ѕнαттєя мє

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick smiled at them as he held his coffee, wishing he could have held it with both hands. He probably could, but he didn't want to chance his arm not being as healed as it felt then having to have surgery, again. He had surgery far too many times in the past month for his liking. Even if it had been spread over a year, most would still find it excessive. Then again, it all came from his own inabilities to take care of his own wounds properly when they happened. He shook his head at this memory then looked back up at the two of them.

"Good, because the last set was okay, but it didn't give Spider-Man the image he deserved," he agreed before finishing his cup of coffee within a few gulps. He put it aside and drew on the table with his forefinger as he thought. "So let's see... I've missed your graduations, new friends, Spider-Man... Anything else major that I missed? I'm sure I've missed a lot of good movies, but keep to the basics. I have a while to catch up on that stuff now.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


Haley twirled her straw around in her glass of iced tea, watching over Nick as he sipped from his coffee. Part of her felt this need to make sure he was okay, but she was trying not to be too obvious about it. Just a concerned glance placed here and there. She settled on sipping from her iced tea when Nick spoke again, continuing the conversation like normal. Luke flashed a grin when Nick mentioned that the previous Spider Man movie hadn't been up to par, nodding in agreement. Even if Nick hadn't seen the new one yet, he was definitely correct about what the old one lacked. The pair's eyes were drawn from their friend to the waitress when she set the order of breadsticks on the table between them, letting them know that their pizzas would be out shortly. The two thanked her in unison and both seemed to lunge for the breadsticks at once, their hands clashing in the middle.

Grinning, they fought for a moment over the same breadstick before just tearing it in half and returning their attention to Nick like nothing had even happened. There was an entire basket full of bread, but for some reason, the siblings had chosen to fight over the same exact piece. As the two munched on their respective halves of the breadstick, they reacted in their own ways to Nick's question. Haley chewed her lip slightly, wondering what exactly she could tell him that wasn't about the organization. Luke leaned back in his chair, recounting the past seven years of his life. It was odd that his best friend didn't know these things.

Haley was the first to break the silence though, saying "Well, obviously I graduated high school. Five years after you guys - it was like a jungle out there without you too around." she said with a grin, laughing a bit to herself before continuing. "But after that I moved out right away and in with Luke, since we had things to do and build. I really never had too much of a desire to go to college anyway. I have a job as a waitress now just to help out with the bills. It's nothing fancy but it's easy work." she said, shrugging to herself. It was obvious by a slight tinge of regret that laced in her voice that maybe she'd rather be doing something more exciting with her life. She'd talked lots of travel when they were younger, but with Nightingale and the responsibility her and her brother shouldered, that was something that didn't quite feel obtainable any more. She was more than thrilled to be such a big part of the organization, but a big part of her also wanted a life outside of what she was. She'd never say it out loud though, those thoughts were privy only to herself and her journals.

Luke smiled a his sister, proud of her for being able to step up and work to help keep their organization on it's feet. She had matured a lot in the past two years alone and was a tough girl, but sometimes he worried that she was missing out on things that young women wanted to do, like college and discovering themselves. She never let on that these things bothered her though, so he had never asked. "And I went to school for engineering after we graduated. I work in a mechanic shop now, it's nothing too crazy but it comes in handy." Luke said after Haley had finished, grabbing another breadstick and dipping it in the sauce before taking a bite. "Nothing too crazy for the most part though." he said with a wide grin, knowing that his friend would know that he was referring to what they were talking about in the car. Without knowing that this brother and sister were the leaders of a secret operation for people like themselves, their lives seemed painfully ordinary.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Though Haley tried to keep her snooping on him a secret, he had noticed fully. Every time she glanced his way, he noticed. Having been stalked for four years straight made him a little more observant than usual. But, he did his best to settle that anxiety. When the bread sticks came though, he smiled at them and started to reach for one when Luke and Haley lunged for it like fighting tigers. He immediately withdrew his hand and waited for the altercation to stop. He gave them a dirty look and rolled his eyes before taking about three for himself to put onto the plate as he made sure he still got some.

