In a world torn between heroes and villains, it can be a dangerous and hostile place. Some take comfort in the Gifted that stand up against those who would use their powers for greed and chaos. While others choose to hide away, fearful of the day...
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"So, how am I doing?"
Civic decided Elaina needed to be sober for the test to be truly accurate. Apparently, using alcohol to take the edge off being around a large group of people was frowned upon. Instead, Elaina sipped from a glass of sparkling grape juice out on the patio with Dominic. He balanced his elbows on the parapet she had so recently been thrown over while she rested her hip against the ornate guard rail.
"Civic has reported some elevation indicative of stress or anxiety, but as far as I can tell, no one has reflected those emotions and no one has reported a tentacled eye monster in their soup, so the illusions seem at bay as well."
"To be fair, you have been carting me around the entire house all night," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "Of course, I got stressed out a bit."
"You weren't the only one," grumbled Dom as he drank from his glass of wine. "I only moved you around so much because Karina kept chasing after us. You've spent enough time being tested by her."
"So, it's your turn to test my limits?" She savored the words, her skin buzzing with anticipation. She wondered if Civic noted the sudden arousal as Elaina recalled all the little touches Dom had laid upon her during the night — a guiding hand upon her lower back, a grip of her own hand to pull her over to another acquaintance he wanted her to meet, or whispered words that had his lips brushing her ear as he explained who everyone was.
"Yes, I mean," he paused, his eyes looking down as his foot bounced on the stone floor. "I don't know what I mean. Part of me thinks I never should have tested you in the first place. That I should have let you go. That I should have... that night should have ended differently."
Her heart jumped into her throat, and she clenched the glass in her hand. She knew that neither of them particularly liked how their time at the cabin ended, but she didn't know how he would've spent the night had things been different. Did he only regret his decisions, or did he also regret the sudden end to their passionate play together?
"I don't know what I'm trying to say," he said with a shake of his head before drinking some more of his wine. "What I do know is it's my fault you got in this mess. You operated in a way a Gifted person ideally would. You lived a normal life and took as many precautions as possible to protect others from your powers. Then, I came in and disrupted it, and now you've been exposed to the Fortress."
For a moment, his words hung in the air. Elaina looked around at the dwindling crowd on the patio. The night was winding down and every so often a couple or a single guest would approach them with words of gratitude and farewell, many of which also assessed her with a weighing gaze. What was she to them? Whoever she was, she was of interest considering her proximity to the tech giant that had so recently hosted a disastrous affair that ended with a still unexplained monster that the Fortress continued to research.
She sighed. She knew that even if she were to pass this test of Dominic's, it didn't mean she would be free. Her capriciousness and animosity towards Shockwave had revealed her in a big way. She wasn't sure how intelligent the cocky Gifted was, but even if he couldn't connect the dots about her relation to Purr-seus, he would still pursue her as a link between Catalyst and Dominic Cramer. All the people that saw them together at the party would be further proof of that.
