Fic-a-Day #23: Well, That's Not Good
Title: Well, That's Not Good
Author: JoeHundredaire (joehundredaire@tthfanfic.com)
Rating: R/FR18.
Pairings: Kit Holburn/Nico Minoru
Disclaimer: Brian K. Vaughn is the mastermind behind Runaways (which is a better comic than, if not as funny as, Young Avengers) and someone who's not me (but may be Joss Whedon) owns Buffy.
Joe's Note: Just a bridge between the existing stuff and the upcoming Kit/Nico/Karolina action.
********************
Karolina stalked down another of the maze-like hallways of the Hostel, flicking the flashlight from side to side down the hallway. So far, only a third of the massive underground complex had been mapped and with Nico tied up with Kit most of the time, the blonde had found herself with way too much free time on her hands. Gert and Chase were always together, Molly and Victor had an odd sort of friendship going, and that left her and… herself. And since she couldn’t eat ice cream all the time, she’d taken to exploring.
For the group of runaways, the Hostel beneath the La Brea tar pits was a safe haven. The only way in was by plunging the Leapfrog through the tar pits, and the only people outside of their seven who knew it existed were dead. Although it was safe, it was still mostly unknown to them. They’d uncovered one room with a few primitive androids made by Chase’s parents and another with strange animals that they were pretty sure Gert’s parents had brought back from the future. And that wasn't even counting the bizarre booby traps that she kept uncovering.
Therefore, when her journey through a previously unexplored part of the Hostel was disturbed by a hand clamping over her mouth while another tugged her into a side room, Karolina was understandably distressed. Wrenching off her bracelet, she shifted to her energy form. The dark room was bathed in multicolored light, revealing… “Kit?”
“Heya,” the goth replied cheerfully. “What’s up?”
Karolina snorted. “Other than you almost giving me a heart attack?” she asked. “Nothing.” She eyed the brunette suspiciously. “What’s this all about?”
Running hand over her left wrist, Kit materialized the staff that Karolina had seen her use lately. The revelation that it was a pair that could be used by lovers and Nico owned the other one had sent her on another ice cream binge. Kit thrust the staff into Karolina’s hands. “Try it.”
“Why? How? What?” Karolina was confused, spinning the staff slowly in one hand. If it really was some love-powered staff that worked for Kit because she and Nico were together, it wouldn’t work for her. So why was Kit doing this?
Kit stepped behind her, pressing up against the blonde from behind. Gently, she guided Karolina to take a two-handed grip on the staff and point it at the wall. “Focus on blowing a hole in the wall,” Kit told her. “Envision a great big explosion taking out a chunk of the wall, and say ‘Destroy’.”
Shivering at Kit’s breath on her neck, Karolina did what she was told. “Destroy,” she incanted. A bright red pulse of energy shot from the end of the staff. It hit the wall with a deafening boom, sending small chunks of stone flying all over. “What the hell?” she muttered.
Kit pulled the staff from Karolina’s unresisting hands, reducing it back into a bracelet. “Damnit.”
"What does that mean?" Karolina asked, grabbing Kit by the wrist as the brunette tried to flee. "Tell me what that means."
Transforming her bracelet back into the staff, Kit leveled it at the wall. "Repair," she commanded. Powder and chunks of stone leaped up from the floor, reassembling into the wall that had been there before Karolina had tried the staff. The cracks slowly faded into nothingness and within seconds, there was no evidence that anything had ever happened there. "I can still use it too," she told Karolina. "What do you think that means?"
Karolina stared at the wall for a second before releasing her captive, stepping forward to run her hand over the wall. It was real and whole again. "That I really do love Nico... and so do you?"
"Bingo," Kit said with a scowl. "I think we need to have a talk..."