He started eating when they told him about what was going on. He heard the way Haley's voice changed slightly though, noticing regret far easier than he did most emotions. He didn't react though as he then looked to Luke for his explanation. Upon hearing it, he nodded to him. "Sounds pretty good on both parts to me. I'm not sure what I would have done with my life if I had actually gone to college. I don't think I could have picked something reasonable that would have worked for what I am. Personal trainer was always up there, but it's kinda hard to train and encourage those who just aren't at the same level. That idea is also kind of gone because I don't think clients would be very okay with this any more," he said, gesturing to his torso and what laid beneath his clothes. While the amount of fat he had lost while in the jungle was great, there was a lot more there too. He had been attacked numerous times by numerous things. What the jungle hadn't marked him up for, the doctors had when he returned to the city. He had enough metal parts in him now that he had to be patted down by the airport security every time.

"Don't worry about that though," he told them, knowing that they would probably be dwelling on what he said. "I don't think I was ever much of a people person anyways. You have to be one to work with them."

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


When Nick spoke up after the two had finished, they both seemed content in munching on their breadsticks and listening to him speak. Luke grinned a bit to himself when Nick mentioned that he might have had some trouble picking a major if he had gone to college, trying to imagine what it would've been like if they had gone to college together. Sometimes - no, most of the time - he wished things would've been different and that Nick would've been by his side for those fours years. Hell, for all seven of the years that he had missed out on. Luke pulled himself from this daydream in just enough time to keep the look from his face that could only be described as a wish for something different. For a different past. He brought himself back to the reality of the conversation instead though, not wanting to let himself sink too far into his own head.

While Luke was daydreaming of times that could never be, Haley just smiled a bit being stuffing her face with breadsticks, listening to Nick speak. She could see him being a personal trainer, but he seemed to doubt his ability to train those who weren't like them. A grin flashed across her lips and a mischievous smile crossed her gaze as an idea formulated in her mind, but she didn't say anything about it. She'd talk to him about it at a later time, once he was in better shape. He looked like he'd lost a lot of weight and even though her brother wasn't exactly super bulky, he had looked massive in comparison to Nick's smaller frame. She was brought back from her thoughts about the same time that Luke pulled himself from his daydream and the two bit their lips as Nick gestured to his torso. Luke released his lip almost immediately, pushing his hair to the side and trying to keep from thinking about whatever scars could possibly decorate his best friend's torso. Haley however kept a firm grip on his lip, her eyes scanning over Nick with a sad sort of curiosity. She could only imagine what kind of things he'd been through and the scars that he was left with as a result, but she stopped thinking about this almost immediately as she started, not wanting to make up terrible things in her mind.

Nick seemed to sense the way the two were dwelling on what he had said and when he told them not to worry about it, they both seemed to do their best to replace their worried looks with forced smiles. Before they had a chance to react, he waitress returned with their pizzas, placing the pepperoni one on the side of the table closer to Haley and the buffalo chicken one on the side closer to Luke. Within seconds after the waitress left, the two exchanged glances and the pizzas switched spots in the blink of an eye. Haley then happily helped herself to two pizzas of the buffalo chicken and Luke grabbed two pieces of the pepperoni.

Eh, I think you could've been good at it. But you didn't miss much, college is kinda overrated sometimes. Like it's definitely more challenging than high school, but otherwise it's just the same s**t on a bigger scale. Luke said, shrugging his shoulders. Luke had always been better with people than Nick had, being the socialite of the two, so college had actually been a rather exciting time for him. He figured that for Nick however, it really wouldn't be too much different that he had described. Haley didn't say anything, mostly because she didn't know anything about college, but also because she was too busy shoving food in her mouth.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick looked up at the waitress as she brought the food over, his stomach growling even more angrily now that he could smell it even more. All he had was hospital food and terrible in flight food since the jungle. Nothing had come close to filling him, it juts held his hunger at bay. This was very promising though. He took another breadstick and put it in his mouth to start on right after he claimed his two slices of pizza. He chomped down on his breadstick first as Luke went over exactly what college was like and he grimaced. "That sounds like a shitty idea then," he decided as he shuttered. "I had enough difficulty being social in kindergarten when that was the entire point, how the hell am I suppose to manage that on a campus scale? Or figure out if a chick likes me? I couldn't even figure that out when I was in the same thirty student class every day... I can't imagine bigger."

