Origin Stories [7/7] - Lost - Kate/Kevin/Sawyer
Title: Origin Stories [7/7]
Pairing: Kate/Kevin/Sawyer (and combinations thereof)
Word Count: 2000
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Superhero!AU. I thought I'd already posted this last part - clearly I'm even more airheaded than I'd previously realised. Thank you so much to Babylon_pride for betaing this for me.
Previously: Part One :: Part Two :: Part Three :: Part Four :: Part Five :: Part Six
Summary: By day, Kevin Callis is an unnoticeable police officer, up-holding the law and too committed to his job to hold down a relationship; by night, The Captain emerges to help where the law can't. When he becomes entangled in the plot of a pair of supervillains, the line between his two identities begins to blur.
Monica and Sawyer glanced to each other and after a long pause Monica stood up from Kevin's couch. She tucked her dyed blonde hair behind her ear and her mouth stayed closed for a few moments as she thought. "We're leaving town, Kevin," she said eventually. "Tonight."
What was he was supposed to say to that?
Nothing came at all. He shook his head blindly, mouth open as he waited for words that wouldn't come. He wanted to say something, but the unreality of having the pair of them in his home had struck him dumb.
"We want you to come with us, hero," Sawyer said, speaking up. "Leave this place in the dust."
"You-" Kevin's brain cut him off before he could say anything further than that. His hands rose to his head, palms to his temples. "What? You want me to what?"
"Come with us," Sawyer repeated, unfazed. His arms spread along the back of the couch, dominating as much space as he could possibly get away with. It was all an illusion of being at ease. Kevin didn't believe it for a second. "C'mon - you know better than staying here now, don't you? You know the world ain't as black and white as this city'd have you believe."
Kevin turned away from them, looking out of the window into the night. He really needed to draw the curtains, he thought, before realising that that was really the last thing that he should have been thinking about right now. "What'd you do to Scalpel Man?" he asked after clearing his throat: had to stay on target.
"Didn't do anything to him."
"Really," Monica said. "We didn't hurt him."
"That's not what I asked. I asked what you did to him, not what you didn't do."
"Talked. We just talked, I swear." Her voice sounded thin by now. Maybe she'd thought that this would be much easier than it was turning out to be - a simple pick up, that he'd grin and instantly take them up on their insane offer.
He wasn't going to do that.
He wasn't, was he?
"'bout what?"
"Old times," Sawyer answered, grinning. "Let's just say we haven't been entirely honest with you."
"Now might be the right time to start, don't you think?"
"We don't got time for that."
"Make time. Or I'm definitely not gonna be coming along with you."
Sawyer's smile stayed smooth and easy, well-practiced. "How'd you know I'm not just gonna order you to come anyway?"
Kevin swallowed: he didn't want to think about that possibility, even though he knew how easy it would be for Sawyer to give him an instruction like that and watch his free will wash away. He probably wouldn't even know it was happening and he wouldn't try to resist at all.
"He won't do that," Monica said, with a warning glance over her shoulder. "I promise, he won't."
Sawyer rolled his eyes at her, but he shrugged to concede her point. "Fair enough; I won't."
"I still want answers, y'know," Kevin said - and he sounded a lot more forceful and powerful than he felt. In their presence, all he could remember was the weakness that they'd reduced him to with one little injection. "Scalpel Man. What'd you do to him?"
"It's like Freckles said - we talked. The three of us... We all got our powers in the same place."
"You told me you got struck by lightning."
Sawyer's smile was cruelly amused this time, dimples and all. "And that's like I said, Kevin - I lied."
"This is wasting time," Kate said, looking around nervously. "Kevin, we can't stick around to talk any more than this. I want you to come with us. We both do."
"Why?" That question kept echoing in his mind: why why why. Why him, why now, why did they think he'd even consider something like that? What kind of a man did they think he was? What kind of a man was he?
Kate looked at him, her sad blue eyes meeting his easily. "Because you're a good man."
Sawyer gave a quiet chuckle. "And 'cause Jack wouldn't."
"Jack?" Kevin frowned, looking between the pair of them.
"'Scalpel Man'. We wanted him to come with us. He wasn't too keen on the idea."
"And why would that be?"
"'cause we want to go back," Sawyer said, looking down at his hands for a brief moment, the only hint of any lack of confidence that he'd shown all night. "Me and Kate. We want to go and... Fuck, it's a long story. Short version is that we want to go give our powers back."
