(Untitled)

[victormakesart]

Sometimes when disasters happen, you just have to curl in and hunker down, and that's what's happening at the Allen/Dover residence. There are six television screens (one of them is gigantic) and two computer monitors, all streaming different news channels, all subtitled and some of them foreign. Through the midvolume din, a few key phrases keep

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[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark PINpoints in and immediately starts staring. He's been in big expensive places before, of course - one can hardly be friends with a billionaire for years and not be used to that - but he's never been here before. And the chaos is a bit... overwhelming, from someone who doesn't have anything even resembling a secret headquarters like this sort of does.

"Wow. You weren't kidding."

[backnthesaddle]

Cole nods. "We had some help - two other vigilantes who'd already been inside one of these facilities helped us plan, and our trainee-intern-girl helped get everything on YouTube. She was at the metahuman nightclub that got raided... last week? The week before?" All the days are blurring together. He reaches out for Victor's hand and holds it.

[victormakesart]

"Three days ago. She popped over on a Monday." She remembers this because it is one of the rare times that their Makeout Monday actually happened on a Monday. "His aunt helped, too, and his brother, and the Doctor, and his sister. Cole's sister, not the Doctor's sister. I don't even know if the Doctor has a sister." She is really holding on to his hand, fingers linked, hands shaking an itty bitty bit. The kind where you don't even notice they're shaking until you're holding them.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

He's so glad that this wasn't left up to just the two of them, although he's kind of wondering where the hell the other folks are when they clearly need someone to help them. But he tries to think the best of other people, and maybe they're not having such a great time dealing with it either. "They all okay?"

[backnthesaddle]

Cole nods. "We couldn't risk too many people going in. It had to be infiltrated. There's no way Vic would have let anyone else go into that situation, and there's no way I would have let her go alone... but we had hidden cameras. The Doctor was watching and was going to come in the second it looked like Victor was in danger."

[victormakesart]

"Yeah, they were our outside support. The Doctor promised me that he'd only come if I were in death-y danger, 'cause if he came too soon maybe we wouldn't've got enough footage, and we only had one shot at it."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Good. That's good." He's still getting used to having backup himself, but they're useful, and he's concerned for his more fragile human friends when they do things like this. So it makes him feel a lot better to know that help was available if it came to that, and it doesn't sound like it did. "You guys... look like you did a great job." He knows it doesn't erase the horror of whatever they saw, doesn't make it right, but they did the right thing. And there are people now who will walk free and live normal lives, or close to it, because of what they did.

[backnthesaddle]

Cole gives a grateful smile. "Thanks. We really appreciate it." He squeezes Victor's hand and settles back, watching the news. "I was worried they might figure it out and trace it all back to us, but Amber - my aunt - is a genius when it comes to computers, and it all leads to dead ends."

[victormakesart]

"Thank you," she says, too, holding tightly onto his hand with both of hers. "Yeah, and last time I checked there's not even any buzz on the intertubes that it might be us. Not even a rumor. It's just all chaos. The best theory they have is that a rival government noticed weird satellites and sent spies in."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

He nods. "And you sounded like you weren't you when you got back, so I'm guessing you didn't really look anything like you either. No reason to suspect you. Right?" It's smart, and one day he'll ask how they did that when he knows they're not superpowered, but now isn't necessarily the time.

[backnthesaddle]

That's the beauty of having multiversal connections (particularly with one especially helpful Time Lord with nothing else to do with his time besides help with the toppling of unjust governments). "Not at all. I think even our fingerprints were changed, just in case." They covered all their bases; everything was smooth and went off without a hitch. And Cole still feels like he didn't come out on top. (Sometimes he wishes he were the drinking time, just because life would be so much easier on him.)

[victormakesart]

(Victor wishes the same thing, except change it to her theoretically drinking. She would give anything to be able to let go.) "Yeah, and, y' know, visible birthmarks, and stuff. The Doctor gave us a drink to change us up for a couple days. But no one knows what we look out of costume, anyway, so they could easily pin it on us, and... honestly, I expect them to, in time. Especially since we're so vocally pro-meta, and we're in the area."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark thinks about that, very carefully. "There's a chance it might not be a problem, from what I'm hearing. The government officials in charge of the whole thing should be ousted by then, at least I'd hope, and they won't have the clout to go after you except as normal people. And your support for the meta community could come in handy, too."

[backnthesaddle]

"I can't imagine the kinds of people who would still be so violently anti-meta after this. They'd have to basically be Nazis or something." In other words, people Cole really doesn't want to meet.

[victormakesart]

"So probably, even if they do find out, we won't get in trouble. I have to admit," she says, reluctantly, giving Cole another uncertain glance. She's not sure if she voices her concern if she'll make him feel worse, and she really doesn't want to do that. "I have to a-admit, that I harbor vague fears of bein' tried for treason and held as a terrorist. I know public opinion is on our side, but... there's a forty-five percent chance, I think."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"If that happens," Clark says firmly, "I will testify for you."