pullmeoutalive | log > what is wrong with us THE SEQUEL

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log > what is wrong with us THE SEQUEL

It was hard to believe that only three hours ago, she and Jolt had been bar-hopping (with the best of intentions, of course) and now Naomi was soaring over a dense forest, zipping out of the way of a few directed lightning strikes, courtesy of one of Black Phantom's puppets.

She had bigger things to worry about, though. More specifically, she had one big thing who had somehow disappeared from the battle. It had been only a few minutes of leaving him to take down the other side's psychokinetic, but when she'd returned, Jolt had vanished. Hatsune and Akira were fighting on the ground, both too distracted to take the time to sniff him out. Sakaki was on hand in a nearby helicopter, but it had been made to land out of concern that the lightning would strike it. The Children could have helped, but they needed to stay together for Kaoru's cleansing ability to function properly.

That left a very frantic Naomi flying about in the hopes of locating one errant Autobot. The one controlling the other espers hadn't been very comforting, having glanced in the girl's direction earlier.

"Worried about your friend? You should thank me. I've taken good care of him."

She'd hardly been reassured-- if anything, Naomi's ire and worry had only tripled, until she'd not only knocked out the esper manipulating the lightning but picked up her speed. The fight was nearly over; she could see the bright light from The Children's area now, but she wouldn't be relieved until she knew her Autobot friend was safe.

"Jolt-san!!" She called now, skimming the tops of the trees and then flying a little lower. "Please, answer me!"

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One arm still encircled her waist, but his free hand found its way to her hair, gently combing through her locks. "I always like to think I'm a fast learner."

As she had discovered once before, Naomi was weak when it came to that particular sensation. Thankfully, she didn't purr like a certain Autobot's electric engine, but she did sigh blissfully and drop her head on his shoulder.

"You are," she mumbled into his neck. "You always have been."

This must be where the "taking it easy" part came in. He sat back happily, continuing to run his fingers through her hair, a contented smile on his face.

At least until a strange tingling sensation started in at the tips of his fingers. Oh, right, hadn't Sakaki said something about-- oh, fraggit.

He jerked his hands away from Naomi just in time for a bolt of electricity to lance from his fingers.

Lightning struck the wall instead of the esper, a fact she was undoubtedly grateful for, given that her one experience with electrocution hadn't been a fun one. It had done the job of startling her, though, and she leaned back just enough to stare at his fingers.

"... Ah," she commented, remarkably calm. "That would be the discharge."

It took him a moment to peel his gaze from the charred spot on the wall. "You think?" He didn't dare move, in case that sensation crept back into this fingertips- the last thing he wanted to do was electrocute her.

"You're almost like an esper now," Naomi mused, still appearing to be unperturbed as she turned her attention back to the wall. "... At any rate, I can see why he wanted me here, other than for moral support. If you're going to release it, don't try to keep from hitting me."

"What?" Jolt jerked back a little, as though he himself had been shocked, and stared at her. "There is no way I'm--- Why?"

"Psychokinetic." She stared back at him, mouth set in a firm line. "If you try to direct it away from me, you'll risk destroying things in here. I can at least shield against it... a little, at least."

The Autobot waved his hands, looking almost frantic. He's had almost hurt her once, he wasn't about to deliberately hurt her- shield or no shield. "No! Let me hit things! Things can be replaced!"

One would think someone whose abilities were acting up would have had the common sense not to wave his hands about, but Naomi wasn't going to risk the well-being of everything else in the room taking the time to say as much. Instead, she took matters into her own hands-- quite literally.

Without warning, her hands seized his to keep them in place, fingers working their way between his quickly and efficiently. "Replaced or not, if you hit certain pieces of equipment in here, B.A.B.E.L. will lose something valuable. Don't even think about trying to withhold it, either."

His argument died on his lips the instant Naomi took his hands in hers and he just stared. He probably could have easily overpowered her and gotten free of her grip, but he was too stunned by the suddenness of the move to try.

"Nomi, don't-- don't make me hurt you. Please."

She shook her head, stubbornly tightening her grip by just the slightest amount. He didn't understand, it seemed.