"Give them back?"
"Like I said, long story."
"We were on an island together," Monica - Kate - explained. "There was a... being there. Jacob. He gave us these... 'gifts'."
"Doesn't matter now anyway. The doc's not interested. Wants to keep on playing the hero, and if he's not there then we can't go back. So we're gonna leave town, keep our heads low for a bit, then come back. I thought Kate could do with some company on the road."
Kate rolled her eyes in a way that led Kevin to believe that that wasn't the whole story at all. "Tomorrow morning," she said decisively, taking charge. "If you want to come with us, meet us in the car park of the train station." She stepped forward - and she was so small, so delicate. Kevin could crush her with one little nudge of his hand, but the shining strength in her eyes would have told him that she was so much more dangerous than she seemed even if he hadn't already seen that first-hand. Stretching up, she kissed him, her soft lips brushing over the corner of his mouth, sugar-sweet for a split-second before she stepped back again, her hands smoothing down the collar of his shirt. "If not, then I guess this is goodbye."
He nodded, unable to say a word: he shouldn't have been upset at the idea of never seeing the pair of them again. "How d'you know I'm not gonna call the cops to let 'em know..."
"Call it faith," she said, with a smile more beautiful than he would have thought possible, tinged with such painful sadness.
Stepping away from him, she moved around his bulk to find her way to the door, pausing there to wait for Sawyer. Sawyer heaved himself up from the couch, wandering close-by Kevin. "I'm not gonna bother saying goodbye, hero," he said, smug and arrogant and so goddamn self-assured that Kevin wished he had the desire to wipe that smirk from his face. Sawyer stepped close to him, smile never dropping, and his thumb swiped over his bottom lip - Kevin didn't even try to jerk away. Couldn't make himself move at all, frozen to the spot with no supernatural force. "See you tomorrow," Sawyer whispered, his voice so low and promising that it sent a shiver down Kevin's spine.
And then they were gone, confident footsteps leading them out of Kevin's apartment and down the stairs outside: Kevin moved over to the couch and sat down on it, able to feel the warmth that Sawyer's body had left behind. He closed his eyes, head burying itself in his hands, as he wondered just when his life had taken such a sharp turn into the bizarre.
*
He didn't sleep. Couldn't. Stayed awake instead, tossing and turning and telling himself to forget about it and move the hell on.
In his wardrobe, his cape was hung up, the smooth fabric draped in lonely solitude.
The sun rose early in the morning without finding him any closer to a decision. Time was running out, he told himself as he drank bad coffee and stared out of the window at a world that was just beginning to wake up. The phone rang once or twice after nine - work, probably, demanding to know where he was, wondering if he was about to go missing for months again. Taking an unannounced day off wasn't in his best interests at all, but Kevin couldn't stir his energy to make himself get into his uniform and head down to the station.
What are you doing? he thought to himself as the minutes slipped by. Needed to make a decision. Just avoiding this wouldn't help anyone.
He glanced at the phone. One call could have the police swarming to the spot that Sawyer and Kate would be. Equally, that call could head the Great White Hunter and Rock God in their direction. It'd be the right thing to do, playing by the rules. That was how the game worked: heroes versus villains. Got to pick a side. There were no shades of grey to lurk within. No middle zone.
Taking a breath, he got to his feet - acting on autopilot, he grabbed his keys and grabbed his coat and took a glance in the mirror. Had to scowl at his hair - sticking up at awkward angles like it was a sentient entity - but there was no time to do anything.
He was out on the street before he knew what was happening, rushing along and checking his watch in a hurry. Was he late? He didn't know. They hadn't given him a concrete time to turn up. 'The morning', that was all. It wasn't midday yet - there was time, there was time, there was time.
What the hell are you doing? he asked himself again. Have you lost your mind?
Yep. He had. Felt like he had, anyway, and it was more freeing that he would have previously considered. Letting go of it all.
Quitting the game.
Kevin sped up - but paused when he reached a busy street and looked up into the air. His face was bare, no mask to conceal his identity and protect himself from the world. No alter-ego to hide behind.
But he smiled, glanced around at the crowd surrounding him, and kicked off into the air, rising with a speed that no airplane could have competed with. He left the stunned gasps behind him with a flare of amusement.
It was Kevin that took to the air, rushing to the car park and to Sawyer and Kate. Kevin that flew on towards the newest stage of his life.
