happy to tell him. But this time…it’s like a switch has been flipped. The gray clouds get darker, thicker, like they’re full to bursting with rain, and when he sits up and looks over, Dean’s expression is far more solemn.

“I was…hoping you wouldn’t ask for a bit longer,” he says, and he stands up. Niall stands too and looks up at him. Dean sighs and gently grabs Niall’s shoulders. “My family and I are…” He trails off for a moment. “We’re on our way.” Niall blinks.

“‘On your way’?” He repeats. “What do you mean?”

“I need you to promise that you’ll be careful.” The wind is picking up, blowing Dean’s thick, dark hair, and Niall can feel it making a mess of his own as well. Dean looks worried; more worried than Niall has ever seen him before. “Promise me, deartháir.”

“I promise.” He says it automatically. He doesn’t know what he’s supposed to be careful of, and he has a feeling that Dean won’t answer if he asks, but he can tell that it’s important. Dean nods, then pulls Niall against him in a tight hug that Niall returns.

“I’ll keep you safe as long as I can, Niall. I promise.”

Asher is already gone when Niall wakes up, but as always, there’s a sticky note on the table next to it.

Sorry baby, I had to head to work. Taking you out to dinner tonight if all goes well. I love you!

-Ash

Niall sighs and tosses the note in the wastebasket, then stands up and raises his injured arm to carefully stretch it.

It doesn’t hurt.

He frowns, and his heartbeat begins to speed up as he unwraps the bandage and looks at the smooth skin beneath. No trace of any scratches. He slowly drops the bandages in the trash too.

He needs to talk to his grandmother. He quickly gets dressed, tells Claire and Zoey when he passes the couch that he’ll be back in a few hours (and stops to give them a quick hug), and when he’s in his car, he opens the group chat.

Little Red: Not going to be able to make it to training today, sorry guys. I’ll make it up to you all later. You’re in charge, alright Rachel?

Mama Bird: Roger that.

Spider Dance: Damn, Niall’s not forcing himself to train? Who died?

Little Red: Ha ha ha. I’m laughing so hard right now. You should be a comedian.

Spider Dance: Why do you think I have so many followers?

Little Red: I always assumed you just flashed them your ass.

Spider Dance: The nerve of this bitch-

Alaskan Blue: You do have a great ass though.

Little Red: Lol I’ll talk to you guys soon.

“You really had to say that when we’re in the same place?” Keith looks up at Kate, who looks back at him with a quick, mischievous grin before returning to her work.

“Obviously,” she replies, tying her auburn hair back into a ponytail and picking the stylus back up, gliding the tip of it along the screen with quick, but graceful movements, stopping now and then to make quick notes in a messy scrawl that Keith swears has to be in another language. Still, he likes watching her get so focused, and so he does, drinking from his mug in silence while she draws, erases, redraws, makes notes…and then she speaks again. “Hey, mind tossing me an apple?”

“You’re eating an apple for breakfast?” He asks, but he’s already opening the plastic bag with the big, cutesy bee on it and picking out one of the biggest ones. He whistles to get her attention, then tosses it over. She catches it one-handed.

“Thanks, hon.” Then she turns away again and takes a bite out of it. She pauses, then leans over the small trash bin and spits it out with a grimace. “What the hell?”

“What’s wrong?” He walks over to her, maybe a bit too quickly, and he’s sure that any other time she’d playfully razz him about worrying too much about her, but all she does is hold the apple up. He takes it from her and bites into it.

They’re supposed to be a really sweet kind of apple…at least, that’s what the name ‘sugarbee’ implied when he picked it up at the store.

Instead, it’s like biting into one of those sour candies that he gave to Niall once as a prank. He makes a face that he’s pretty sure would make for fantastic blackmail material if Niall got a picture of it, but all Kate does is laugh through her grimace as he spits it out and drops the apple into the bin.

“Did you get a bad bag?” She asks. He walks back to the kitchen and fills two glasses of water for them to get rid of the taste, and he takes a look at the bag on the way over. He shakes his head.

“No, they should be good.” He hands her a glass, and she takes a big gulp from it. He does the same, then looks at the apple they bit into. “It looks fine…” He pulls out his phone to see if there’s been anything on the news about a food recall, and then he looks at Kate when her own phone starts ringing. She looks at it and frowns, but answers it. He knows it’s about work when she starts using her ‘commander voice’, so he keeps searching.

“Hello?” A pause. “Yes, Agent Perchta. I’m on my way.” She hangs up and sighs, then looks at Keith. He shakes his head.

“No recalls or anything like that…I guess we just got a bad batch.” He looks at her. “What’s going on?”

“Apparently I’m needed for a meeting between the Hellequin and Odin,” she replies, standing up to go put on more formal clothes.

“Why do they need you there?”

“No idea. Glad I packed better clothes just in case…” She pauses at the bedroom door and looks back at him. “Aren’t you going to train today?”

Crap. Rachel’s going to kill him.

“You know where I keep the spare key, lock the door when you leave!” He quickly exclaims as he rushes out the door. When he gets out onto the sidewalk, he nearly runs into a woman, apologizing profusely, but quickly as he keeps running, feeling a little better when he hears her call to him that it’s alright.

She and her sons watch the young man run, silently observing the powerful violet aura of magic that surrounds him, and one of her sons begins to step past her to follow him, his expression a mask of cold fury.

“Keep your temper, Dante. It was an accident.” He doesn’t look any calmer, but he meets her gaze for only a moment before he steps back with a quiet apology.

She takes a few steps forward and looks around, brushing her dark hair from her eyes as the wind blows past them. She watches the traffic that is somehow not at all congested and the pedestrians, listens to the crowds that are somehow not deafening, breathes in the smell of fresh, clean air and good food rather than the suffocating fumes of car exhaust that she expected…and she knows that this is the place. The whole city seems to radiate magic, even if almost everyone she looks at is a perfectly normal human.

She turns to her three sons and smiles. They smile back, their eyes beginning to change color and glow.

“Welcome to our new home, my dear boys. Different from what we’re used to, of course, but…with a few changes…it will be everything we want it to be.”