He shook his head and then moved on to eat his pizza. The moment he bit into it, he let out a groan and sunk back, savoring the hot pizza as it melted on his tongue. "Holy goddess of pizza... This is so good," he moaned taking another bite, savoring it despite how hungry he was. He enjoyed the first slice without a word - his enjoying noises dying down towards the end. When it came to the second slice, it was all business as he scarfed it then went for more.

Between bites though, he managed to keep talking. "So any way that I could get back into practice?" he asked, talking about his powers. "I have been doing things on my own for a while, but it just never really has been what it was, y' know? Like, it isn't as grand or fancy anymore. I miss all the tricks I use to be able to do." What he said had been fully true over his powers. He had been using them to start a fire or to simply cook his meals. Past that, he hadn't been practicing for he didn't have the spare calorie intake to risk expending too much. He feared that if he tried to push too hard, he would have starved by the time he made it home. Since he was home now though and he had modern, civilized ways of eating, he figured he could risk the energy on fireballs and his acrobatic practices.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


Luke couldn't help but laugh at Nick's statement of how he thought college would've been a shitty idea. He knew that Nick wasn't exactly a social butterfly like him and his sister tended to be, so he wasn't really surprised by his friend's reaction. He was sure that despite his doubt, Nick would've been fine in college. Especially if they had gone together, they always seemed to feed off each other's strength and fill in the gaps for the other's weaknesses. I'm sure you would've adjusted and liked it. Just takes some getting used to. Luke suggested, shrugging his shoulders. Haley on the other hand just grinned, thinking back on the pictures her mom had showed her and Nick and Luke when they were in kindergarden. She wasn't even born yet at that point, but the pictures still brought back fond memories. The two had always been side by side, even before she was around, and the memory of their goofy kindergarden pictures left that grin on her lips as she refocused her attention on eating the pizza that sat in front of her.

When Nick decided to thank the holy goddess of pizza for how delicious it was, Luke snorted, almost losing the gulp of water he had in his mouth to laughter. Haley on the other hand had just swallowed a big bite of food and had to stop herself from shoving another in her mouth, grinning as laughter bubbled from her. They both knew that this was probably the best meal Nick had in a while, but his reaction was still highly amusing. It didn't take them long to get past this amusement however and they all enjoyed their pizza in silence for a short while, filing up their stomachs piece after piece. Though Luke was still shoving his face, since he generally ate slower than Haley, she had slowed down by now, just munching on her fourth piece contently. Nick's questions made her glance up at him, a grin playing across her lips.

Of course you can. We actually have a pretty nice training facility at er.. home.. she said, pausing a little at the mention of the training facility that was housed in Nightingale. With a small community of super powered people, a gym where they could train and rooms that they had personally equipped to handle different people's powers was one of the first fixtures. Luke shot her a look, but then just shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like she had said anything that gave anything away. Lots of people had in home gyms.. maybe. We'll show you everything when we get back, but there's definitely plenty of room to get back in practice. Luke confirmed before taking another large bite of pizza. Haley set her's down and took a long gulp of her iced tea, anxious to get home and show Nick what they had been doing for the past few years. Although Luke and her would both well aware of how impressive their headquarters were considering the look on the face of every new member they gained, their old time friend's opinion meant more than anyone else's to them.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

While the siblings continued to eat, Nick wiped his mouth with his napkin and tossed it down, turning in after only two pieces of pizza and two bread sticks. It felt odd to him to be the first one done as he originally had been the one to eat the other two under the table, but the tiny meals he had gotten use to, left him without an overly large appetite - or hardly one at all. Since the hospitals had gotten him use to eating small amounts of food too, he still hadn't gotten back into enough food that it would take him to be at full strength again.