Kevin that took the next step, smiling, because he knew one thing for sure: the Captain was gone. The Captain was dead.
Pairing: Kate/Kevin/Sawyer (and combinations thereof)
Word Count: 2000
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Superhero!AU. I thought I'd already posted this last part - clearly I'm even more airheaded than I'd previously realised. Thank you so much to Babylon_pride for betaing this for me.
Previously: Part One :: Part Two :: Part Three :: Part Four :: Part Five :: Part Six
Summary: By day, Kevin Callis is an unnoticeable police officer, up-holding the law and too committed to his job to hold down a relationship; by night, The Captain emerges to help where the law can't. When he becomes entangled in the plot of a pair of supervillains, the line between his two identities begins to blur.
Monica and Sawyer glanced to each other and after a long pause Monica stood up from Kevin's couch. She tucked her dyed blonde hair behind her ear and her mouth stayed closed for a few moments as she thought. "We're leaving town, Kevin," she said eventually. "Tonight."
What was he was supposed to say to that?
Nothing came at all. He shook his head blindly, mouth open as he waited for words that wouldn't come. He wanted to say something, but the unreality of having the pair of them in his home had struck him dumb.
"We want you to come with us, hero," Sawyer said, speaking up. "Leave this place in the dust."
"You-" Kevin's brain cut him off before he could say anything further than that. His hands rose to his head, palms to his temples. "What? You want me to what?"
"Come with us," Sawyer repeated, unfazed. His arms spread along the back of the couch, dominating as much space as he could possibly get away with. It was all an illusion of being at ease. Kevin didn't believe it for a second. "C'mon - you know better than staying here now, don't you? You know the world ain't as black and white as this city'd have you believe."
Kevin turned away from them, looking out of the window into the night. He really needed to draw the curtains, he thought, before realising that that was really the last thing that he should have been thinking about right now. "What'd you do to Scalpel Man?" he asked after clearing his throat: had to stay on target.
"Didn't do anything to him."
"Really," Monica said. "We didn't hurt him."
"That's not what I asked. I asked what you did to him, not what you didn't do."
"Talked. We just talked, I swear." Her voice sounded thin by now. Maybe she'd thought that this would be much easier than it was turning out to be - a simple pick up, that he'd grin and instantly take them up on their insane offer.
He wasn't going to do that.
He wasn't, was he?
"'bout what?"
"Old times," Sawyer answered, grinning. "Let's just say we haven't been entirely honest with you."
"Now might be the right time to start, don't you think?"
"We don't got time for that."
"Make time. Or I'm definitely not gonna be coming along with you."
Sawyer's smile stayed smooth and easy, well-practiced. "How'd you know I'm not just gonna order you to come anyway?"
Kevin swallowed: he didn't want to think about that possibility, even though he knew how easy it would be for Sawyer to give him an instruction like that and watch his free will wash away. He probably wouldn't even know it was happening and he wouldn't try to resist at all.
"He won't do that," Monica said, with a warning glance over her shoulder. "I promise, he won't."
Sawyer rolled his eyes at her, but he shrugged to concede her point. "Fair enough; I won't."
"I still want answers, y'know," Kevin said - and he sounded a lot more forceful and powerful than he felt. In their presence, all he could remember was the weakness that they'd reduced him to with one little injection. "Scalpel Man. What'd you do to him?"
"It's like Freckles said - we talked. The three of us... We all got our powers in the same place."
"You told me you got struck by lightning."
Sawyer's smile was cruelly amused this time, dimples and all. "And that's like I said, Kevin - I lied."
"This is wasting time," Kate said, looking around nervously. "Kevin, we can't stick around to talk any more than this. I want you to come with us. We both do."
"Why?" That question kept echoing in his mind: why why why. Why him, why now, why did they think he'd even consider something like that? What kind of a man did they think he was? What kind of a man was he?
Kate looked at him, her sad blue eyes meeting his easily. "Because you're a good man."
Sawyer gave a quiet chuckle. "And 'cause Jack wouldn't."
"Jack?" Kevin frowned, looking between the pair of them.
"'Scalpel Man'. We wanted him to come with us. He wasn't too keen on the idea."
"And why would that be?"
"'cause we want to go back," Sawyer said, looking down at his hands for a brief moment, the only hint of any lack of confidence that he'd shown all night. "Me and Kate. We want to go and... Fuck, it's a long story. Short version is that we want to go give our powers back."
"Give them back?"
"Like I said, long story."
