𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗲𝘀-𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 ¹

three

   His mind was plagued with thoughts of discomfort as he sat in the booth of the restaurant. He was honestly surprised he even showed up, he hadn't been outside of the tower in weeks. Annie sat across from him, stopping at her second beer as she ranted.

"Gosh I can't believe you've never drank alcohol before, I mean... gosh I can't imagine what that's like". Nate looked at his glass of water as he shrugged his shoulders "need to be alert at all times".

He sounded defeated after he said those words, he always said those words whenever someone offered him alcohol. "I can't have someone accidentally touching me and I'm not fully sober, that wouldn't be good for vought or my reputation".

Annie set her beer down onto the table "who cares what they think, you're not gonna kill anyone if you have one drink, besides I'm here. I can watch you".

He chuckled "you're really pushy, and I've only known you for a day". It felt nice having someone to talk with, someone who wasn't scared of him.

He felt like he didn't have to be so tense as he looked at the beer beside his cup. He hadn't touched it once, but he felt tempted, "I just want you to stop worrying for a single second, go ahead and try it".

He looked grossed out as he grabbed the beer bottle, his gloves glossed over with drops of water. A feeling that annoyed him deeply every time.

He took a big swig of the beer and he coughed after it went down his throat. Annie covered her mouth as she laughed, he slammed the bottle onto the table slightly as he cringed at the taste of it.

"Oh my god, that tastes like shit... you drink this!" he pushed the bottle away from him as he quickly drank some of his water to drown the taste away.

Annie smiled "it's not about the taste, I mean there's better alcohol out there. There's also wine or champagne". He wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he laughed, "yeah, I'm never drinking again".

He set his hands onto the table as he wiped them off with a napkin. He stopped smiling when a man walked towards the table "hey man, we're gonna have to ask that you leave. I didn't wanna say anything, but a lot of people are uncomfortable with your presence".

If he could, he would take his glove off and touch this man's arm. Prove to everyone here that he wasn't a killer, but instead he smiled weakly.

"Of course sir, sorry for the inconvenience" he stood up and the man moved back at the action. "Hey! Don't make any quick movements, I will use force".

Annie stood up "he didn't do anything, we're leaving. You don't need to cause a scene about it". Nate felt himself shutting down as the man grabbed a hold of his hoodie and pulled him towards the door.

"You ain't welcome here anymore!" Nate felt it before he could stop it, the man's hand touched the back of his neck. He felt the goosebumps form on his flesh as the man screamed out in agony.

The room went silent as the cloud of dust floated into the air. The residue of it coating Nate's face and the ground, people screamed as they all ran for the exit.

While a few who were brave enough grabbed chairs and random objects. Nate didn't shield himself when they smacked into him, they just faded away into dust every single time. "Monster! Freak!".

He was pushed into the wall and Annie moved forward to grab the man who held him.

Nate let out a heavy breath as he pulled his glove off, it smacked into the ground. The lights flashed like crazy as Nate slammed his hand over the man's wrist. His arm cracked off with a swift cut and Nate pushed him back with his other hand.

The man screamed as he looked at his missing arm, Nate let out heavy pants as he leaned back. He knew this wouldn't end well, that he'd likely be away in another assignment for even longer.

He flinched when Annie grabbed his hand, cracks formed on the tips of her fingers as she dragged him out of the building. He tried to let go of her but she had a strong hold of his hand.

"Stop... just stop" the cracks moved more up her arm but she didn't flinch or show she was in pain. She didn't say anything as she unlocked her car.

He leaned back as he felt the goosebumps on his flesh grow more intense. "Annie, seriously you need to let go of my hand". She let out heavy breaths as she looked around at the sight of people panicking.

Nate pushed himself against the car door as the cracks on Annie's arms retracted towards his arms. She looked down and then let go of his hand.

The cracks disappeared as he let out a weak breath, he was exhausted as he climbed into the passenger seat. He pushed his hand into his pocket as he leaned into the dashboard. Annie didn't say anything, she knew he wouldn't respond to her anyways.

He kept his head down the entire ride until she stopped outside the tower. She looked at him when he grabbed her wrist gently, cracks formed so slowly.

"Keep driving or I'll give you a reason to be scared of me like everyone else". She didn't looked scared as she let out a half chuckle "you're not gonna scare me, you can take my hand off.. I don't care".

He leaned forward "they're gonna make me go away again, I can't go back to that place.... I just got back". Annie let out a shaky breath "what place?".

He shock his head "if I tell you, they'll just kill you... but just know, it's not a friendly place". He let her go as he moved back "also I wouldn't have hurt you".

Annie looked at the tower "what will happen if I lie about what happened? I can say the people attacked me and that you defended me or something".

Nate leaned back "even if you lied, vought will cover the entire thing up by paying the witnesses. If I'm lucky, they'll just make me not do missions, and I honestly don't care if they do that".

"But, don't you wanna help people?" She looked at him as he looked outside the window. "Not really, I never wanted to be a hero... vought sorta just made me one, and I don't have a choice".

His phone ringed and he sighed "that's likely them, look, I won't tell anyone you were involved. I ran off alone, cause I'm apparently an idiot".

He climbed out of the car and walked off towards the tower as he let his phone disappear into a cloud of dust. Annie watched him as she smiled sadly.

—
authors note:
I'm honestly surprised I managed to write 2 chapters of this tonight, it's literally 4 am.... Anyways enjoy a double update, I'm gonna sleep.