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xxxlocation: Willow's apartment. xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxoutfit: here
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xxx"Heroes can be found in the most unlikely places.
xxxPerhaps we all have it within us to do great things,
xxxbut may simply lack the circumstances
xxxor the reasons to be heroic."
x
The night air was a cool kiss on the back of her neck as she watched the twinkling lights of her city below her. Her uniform, what once felt like a second skin, itched like it was foreign. Her Mockingbird uniform. Below her, she began to hear screams for help followed by blood-chilling laughter. Max practically dove from the rooftop as she went after the antagonists, the villains, who dared to plague her city. As she landed, she saw the perpetrator--no more than a shadow--disappear into a nearby apartment. Max's heart raced. She knew that apartment. It was Dinah's. She couldn't help but feel like something terrible was about to happen.
She raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and tripped on the top step. Her momentum sent her careening into the wall, causing her to momentarily see stars before she righted herself. She heard screams before she even made it to the correct hallway. When she got there the perpetrator had vanished, and in their place was a body, broken and bleeding. With soft blonde hair and staring blue eyes. Dinah.
Max blinked, horror overcoming her, and when she looked down at her hands, she saw they were covered in blood, a knife still clutched in her left hand. She dropped it with a gasp and looked around, she saw herself standing in the doorway staring in horror at the corpse of her best friend. This is your fault, a voice whispered, you didn't stop them in time. Max felt dizzy, the room spinning around her until everything turned black.
Max bolted upright, her body soaked in sweat. It took her longer than it should have to come back to herself and to remember where she was. Her head was pounding and her mouth tasted like salt. Only then did she realize she had been crying. Crying because... She bolted from the couch, flying to the kitchen sink just in time for the contents of her stomach to forcefully leave her body. Her knees buckled at one point but she managed to hold herself up until she was finished. Glad the sink had been empty of dishes, She rinsed her mouth in the sink and went back to the couch. She laid down, attempting rest, but she knew it would be fruitless. The more she tried to sleep, the further she was from it and the more nauseous she felt.
She knew it was going to be a night spent in the bathroom. Both from the amount of alcohol she consumed during the day and the nightmare that still haunted her whenever she closed her eyes. She stumbled around in the dark until she managed to find the bathroom and spent the night with her head either in the toilet or pressed against the cold porcelain of the tub.
The next morning left her anxious and aching, her stomach precariously teetering between upset and sour. She was up and gone before Willow woke, but she had left a note saying that she was going to her apartment after her early music shop shift and she would be back. She didn't have a clinic shift for a few days as a chance for her to recuperate after the death of her friend. The bar gave her a week and a half off. They understood how hard it would be for her to be there, and they planned on closing for a few nights in honor of Dinah anyway. It wasn't so much that they thought she would enjoy the closing. In fact, it would've been the opposite. It was more that the woman was so loved, they couldn't bear being open the night she normally performed.
The music shop shift was uneventful and quiet, just as she thought it would and she made her way to her apartment to retrieve some clothes and toiletries. Not having a toothbrush that morning was incredibly awkward for her at work, but she figured stopping after work would be much easier than stopping before. It meant fewer questions and fewer things to lug around the city.
She had just zipped up her bag when she felt something in her apartment shift. Suddenly she wasn't alone. She held her breath and made her way behind her bedroom door to hide. She managed to type out a message to Willow [still Spectre in her contacts] but it probably made very little sense since she couldn't see her screen. She heard soft footfalls on the other side of the room and once they had entered far enough, she swung around the door, slammed it shut and ran. She managed to make it down the hall, down the stairs, and out the alley doorway before they caught up. Unfortunately, it was due to her fire escape. They landed in front of her, dressed in all black and solidly built.
"Who are you? What do you want?" She called out to them. Her eyes catching on an object they held in their hand. A syringe with a terrifying needle glimmering in the sunlight. Her heart stopped a moment, remembering Willow after that first night. They took that pause for fear and pressed forward. Max, however, had been waiting for it. She ducked out of the way, smashed her fist into their forearm so the needle went flying. Then she hooked her foot around the front of their shin and lifted her leg, pulling them off their feet and they went down.
She was about to run when she felt someone come up behind her and grab her from behind. She performed a few maneuvers and they released her. She turned to attack, but felt something sharp pierce her side. She gasped, but the pain only made her focus. She kicked them, hard, and then took off running down the alleyway. She heard a bang followed by pain in her thigh, but she kept running. There was only one place she needed to get to. One place that could help her without asking too many questions. Willow's apartment.
It was a bit of a blank up until she reached the front door of Willow's apartment. Max pounded like she had the devil on her heels. "Willow!? It's Max! Please let me in!" The room was starting to spin and her fingertips felt cold.