DEVIATE X / / AN UNORDINARY FANFICTION

XXXV.

Delta.
The next day

"URK!"

"Sera?"

A heavy tread of footsteps invaded my ears I came to. There was an aggressive jostle to my head as I heard a much louder set of footsteps following, causing me to hit my head against the floor.

"Huh?"

I rubbed the side of my head and sighed as the early morning sun illuminated the living room, checking my surroundings. At the dining table were Elaine and Arlo resting uncomfortably, still unconscious despite the ruckus.

"John?" I called out softly, tiptoeing around the room until I matched the source of the noise to the bathroom.

Inside, Seraphina was retching aggressively with her head in the toilet. John loomed above her, holding her hair in a bunch before shooting a worried glance at me.

I knelt down and gently patted her back, allowing her to get her bearings before speaking.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

Instead of a response, Sera dashed out the bathroom and bolted upstairs to John's room, kneeling down with a digital alarm clock in her hands. To my surprise, her hands began to tremble violently as the clock rolled out of her hands.

"I can't....activate my ability."

Seraphina's voice came out in an uncharacteristically horrified whisper. For someone who carried herself with a confident demeanor, it was difficult to see her so terrified, so.....vulnerable.

"What?!"

John knelt down to her with his voice coated in the same, anxious resonance.

"H-how did this happen? What did they do to me?" She questioned. "What am I supposed to-?!"

Before Sera's paranoid antics could swallow her whole, John's hands clamped down her shoulder in assurance, squeezing it comfortably as he offered her a familiar smile. It was the same smile that he'd given me before, when I felt the crushing weight of my own issues hone in on me. A smile that you could get lost in momentarily, that could make you forget about your current worries.

"Hang on, let's not jump to conclusions," he replied amiably. "You just woke up a few minutes ago after being knocked out for nearly an entire day. The drug's probably still in your system and hasn't worn off yet. Let's give Doc a call," John suggested. "He'll know what to do."

Seraphina swished her head away from him as her frantic eyes melted into a somewhat steadfast, focused expression.

"Yeah....."she agreed. "You're right."

I exhaled softly with relief and relaxed my shoulders. John was always the better at consoling people than I was; had it been me that had to handle in this situation, I probably would've fed into the panic and fueled her anxiety.

"Morning."

We whirled to face Arlo standing in the doorway with crossed arms. Elaine peeked over his shoulder nervously, briefly meeting Seraphina's eyes before smiling at her.

"Seraphina! You're awake!" she replied cheerfully.

"Arlo," Sera said, dismissing Elaine's friendly nuances, "Why are you here?"

"Nice seeing you too," he smirked.

"Oh, lemme fill you in," John added. "After I got home, I called Elaine for help. I couldn't get ahold of her, so I asked Arlo to bring her here." He briefly glanced at Arlo. "It's a good thing he came too! LAst night, while you were out cold, some guys broke in and tried to take you. We figured they were the same people who drugged you. But thanks to Arlo, we were able to fight them off. They had some kind of ability dampening effect, so we weren't able to capture them."