A nice change

31

⚠️TW: mentions of religion⚠️

While the teens had been talking in Eva's room, Mikey was also explaining the story to Ray.

"So you're telling me Liseil's back?"

"We don't know that Ray."

"Who else could it possibly be? Who else could possibly want an ex-Liseil worker, and two of Liseil's experiments, including the only remaining Stump. And Gerard saw Patient X himself?"

"Okay, but what about Jason and Viola? Why weren't they taken?"

⚠️"I don't know man, but I pray nothing happens to them and Nat."⚠️

"I don't know what I'd do with myself. And speaking of them, Jason can stay with you and Jenna right?"

"Of course, hey speaking of Jenna, she said she asked Patrick to sneak into one of Liseil's old labs to bring her something she needed to, hopefully prefect the dampener."

"She said she was close, but perfecting it?"

"She didn't make you and Tyler come all the way here for nothing."

Mikey looked down, thinking "We did this for them, and we might have put them in even more danger," as he started to cry.

Ray put his hand on his friend's shoulder and rubbed his back with the other, giving Mikey a sort of side hug. But it was enough. "Hey, we didn't know anything would happen, now we gotta tell Frank to be careful just in case and we'll talk to Gerard and he'll make a plan, like he always does, and it will all be okay. We'll be okay."

"How can you be so sure?" Choked out Mikey.

"Cuz I have faith in us."

Mikey giggled though his tears. "You know you're good at this."

"Hm?" Ray hummed, continuing to rub Mikey's back.

"You've always been good at taken care of us. Even when we were kids you were a better mom then me and G's real parents or Elena ever was."

"I don't know, sometimes I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing with Eva."

"Everyone's afraid of that, Ray. You should have heard Tyler when Viola was a baby. He was convinced we were going to mess her up with all our trauma, but I look at her now and I'm so proud of her for everything she does."

Ray sighed "Yeah, I guess."

Mikey looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, I guess we better get going, I'll call Gerard and you call Frank?"

"Sounds good," Ray said softly, watching Mikey get up and take Viola and leave like he did with Tyler 13-ish years ago.