To Be Like the Guardians

Part 2: The Protecting, Chapter 6: Bad Feeling

Haven tried to enjoy everything around her- her new husband across the table who made her heart happy with his presence, the cool light coming from the chandeliers on the ceiling, the steak in front of her- but it was difficult. She hadn't imagined her honeymoon as being plagued with nightmares. It had almost ruined the experience for her.

"I had another last night," she told Matt. "It was about the doomed souls thing again. I wish I could just let it go."

"Yeah, I wish you were able to enjoy this." There was concern in his voice.

"And I just...I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"It's probably just your fear, babe."

Haven's heart rose an inch at the word. "I know."

"And remember: we're going home tomorrow morning. You won't have to worry for much longer."

"Matt, do you think the reason Fiona says everything's fine is that she's hiding things from us so that we don't have to worry about it?"

Matt shook his head. "If anything really bad was happening, she would let us know."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

Haven sighed. "I guess you're right. I just hope that we come home to something good." She knew that she should be enjoying the last night of her honeymoon, but it was difficult with the nagging feeling in her chest. Nevertheless, however, she tried to concentrate on the moment, enjoy it.

She hoped everything was alright back at home.

*/*/*/*

Beth got in her car, which she had had to retrieve via bus after Bennett "transported" her to her apartment. She had achieved essentially no progress in learning how to control her power better besides making it flare up even more when she was angry. However, it was weakening, fading without a Power-Inducer on her shoulder. If she was to battle people to keep them from killing Pitch, she was going to have to have a lot of luck or something on her side, especially with Vaughn and Donnelly's powers.

The ex-agent pulled into the parking lot in front of the L.E.R. headquarters, plain on the outside. It was now or never.

She met Irene at the front doors and handed her the recording phone. No one noticed.

"We have to trap them in here," Irene whispered, putting it in her pocket, "before they all go to get bags to pack their stuff in."

"Yeah." Beth looked at the doors. They just had to keep the people in the building until Agents M. and H. Sloan arrived. "How do we lock them, though?"

"Howard!"

She turned and saw Graham there with the other people in his group, their arms crossed. They had been hiding and waiting outside to see if Beth and Irene would come. "What are you doing this time?" Graham asked.

"This time, I'm gonna succeed in stopping you." Bennett had better get out here so that Irene could record him acting all manipulative.

"Howard, we're trying to help people," Graham said.

"And so are we," Irene said.

Beth held her hands out in front of her. "We'll make you if you don't."

"And we'll make you stop," Lyle said. "Honestly, we should just have you arrested. You're trespassing." He drew a green slash in the air again.

"But then I would explain why I was fired, why Bennett wants me gone."

"Then let's fight, Howard," Lyle said. A green fist. Who did he think he was, so confident?

Sparks flew from Beth's fingers at the group, but her body felt heavy and sluggish again. Vaughn was making a funny face, his nose wrinkled and his mouth puckered. Beth's body glowed orange.

She tried to call out to Irene to take out Vaughn, but her mouth was too slow, and the ground beneath Irene shook, making her collapse. Irene tried to stand up, but she just couldn't manage it. The ground still vibrated. It was impossible for her to get to her feet.

Graham ran back inside the building, and after a moment, people were running out of it, probably on their way to help Bennett kill Pitch.

Beth tried to fight against the slowness, but it was no use. Her electricity also moved slower, even with how frustrated she was. Her veins began to burn stronger with how much adrenaline was being forced through her system.

Someone elbowed her and knocked her to the ground, almost right on top of Irene. People flew past them, sprinting to get into their vehicles. The last person, however, stopped. Agent M. Bennett.

"I guess I'll have to fire you, too, Flynn," he said, taking his phone from her pocket. "When I get back after they've killed Pitch." No one else was around to hear.

Once he had gone, Beth and Irene could finally move again.

"What was I thinking?" Beth asked. "That we could go against them? I can't fight Power-Inducer abilities like those!" And now she was doomed to be fired forever, doomed to danger and probably death. Now she had been reduced to nothing. She couldn't protect herself, her crush hated her, and she wasn't a hero.

"Maybe we could steal back Bennett's phone."

"He probably deleted the video already. And he didn't admit to having other people kill Pitch."

"But Graham and the others didn't deny it."

Nevertheless, a growing sense of dread dragged down Beth's heart. She wasn't in control of her life. She couldn't control her anger, and she couldn't control her safety. A panic began to zap through her arms and legs and torso and head. What could she do now?

"He would probably catch you stealing it this time," Beth said, "now that he knows to look out for it. I can't save Pitch or myself." The wind whistled through the trees, whispering and murmuring as the sky grew dark at a surprisingly rapid pace.

A voice boomed, "You want to protect Pitch from death?" It was so powerful that Beth almost fell into the door. Irene nearly tripped herself. "You want to save him?"

"Uh, yes," Beth said, unsure of where she should be facing. The voice seemed to be thundering from all around her. "And get my job back. My employers won't believe me without proof that my other employer fired me just because I didn't want to kill Pitch for him. And my friend was fired because she tried to help me stop it."

Irene screamed. Beth looked up and saw a pillar of clouds coming down at them.

"Tornado!" Irene said.

Beth and Irene ran inside, shutting the doors behind them and running straight to the bathrooms, where they had been told to go if there was severe weather. But instead of whipping winds and sirens, they heard footsteps.

"Where have you gone?" the once-booming voice asked, sounding irritated. "Come out!" A cold wind seeped into the building. There was someone outside. The storm must be safe, Beth realized.

"Come on," she told Irene, and the two retreated from the bathrooms. Outside the headquarters, they found a woman with dark hair and a long green dress standing on the ground, her eyes settling on the other women with an unreadable look.

"My name is Emily Jane Pitchiner, but some call me Mother Nature. I want to help you save my father."