"I'm sure you remember... what I was like after that mission, when you took me away. When I couldn't hold it in, and I-- I hurt you, and you endured all of it without complaining and I know it hurt. And what hurt even more was that it was you I was hurting. If you could do that for me, the very least I could do is the very same."

Naomi took a deep breath and lifted her chin, a sure sign that she wouldn't be swayed. "Jolt, you'll hurt me more if you try to protect me like this."

Jolt closed his eyes for a very long, painful moment, and when he did open them, he didn't look at her. She was right. She was very right, but he still hated it.

"Brace yourself, then," he said, his voice barely audible. Scant seconds later, electricity shot from his hands.

"Nngh!" Naomi flinched, just slightly, but didn't release his hands. She squeezed them, concentrating on covering her hands with a crimson glow that would keep the electricity trapped there, instead of surging into her body.

He'd done the same for her. She would show him that the lengths he'd been willing to go for her weren't one-sided in the slightest.

He wanted to gather her into his arms and hold her. Something. Anything. But to do that would mean he would be at risk of hurting her further.

So he just held onto her hands, cringing at each surge of electricity. It was one thing to be taking the hits for her- he was sturdier than she was. Bigger. Stronger. Something like this should not be happening.

She wanted to close her eyes against the brilliant flashes of blue-white light, but at the same time, she didn't want to look away. This power was just as much a part of Jolt as her psychokinesis was hers, and it wasn't something she needed to be afraid of.

"It's okay," she said softly, not sure if he could even hear her. "Just trust me."

The only indication that he'd heard her was a small nod, and he just- stopped trying to resist. Stopped worrying about hurting her and let his body do as it would.

And eventually the surges became less violent, less random, and more... familiar. More like something he knew and could control. The power spread over his hands, small threads of electricity snaking between his fingers- tingling but never hurting, never striking.

Naomi felt it before she truly realized it, her power slowly drawing back as the tingling touched her fingers. The sensation made her shiver, but it didn't hurt. It was just... unusual.

The esper exhaled, ignoring the throbbing in her palms and giving Jolt a questioning look. She didn't ask, only gazed first at him, and then down at his hands.

He merely quirked a brow in response, slowly unlacing his glowing, sparking fingers from hers. "Let me try something."

"Go for it." With the different, controlled appearance of his electricity, she doubted he'd be charring anything else in the room anytime soon. Unless her supervisor strolled in, but he would have deserved that anyway.

It took him a moment to disentangle himself from her and get off the bed. Once standing, he took stock of how he felt- this seemed right. More familiar. More like--

In a smooth, practiced motion, one hand shot out, electricity lanced from his palm in a flash, snaking as though it were stuck on a string- or whip. Another flick of his wrist, and the stream diverted its course, snapping away from the wall at the last second. Another flick and it shot back toward him and vanished as though it had never been.

The initial movement made her jump, eyes wide and staring at the lightning that crackled forth in one smooth motion. Almost... like a whip.

Of course. Hadn't she fought alongside him enough times to recognize it for what it was? In just a few hours, he'd seemed to master the electricity and how the human body could wield it.

Naomi cradled one hand with a burnt palm, content to watch in silence with an approving smile. Jolt had said he was a fighter, and he'd more than proved it.

Satisfied with his little display, the electricity around Jolt's hands vanished, and he moved back to the bed.

Only then did he notice the condition of Naomi's hands. It was enough to make him stop dead in his tracks. "Naomi- I--" he floundered for a moment before gently cupping her hands in his. "I'm so sorry. I- so sorry."

"Don't apologize." It hurt, she couldn't deny that, but for someone who had taken on a full electrocution with only a split second to throw up a shield, this was nothing. She'd sustained worse injuries on missions.

"You needed to get it out," she went on, as patiently as a teacher guiding a student would speak but giving him a little smile to reassure him. "Nothing was damaged and you're all right now. That's the most important thing."

He gathered her into his arms- gentle as always- and just stayed like that for a moment. "I don't ever wanna have to do something like that again," he said, voice soft. It was enough to watch it happen, but to see the results was- it was a reminder of how fragile humans could be, and even though he was one now, he'd still inflicted damage.

log > what is wrong with us THE SEQUEL

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