He came back out of his mind hearing Haley speak in between bites. He nodded to her, agreeing while leaning back in his chair. He rested is sling against his chest to try and take some of the weight off his arm while massaging his shoulder with the other hand. As Luke continued what she said, confirming he had a way of practicing, he sat up again. "Then when you two finish up, we can go check it out since you guys are so eager to obviously. I'll probably end up doing some kind of workout tonight though, even if it's just stretching. My whole body feels like a plane landed on it. Maybe a hot bath..." he said, starting to mutter to himself towards the end as he rubbed his jaw as he thought.

"To be honest though, I'm not really wanting to meet a lot of people right now though. I will say hi, but I don't want to hang around them for long. I want to be gentle about this whole reintroduction thing," he told them gently as he leaned against the wall of the booth they were in, clearly exhausted despite the coffee he just chugged down. He rubbed his face again as he thought about his injuries, wondering how long it would be before he was fully up and running again. He truly hoped it wouldn't be long as he wasn't sure he could withstand being cooped up for very long.

Yet, he didn't have much of an idea. The best knowledge he had was over how long it would take for him to be functional, not healed. Having to survive on his own for so long meant that he had to fight every day and a broken or torn something would just have to be pushed through. Now that he had surgery for so much though, he didn't want to have to go back through this again.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


Haley finished up her piece of pizza and settled back in the booth, her eyes glancing between Nick and Luke. Luke seemed to be exceptionally hungry today and she tried to remember if she had seen him eating breakfast this morning, but she doubted that he had. He had been much more nervous about Nick's return than she had and most likely forgot all about food until now. When Nick spoke up again however, her eyes rested on him, taking in what he was saying. Hearing that he wanted to go check it out as soon as they finished eating, Haley seemed to sit up taller in her seat, and her eyes eagerly trained on her brother as if willing him to eat faster. Almost as soon as Nick had mentioned that they could go check it out when they were done, Luke seemed to swallow the piece of pizza he was eating whole. It was probably more than someone should have been able to eat so quickly, but that wasn't really unusual for Luke.

When Nick's words trailed off as he mused over the possibilities of what he would do that night, Haley grinned at him. "There's plenty of room for you to work out however you'd like. And we'll get you situated with a room and everything too." she said, glancing over to her brother who was swallowing a massive amount of food. Rolling her eyes slightly, she looked back to Nick, saying "It's a huge building, but it's homey. I'm sure you'll like it." She took another sip of her iced tea then, waiting on whatever Nick had to say next. She nodded to his wish to not be introduced to new people immediately, not exactly very phased by it. She knew Nick had always been pretty quiet, so she didn't react, but decided instead to leave this one to Luke. "That's fine, everyone should be pretty busy today anyway so that should be easy to avoid. Everybody works day jobs to help pay to keeping everything running, so there probably won't be a whole lot of people around when we get back." Luke said, wiping his napkin across his lips when he was finished.

Between the three of them, they had devoured the majority of the two pizzas, but Luke still waved the waitress over to get a box for the remaining few pizzas. It'd make a nice lunch or snack later for one of them. Once she returned, he handed Haley the box to put the slices in and payed off the bill. Once everything seemed settled, the pair's eyes landed on Nick. "Let's get going then." Haley said, smiling excitedly between Nick and Luke. Once everyone was in agreement, they headed out, Luke grabbing the door this time and holding it for his sister and Nick. Soon enough they were all back in the car, Haley in the drivers seat again and Luke in the passengers seat. "Shouldn't take more than fifteen, twenty minutes to get back." Luke commented out loud, settling in as his sister took off in a race car like fashion. He was entirely sure that she was a NASCAR driver in a previous life, which was part of the reason that he never wanted to let her drive. He grinned a little at the idea though, knowing that if they ever needed to make some sort of intense get-away, she'd be the one driving.

