𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 𝐀. 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 [𝟏]

➛⠀𝟯𝟴 | 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗩𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗡

"You look adorable!" Molly squealed.

Molly giggled as you rolled your eyes and stuck your tongue out to her. When you observed one of the members of the Church of Gibborim entering the caféteria, Chase and Alex shushed Molly as you all entered the Timely Coffee. Nico peered out the window to see a man called Vaughn placing an order for coffee.

You sat next to Molly, waiting for Nico to move. You cast a glance towards Gert, who was hiding her purple hair under a green wig. When she heard Vaughn protesting about his name being misspelled, you saw Nico emerge from the room where you were all hiding and approach him.

You felt Molly toying with the ears on your hoodie, and you gave her a quick glare.

"Excuse me!" Vaughn exclaimed to Nico, who seized his coffee, which you and the others heard. "Mistake! That's mine."

When Nico brought Vaughn to a section of the café where no one was present, Vaughn came face to face with you and your companions. Nico leaned against the wall, sipping Vaughn's coffee as the rest of you stood up. Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head. "Oh." She groaned. "What the hell is this?"

"Six shots of espresso," Vaughn replied, glancing at his stolen coffee at the hands of Nico Minoru. Nico gave him a strange look, which caused Vaughn to frown. "Don't judge me. Caffeine is the only vice I have left."

Nico's attention was drawn to you when you squeaked. You took the coffee she handed you and began to drink it. "Tastes like normal coffee to me." You shrugged with a grin.

"We both need help then." Vaughn smiled at you briefly before shaking his head. "Anyway, what is this?"

"We're friends of Karolina's," Gert told Vaughn. "She's in trouble. We need your help."

Vaughn furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and worry. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"We don't know," Alex answered. "We think she's being held in the church."

"Well, I'll call Leslie."

Before Vaughn could leave, Nico stopped him. "She's a part of it."

"Part of... what?" Vaughn asked.

Alex sighed. "You ever notice that every year one of your young parishioners goes missing?"

Vaughn shrugged. "They're runaways. Sometimes they, you know, run away."

"Yeah, except these kids aren't coming back," Chase stated. "Same time of year, every year."

Vaughn shook his head. "That doesn't mean that..."

"Karolina might be next?" Nico finished Vaughn's sentence.

"Leslie wouldn't hurt one of her congregants, let alone her own daughter."

Molly narrowed her eyes. "Maybe not, but that weirdo Jonah would."

"He's in control now, not Leslie," Alex added.

"Jonah?" Vaughn questioned. "Leslie's father's friend?" You raised your eyebrows in surprise while Vaughn continued talking. "Look, every day I come to work at the church is a day I feel at home. The Deans are my family, and the Gibborim, it helped get my life together when no one else would. Now a bunch of weird kids in bad wigs tell me it's all a sham?"

Alex rolled his eyes as Vaughn shook his head. Vaughn turned his attention to you, who was still holding his coffee. "Can I have my coffee back?"

"No chance, dude." Molly scoffed.

"Absolutely not," Chase added.

As if mocking Vaughn, you cocked an eyebrow at him and sipped his coffee once more. "This is my coffee now, mister. Go away."

"Brainwashed dick," Gert grumbled.

Vaughn huffed and walked away while you and your friends sat back down to discuss. "So, he was useless." You muttered, taking another sip of the coffee. "Doesn't he realize that Gibborim sounds like a made-up alien word?"

Your friends thought for a moment while you looked at them in surprise. "I was joking. Unless..." You shook your head and crossed your arms. "Look, we are on our own. We need to do something."

"So, what's the plan now?" Chase asked, his gaze falling on Alex. Alex returned his glance and began to think, his feet tapping frantically on the floor.

You take a glimpse outside from a nearby window and frown. "Look at those kids. They have nowhere else to go."

Alex glanced at you until he got an idea from your statement. "I think I know a way to save Karolina. But this would be risky and dangerous."

"It doesn't matter if it's risky and dangerous," Nico replied. "As long as we could save Karolina from there, it's worth it."

You smiled at Nico's determination while Alex nodded. "Okay." He took a deep breath. "We all know that the Church of Gibborim collects runaway kids from the streets, right? They bring them to their church."

"Your point being?" Molly asked.

When you learned what Alex's plan was, you gasped. "One of us should pretend we're a runaway to get to Karolina."

Alex nodded at you, smiling. Gert shrugged. "But, we are runaways. We don't need to pretend."

"Then pretend that you have nowhere else to go," Alex suggested.

"We do have nowhere else to go—"

"Okay, okay." You interrupted Gert's sentence. "All we need is someone to claim to be homeless and without parents so that the Church would notice them." You explained. "I could go and—"

"No, no." Alex shook his head, causing your head to turn to look at him. "Chase and Molly could go. Chase has his Fistigons, and Molly has her strength."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "And I have powers too."

Nico nodded at Alex. "She can handle herself, Alex."

"Wouldn't it be too obvious if it's three people?"

"Then I'll separate from Chase and Molly." You replied. "In that way, it wouldn't be obvious."

Alex locked his gaze on you, debating whether to allow you to come or not. He groaned and nodded, indicating that he had given up. "Fine."

You gave Alex a smile before talking to Nico and Molly, who were sitting beside you. Gert, who was seated next to Alex, leaned in close to whisper. "You're getting a little too protective towards Nico's little sister." She told Alex.

"That's because we know that she could harm herself if she uses her powers too much," Alex whispered back. "And we shouldn't take that risk."

Gert gave him a small smile. "I wouldn't worry that bad, Wilder." She stated. "I saw how she's becoming more open to us than before. I mean, look at her." Alex obliged and looked at you, seeing you giggling when Nico gasped from Molly's statement. He could hear Chase's soft chuckles as well when he listened to Molly.

"She's strong, Alex," Gert reassured. "I think you know that too. And I think there might be a different reason why you don't want her getting hurt."

Alex kept staring at you, his heart thumping against the inside of his chest. He stood there watching as Molly pushed your hood up and poked the ears out of the hood of your jacket for you to wear. Before sighing, Alex gave out a breathy chuckle. 'She's just a friend...' He said to himself. '...that's all.'