littleladylord (littleladylord) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2011-07-18 02:08:00

Entry tags:

'The eagles fly without you.... but I....'
She'd made a salad when she invited him over.
Cindy pushed her salad around her plate with her fork. She knew eating was a good thing -- provided it was healthy food -- but she wasn't hungry.

"Thanks for coming," she said, looking up at Michael. A pause. "...I don't know what else to say there."

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	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 04:49 am UTC (link)
	"Not a problem, Cindy. Not a problem at all," Michael said. He was poking at it himself, although in his poking he had already eaten more than she had. That tells him that somethings wrong. And he has an idea. "Cindy, talk to me." (Reply to this)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-07-18 04:54 am UTC (link)
	And she does, quietly. "...I ... I never thought I'd have a girlfriend before I was thirty, did you know? That wasn't The Plan. Nic likes... liked... to ruin my Plans." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

masterofmatter
2011-07-18 04:58 am UTC (link)

Oh god.

Michael heard about someone on the JSA being murdered, but Michael had...well, avoided is not a strong enough word for it. He's out and out ignored anything not directly related to his duties. With all the death still fresh in his mind, even resurrection didn't strip that raw quality of death out of someone.

"I think anyone unlucky in love thinks that, Cindy. Nic did that for you."

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	littleladylord 2011-07-18 05:02 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah. She did. They still don't know who did it, but... he wasn't quick. I made them tell me. He wasn't quick. She suffocated." With nothing else to do, her small hands gripped into fork until the edges of it nearly broke the skin. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 05:04 am UTC (link)
	Crap crap crap. "Cindy, look, I don't know what you're going through, but I'll be damned if we don't find who did it." Michael really doesn't know what to do. The last woman he dealt with that was grieving was Traya. That didn't end well. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-07-18 05:09 am UTC (link)

And there's something bright and brittle in the back of Cindy's wet eyes when she looks up at him and makes herself smile a little. "Yeah. Thanks Michael. Everybody's on it, we just... haven't figured it all out yet. She hadn't even mentioned the thing she was working on to me; probably mostly 'cause it's taken me so long to be ready for fieldwork."

She forces the smile again as the tears start falling. "See, if I were prettier, this is where you'd be getting yourself into trouble, huh?"

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masterofmatter
2011-07-18 05:19 am UTC (link)

"No, you do not get to say that, Cindy. Stop that crap right now," Michael says, his seriousness evident in his words.

"First of all, someone will find something. Maybe the Atom finds something missed the first time through. Something will happen. Second, training is freaking hard you'd probably whip my ass in a fair fight with me powerless, because I don't train enough. Third-"

That last bit derailed Michael a bit. There is now a sad smile there.

"Third, no, I would be in trouble now if I didn't already know I had no chance."

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	littleladylord 2011-07-18 05:30 am UTC (link)
	"Right, right," Cindy mutters to his assurances, then voice still on the edge of cracking, she just lets go of the fork --which has left some rather garish marks -- and takes his hand. "...Dork," she says softly, squeezing. "Thanks.." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 05:32 am UTC (link)
	"I do what I can. Michael Choi - professional pretty lady shoulder." Michael is going to squeeze right back. This has to be so damn hard for her. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-07-18 05:43 am UTC (link)
	She's breathing a little heavy through her cracked laugh. "...I loved her, you know? I told her, but it doesn't feel like it was enough, now..." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 05:47 am UTC (link)
	"I'm sure you did. She was really good for you. And I know some people who would say the same or her." Damn it, Cindy, fight it. Michael hates crying women. Especially crying women he can't help with. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-07-18 05:54 am UTC (link)

And, as it happens, she is fighting it. She dries the tears with a napkin, she catches her breath. But there's still that strange, bright brittleness in her eyes. "...I hope it wasn't a zombie, whoever did it. I hope whoever did it has something that passes for a soul. And a plan. And everything. If he had a plan, he'll be easier to find in the end, and if he has a soul, I've got a chance of being useful bringing him down."

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	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 05:59 am UTC (link)
	"I'm pretty sure Zombie would mean he'd be like the Lanterns, who haven't gotten much. Chances are he'll then have a plan. Hell, even assholes without plans can make themselves obvious, like the Joker. You'll get your chance, Cindy, but you'll also need to make a decision." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-07-18 06:01 am UTC (link)
	She blinks a little. "What?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 06:03 am UTC (link)
	"The big one. One-Eight-Seven. The one that a lot of heroes manage to avoid even when the worst has happened and has been done." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-07-18 06:16 am UTC (link)

Cindy sits there and thinks about it for a moment. "...I can't pretend I'd waste tears or outrage if it happened, Michael. I've tried my best... but I guess I'm not just enough of a heroine for that. I don't think it makes us no better than them. But I like the margins of my sense of superiority nice and wide. So...when it all comes down, I think I'll do my best not to. Try to calm down Rex into seeing he can't give the guy the satisfaction of ruining his career, either. Try to keep in mind what we really want." And she manages to smirk. " 'Cause I've got a feeling whoever this bastard is, he's going to be horrified at being treated like a common criminal."

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	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 06:20 am UTC (link)
	Well, that was a bit long winded way of saying "I'll try." Michael isn't a fan of that but if she's as messed up as he thinks she is, Michael will let it pass. "I'm gonna have to accept that for now. But I do like the idea of this schmuck being treated as scum. It'd be his time to avoid dropping the soap." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-07-18 06:27 am UTC (link)

"Yeah," she says quietly, staring straight ahead. "..I bet he thinks he's clever, so clever. I bet he thinks we're so helpless." She feels so helpless. "A fair trial, that's what he needs. Totally fair. No uncertainty at all about what happened." She can't stand the uncertainty. Can't stand it. Something about the way she was left... it wasn't some scared robber lashing out, she just knew it wasn't. "Then he'll see how clever he is."

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	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 06:33 am UTC (link)
	"Fair trial. All the evidence. Then toss him to the dogs. That's the best way to give Nic justice." There is another squeeze. Michael made sure not to let go of her hand. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-07-18 06:39 am UTC (link)
	"...My birthday's coming up. It's hard to believe I knew her less than a year." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 06:45 am UTC (link)
	"Hey, important people need only a second to leave an impression. She must have been because even in that time she left a big one." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-07-18 06:47 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah," she says softly. "Thanks, Michael." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 06:52 am UTC (link)
	"Professional shoulder, remember? Two more weeping pretty gals and I get inducted into the Professional Shoulder Society. We get a pin." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-07-18 06:54 am UTC (link)
	She sighs, smiling. "Well done, then." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	masterofmatter 2011-07-18 07:02 am UTC (link)
	"If you need any more time, you know I'm here. You have that new team of yours that I know will be willing to help. Just know this isn't the end." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-07-18 07:05 am UTC (link)
	"Thanks, Michael. Right. You're right. I know." But she's pretty sure that if she ever falls in love again, it won't be remotely the same. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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