Maybe I'd Miss You?

10.

"I...Uh..."

"Come on Mortez, don't be shy! We'd love to hear what you have to say!" Rue was encouraging, but still I shuddered, scared shitless and put on the spot. 

I was in an awkward position no matter what came out of my mouth. Coming to Lightning for help was bad enough. Leaving my fate in the hands of a room full of people who were by definition my sworn, impersonal enemies was almost too much to bear. 

"I...Scared." I choked, cursing at myself for letting my vulnerabilities show in that manner. Once it started coming out though, it couldn't stop. "I very scared."

"That's not grammatically correct." A voice piped in from the other end of the room, with the same energy as a smug cat. I hated it because, in my prime, that was exactly the kind of witty response I would've given. 

"Jasper, you're not purposefully scaring him, right?" Rue was accusing, and suddenly I connected the dots. Jasper. Jasper was practically an antiheroic legend, using his power to manipulate one's worst fears for anything but typical good deeds. He never did anything truly good, but he certainly was never a villain either. I would say it gave me some hope, but if anything it reminded me of what my parents always wanted me to be. It wasn't a great thing to be thinking of at this time. After all, I was only a skip away from reaching that morally grey point.

"'Course not. The poor kid already looks like he's about to piss himself. I didn't have to do anything." Jasper paused, musing. "Totally would if I could though. He's an easy target-"

"Right then!" Rue interjected, unceremoniously ending his sentence before he could go any further. Lightning gently plopped me down and let me stand on my own, the external shiver fading at least slightly. "Why don't we all just gently introduce ourselves to get that over with? Because he clearly looks very flustered. Neptune? Could you formally get us started?"

"Uh, 'aight, I guess." A shock of blue hair shrugged and sat up from a crate, waving passively in my direction. "Hi. I go by Neptune. I do the water shit. Wow. Such a shocker." He hugged his knees closer to his body, more invested in comfort than this conversation. It was reassuring, at least. Knowing he was neutral helped. "No, I can't blood bend. People ask me that shit all the time, and I'm getting sick of it..."

"He could probably do it if he applied himself more, right Neptune?" 

"Did I say people? I meant Rue. Rue asks me all the time." Neptune rolled his eyes. "And no, Rue, my answer isn't going to change. Just because you binge-watch Avatar like once doesn't mean you know everything about how my superpower works-"

"Alright Neptune, thank you for that...Enlightening argument. Very enlightening." She huffed in frustration, making it obvious there was an established dynamic. An established dynamic I wasn't clued in on, but an established dynamic nonetheless. "Tempest? Ignition? You guys are nice." 

"I'm Ignition. She's Tempest." A short, pale girl donning more fire-themed streetwear than what I thought possible piped in, with a cocky grin. Somehow, in the most impressive miracle of the day, she managed to make her outfit work. "We won't bully you. Probably. Really, it depends on if you're annoying or not..."

Her counterpart, taller, with sunkissed brown skin and a wardrobe that erred on the side of more light and cutesy rebutted, "Well, I won't bully you. Ignition though, I don't know..."

"Hey, I get excited sometimes, alright?" Indeed, Ignition was eager. I gulped. "Things go a little too far. So sue me."

"We've kept up to date on news about you though," Tempest added, with a more reassuring smile. "You seem like a genuinely good guy, so I'm positive we'll get along just fine. As long as you let yourself drop your moral standards a bit, you know?"