Changed by Time ✔

six.

Airplanes were never something Wendy was entirely fond of, but she wouldn't refuse to go on one if she had to. She leaned against side of the plane, looking out the window as the clouds passed them effortlessly. It felt like they were just simply floating on top of them.

Nolan, who sat next to her, had the tray table in front of his seat down. He had his notepad out and three thin printed packets with loads of information and colored pictures. Wendy grabbed the one closest to her. She flipped through it as she skimmed the information.

"I wonder how much this cost to print," she said, reading through one of the longer paragraphs.

"You don't want to know," Nolan responded without looking up.

He grabbed the packet from her and flipped it back to the front, setting it back where it was originally placed. He handed his notepad to her as he began to speak, "So when we land in Dublin, we'll have to finalize which of these three libraries to go to."

The first library – the packet on the far left – depicted a large, gorgeous building with stain glass windows that illuminated the place as if it were part of a dark academia movie. The building dated back to the 16th century, with some of the books there dating back even further. These books, however, were not for public usage and were merely for observation.

The second library – the packet in the middle – was a smaller library but with equally beautiful architecture. It had more carvings on the building itself, depicting stories throughout time and had quotes from various authors and historically impactful people. It was originally built in the 17th century but had gone through many restorations and updates throughout the centuries.

The third library – the packet on the far right – was easily the largest of the three. It had grand architecture and columns that seemed to go for miles. It was the most public and popular of the three, every picture including at least three people in it at all times. It was also built in the 16th century but had gone through the most restorations and rebuilds of the three.

"Which one do you think we should go to?" Wendy asked, looking from the packets to Nolan.

"I think we should go to the second library," he stated, picking up the packet and flipping through the pages. "It appears to have the most history documented of the three and could have clues to lead us to the original SuperSource we've been looking for." He turned to her. "What do you think?"

"I don't think it's the second library," she replied while shaking her head. "Even if it had clues leading to this source, it's been through probably one too many restorations for us to see anymore."

"Okay, but that doesn't—"

"Just trust me on this one, I don't think it's the second library," Wendy said, her expression remaining constant. "But I think you're on the right track with the markings and such."

"Okay, what about the first library?" Nolan held up the packet, turning to the next page. At the top right corner was a photo of a beautiful stain glass window. It had what looked to be splattered pink glass around the top with only one other piece that could be depicting anything. "The stain glass doesn't have a set date as to when it was put in, so it could be more recent than we think."

"Or not." Wendy bit her lip as he flipped to the next page, another picture of the stained glass in the middle of the page. This one had what looked to be a singular face with glowing purple eyes – but she wasn't sure.

"Wait a minute," she said, grabbing the packet from him as she fingered through every page with a stain glass photo of it. "Oh my god."

"What?" Nolan questioned, looking over the pages as she did so. "What is it?"

She flipped through the pages, tearing out the ones with pictures of the stained glass in them. Nolan groaned every time she did so, constantly questioning why she did so.

"Just watch."

Wendy folded the photos, turning them as the matched together with one another. The glass matched into a perfect circle, highlighting the people depicted in them. One was a man who could fly, a woman with eyes that glowed bright purple, and another woman whose hands were glowing bright pink. She seemed to control pieces of glass above them, enveloping them with her purple glow.

She looked up from the picture to see the realization click within Nolan. His eyes lit up and his lips curled into a toothy smile – one bigger than she had seen since the first moment she met him.

"I am so glad you're here," he said with a chuckle, pulling out his phone to take a picture of the paper puzzle.

"Yeah," she quietly said as she watched him take the photo, "me too."

--

Wendy leaned against the side of the plane, blinking a couple times to get her vision focused again after what appeared to be a couple hour nap. It didn't take as long since the plane was dark as they traveled into the night. She looked over to Nolan, who was putting his research back into his backpack – the only luggage that he brought for the trip.

"Have you slept yet?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

"No, not yet," he responded, exhaustion lining his words. "But I'm about to."

"Hm." She turned back into to the position she had been in for her nap. "Sounds good."

Silence remained between the two for a few minutes, the only noises exchanged between them being their quiet and heavy breaths as they relaxed back into sleep. Wendy could feel Nolan shifting in his seat, going from sitting straight up to turning onto his side.

"Why didn't you report me to the police, Wendy?" he quietly asked.

She opened one eye, craning her neck around back towards him. "What?"

"Back when I broke into your apartment and you took me down," he elaborated, "why didn't you just go call the police? I remember you threated to. I mean, that's what I would've done if I were you."

"To be completely honest," she began turning in her seat to face him, "I was too curious as to why you'd break into my apartment for a library book to just turn you over to the police. Besides, you're a little too cute for prison—"

She cut herself off as soon as she was fully turned around. She hadn't calculated the distance between the two of them as she was turning in her seat; so when she finally made it, her face was separated from Nolan's by only a couple inches.

Wendy swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes quickly meeting his as she tried not to appear too flustered. Nolan let out a breath through his nose and said to her in a whisper so quiet she wasn't even sure she could fully hear, "I've never seen eyes that shade of gray before."

"Is that a compliment or just a statement?" she responded with a quiet chuckle.

"A compliment – they're pretty," Nolan further said. "They remind me of marble only seen in the most prestigious art museums."

"You give very weird compliments," she said followed by a yawn. "I think you're just tired."

"So are you."

"No duh." She readjusted in her seat and closed her eyes. "Now go to sleep, intruder."

"You are so funny."