Travelers

Chapter 31 - The "Friends"

Jacob watched as Nightmare took off down the street. Adrian seemed to glare at him through his suit, which was pretty banged up from his fight with Gargoyle. "Why'd you let her get away?" he asked.

"Because she's a Watcher," Jacob said blankly. Adrian was silent for a moment, left speechless by the revelation. "Just like we don't let Nova know who you are, we won't tell you who Nightmare is. I recruited her personally. She fought against the Renegades because she believes not that they are evil, but because she believes they have too much power, and they misuse it. She fights for what is right. That is what the Watchers are. Trust me on this one Sentinel."

"Fine, but one slip up..." he said with a tone that showed that he was trying to remain calm. They tagged Pyromancer with their new emblem, the eye with the W behind it. Adrian was tasked with taking Pyromancer to the Renegade HQ, as he was likely the only one capable of carrying him. He leapt off in the direction from which Frostbite had come, reminding the rest of them they should probably take off before any of the Renegades woke up. They moved down the street towards the Watchtower, and Jacob found himself glancing over at Cat. Something was off about her, but he couldn't tell what it was at first. She didn't look at all different than before, but Jacob finally figured it out. The back of her leg had a small burn on the tissue, but she didn't seem to notice. It was the scar tissue from where she had once taken a hit from an orc knife. Jacob asked her to stop as they walked and pointed out the injury to her. She noticed the small burn, and gasped.

"I didn't even notice. I just thought my leg was sore from using my powers too much," she said, suddenly concerned about it. Calculations ran through Jacob's mind in a blink. He stood with a worried look on his face.

"We need to get you off this. Depending on when it started it will actually cause permanent damage if you keep using the leg. I don't think we can get all the way back," he said. He helped her stay off her burned leg, which seemed to be her unlucky leg, and they limped back to the Watchtower. They neared home, when they ran into Mal. She joined in the help Cat walk group, the two of them practically carrying her, though Jacob was sure he could if she asked him too. Mal seemed pretty bushed as well, but she didn't complain when it came to helping her friends or people she cared about, Jacob knew. Jacob watched as both of the girls became more and more tired. Finally, Mal asked them to halt. She and Cat leaned against the wall of the nearest building, and Jacob worked up himself to propose the idea to them. He held out a hand to Cat, pulling her up from where she was sitting. He inspected her leg once again, noting the burned tissue seemed to be spreading, which shouldn't have been possible. Then again, he was looking at a girl that could solidify music, which wasn't exactly possible either. He helped her to her feet, but when her leg failed her, she actually cried out in pain. She hadn't been hurt by the burn up until now. Jacob looked her in the eye and asked, "You remember last time? Would be okay if I helped again?" She looked up at him, shocked, and he felt a cold hand pull his hood down and touch the back of his neck. He fell forward fast asleep.

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Cat tried to slow Jacob as he fell and made sure he didn't fall on her. Up until now she hadn't noticed the burn on her leg, but when she had tried to stand it had felt as though her leg was actually on fire still, not just injured. She looked up and met Nova's face, which was uncovered, and pulled her own mask from her face. "What was that for?" Mal asked beside her. Nova reached down, and Mal tried to scoot away, but her energy was drained as it was. Nova easily put her to sleep, and Cat was left alone with her. Cat gritted her teeth waiting for an answer, but none came, because a second unexpected friend showed up. Adrian slammed into the ground behind her, his suit in better repair than it had been when he had left to deliver Pyromancer. Nova reached down brushed Cat's neck, which should have put her to sleep.