"We were on an island together," Monica - Kate - explained. "There was a... being there. Jacob. He gave us these... 'gifts'."
"Doesn't matter now anyway. The doc's not interested. Wants to keep on playing the hero, and if he's not there then we can't go back. So we're gonna leave town, keep our heads low for a bit, then come back. I thought Kate could do with some company on the road."
Kate rolled her eyes in a way that led Kevin to believe that that wasn't the whole story at all. "Tomorrow morning," she said decisively, taking charge. "If you want to come with us, meet us in the car park of the train station." She stepped forward - and she was so small, so delicate. Kevin could crush her with one little nudge of his hand, but the shining strength in her eyes would have told him that she was so much more dangerous than she seemed even if he hadn't already seen that first-hand. Stretching up, she kissed him, her soft lips brushing over the corner of his mouth, sugar-sweet for a split-second before she stepped back again, her hands smoothing down the collar of his shirt. "If not, then I guess this is goodbye."
He nodded, unable to say a word: he shouldn't have been upset at the idea of never seeing the pair of them again. "How d'you know I'm not gonna call the cops to let 'em know..."
"Call it faith," she said, with a smile more beautiful than he would have thought possible, tinged with such painful sadness.
Stepping away from him, she moved around his bulk to find her way to the door, pausing there to wait for Sawyer. Sawyer heaved himself up from the couch, wandering close-by Kevin. "I'm not gonna bother saying goodbye, hero," he said, smug and arrogant and so goddamn self-assured that Kevin wished he had the desire to wipe that smirk from his face. Sawyer stepped close to him, smile never dropping, and his thumb swiped over his bottom lip - Kevin didn't even try to jerk away. Couldn't make himself move at all, frozen to the spot with no supernatural force. "See you tomorrow," Sawyer whispered, his voice so low and promising that it sent a shiver down Kevin's spine.
And then they were gone, confident footsteps leading them out of Kevin's apartment and down the stairs outside: Kevin moved over to the couch and sat down on it, able to feel the warmth that Sawyer's body had left behind. He closed his eyes, head burying itself in his hands, as he wondered just when his life had taken such a sharp turn into the bizarre.
*
He didn't sleep. Couldn't. Stayed awake instead, tossing and turning and telling himself to forget about it and move the hell on.
In his wardrobe, his cape was hung up, the smooth fabric draped in lonely solitude.
The sun rose early in the morning without finding him any closer to a decision. Time was running out, he told himself as he drank bad coffee and stared out of the window at a world that was just beginning to wake up. The phone rang once or twice after nine - work, probably, demanding to know where he was, wondering if he was about to go missing for months again. Taking an unannounced day off wasn't in his best interests at all, but Kevin couldn't stir his energy to make himself get into his uniform and head down to the station.
What are you doing? he thought to himself as the minutes slipped by. Needed to make a decision. Just avoiding this wouldn't help anyone.
He glanced at the phone. One call could have the police swarming to the spot that Sawyer and Kate would be. Equally, that call could head the Great White Hunter and Rock God in their direction. It'd be the right thing to do, playing by the rules. That was how the game worked: heroes versus villains. Got to pick a side. There were no shades of grey to lurk within. No middle zone.
Taking a breath, he got to his feet - acting on autopilot, he grabbed his keys and grabbed his coat and took a glance in the mirror. Had to scowl at his hair - sticking up at awkward angles like it was a sentient entity - but there was no time to do anything.
He was out on the street before he knew what was happening, rushing along and checking his watch in a hurry. Was he late? He didn't know. They hadn't given him a concrete time to turn up. 'The morning', that was all. It wasn't midday yet - there was time, there was time, there was time.
What the hell are you doing? he asked himself again. Have you lost your mind?
Yep. He had. Felt like he had, anyway, and it was more freeing that he would have previously considered. Letting go of it all.
Quitting the game.
Kevin sped up - but paused when he reached a busy street and looked up into the air. His face was bare, no mask to conceal his identity and protect himself from the world. No alter-ego to hide behind.
But he smiled, glanced around at the crowd surrounding him, and kicked off into the air, rising with a speed that no airplane could have competed with. He left the stunned gasps behind him with a flare of amusement.
It was Kevin that took to the air, rushing to the car park and to Sawyer and Kate. Kevin that flew on towards the newest stage of his life.
Kevin that took the next step, smiling, because he knew one thing for sure: the Captain was gone. The Captain was dead.