𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 ⟢ 𝘁. 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗶/𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶

𝟒𝟏: 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

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𝐲𝐨𝐮

back in the lab, everything felt strange. familiar, but somehow off-kilter. the soft hum of machines filled the room, the only other sound the quiet clinking of tools in mei's hands as she tinkered with a pile of battered hero gear from the ua students. i sat at my desk, arms bandaged under my sleeves, the burns still tender reminders of the war. i'd convinced myself coming back to work would help me feel grounded, but being here only stirred a sense of unease. it was like i was supposed to be doing something more important, yet i needed the distraction.

"mei," i called, glancing over at her. she had her goggles on, eyes magnified comically as she adjusted gears. "do you think i should hire someone? like a lawyer, or maybe a publicist for this press conference?"

her head shot up, goggles still on. "why would you need a lawyer? you should be using this time to promote our inventions! a little controversy never hurt sales, you know."

i laughed, shaking my head. "of course that's where your mind goes."

"i'm serious," she grinned, pushing her goggles up. "think about it. you're gonna be standing up there next to the top heroes, probably all over the news. it's a golden opportunity. maybe drop a hint about our latest tech, or mention some of the experiments you're doing. we could pull in big orders."

"i'm not sure that's the kind of publicity i need right now," i sighed, my fingers tracing the edge of a project file. "i don't even know what to say. i've never been in the middle of something like this before."

"you're smart. you'll figure it out. just don't be boring," mei said, shrugging, as if the answer was that simple. "or if you are, at least wear something cool. you know, eye candy."

i laughed again, some of the tension easing. leave it to mei to lighten the mood. "a flashy outfit isn't going to change much when touya's already painted me as a traitor."

"you'd be surprised. people love a good look. maybe you could wear a provocative dress with some tech." she smirked, already lost back in her project.

before i could respond, the lab door opened, and hawks stepped in. he looked different grounded, without the graceful presence of his wings. they were still growing back, uneven patches of red and white feathers trying to fill in the gaps. the respirator mask, the same one from my lab, covered half his face, and even though he wore it without complaint, i knew he hated it.

"hey," his voice came through the speaker, a bit robotic. he gave mei a wave before looking at me. "how's it going?"

"same as usual darth chicken," mei replied, not looking up. "just fixing other people's mistakes and my babies."

i offered hawks a small smile. "we're managing. what about you?"

he gave a small shrug. "same as usual," his text-to-speech voice echoed, but the way his gaze flicked to his wings said more. he despised that mask, yet wore it for everyone else's sake.