It didn't take them long to get home and soon enough they were pulling into a long driveway that ended in front of a huge building - an old warehouse that the two had converted for their needs. Haley pulled into a parking spot beside a few other cars, but it was obvious that not many people were around. "Home sweet home." Haley mused out loud, quieting the roar of the engine once more as stepping out of the car. Once they were all out, she locked the car up and the trio headed for the back door to the building. It only took a moment of fumbling with the key ring before Haley located the right one and she turned the key in the lock, pushing open the door to their headquarters. "Welcome to Nightingale." Luke breathed out, stepping in after both Haley and Nick had gone inside and shutting the door behind him. He bolted a few locks into place before he turned to face his best friend, both him and his sister watching him with eager looks on their faces. They so wanted his approval and for him to be impressed by their efforts that they both sat with anxious expressions resting on their faces.

Once Nick got past the pair staring at him, he would be greeted with a vast room that stood before with, with hallways that seemed to jut out in every direction. They space they stood in was very open and it was obvious that a kitchen sat off to the right and a living room type of space where couches and a small tv sat over on the left. The rest was hallways that led off to things like the vast training facilities or individual living quarters, but overall the building itself was pretty impressive. The ceilings were high and the lighting was less than superb, a slight draft seemed to blow through the building, and it was clear that this was not always a place that was meant for people to live, but despite these flaws it really did have a sort of odd homey atmosphere like Haley had described. It was an anomaly in an of itself, but it was the community that Luke and Haley had made their home.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick grabbed a couple last bread sticks before they were put away with the pizzas, forcing himself to eat them. He knew if he just ate more, his body would bulk back up to what it had been previously - maybe even more. Right now, carbs were also simply too delicious to simply pass up. He was working on the last one as the pair started to stand. He forced the whole stick into his mouth and chomped down on it as he stood up to tuck his crutch under his arm. He grabbed his cover as well and hobbled out the door, mocking Luke as he passed. With his hat slid on, he managed to slip back into the car with minimum jarring to his injuries.

Despite how much the way he was sitting hurt his back though, he ended up falling asleep almost as soon as Luke finished speaking. Though he ought to be worried about Haley's speedy driving, he was out cold for the relatively short drive there.

When Haley spoke, he gave a light groan and woke up as he slowly sat up. He rubbed his face and looked out the front window to see the rather impressively sized warehouse. Instantly he was intrigued.

He climbed out of the car and went with Luke, his bag slung back over his shoulder. He hopped after the pair and made his way inside, his eagerness coming out in how fast he was moving with them. When the opened up the doors, a bright smile broke out on his face out of wonderment. "Holy s**t guys, this is amazing," he commented with a big smile still plastered on his face. He slowly hopped in, staring around awestruck. Even as the wind blew through slightly, he enjoyed the light shiver it gave him. It felt amazing to be there.

It felt like home.

"If I had this when after Mom and Dad died, I would have stayed," he admitted as he let out a breath of air, just in awe of the comfort that came with the place. It was absolutely perfect for him. He felt like maybe he could finally sleep there. Maybe.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


The moment that a smile broke out across Nick's face, it seemed to be mirrored on the two sibling's faces as well. Their grins only grew wider when he called their home amazing and any nerves they had over whether he would like it or not quickly vanished. Haley seemed to be almost giddy over the fact that he liked it with the way she was standing on her tip toes, a grin on her face that seemed to reach to her ears. Luke just seemed proud in the way he stood and the calm smile that he wore on his face as his friend's expressions changed as he took in his surroundings. Both of their smiles faltered slightly when he mentioned that he would've stayed if he had this after his parent's death, but they knew nothing could be done about that not, so they let his comment slide instead of dwelling on it.

Well, it can be your home now if you want it to be. Luke said, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder before relieving him of his bag again. Haley stepped over to join them only moments later, glancing to Luke before her eyes rested on Nick. We didn't really have time to get a room ready for you when we found out you were coming home, but there's a few open ones you can pick from. she suggested, smiling gently between the two men. Luke nodded in agreement and swung the duffel bag over his shoulder with ease, walking down the hall further and expecting the other two to follow. This is my room, and across is Hales'. he motioned, pointing to the two doors on the left and right in the fore front of the hallway. They had chosen these rooms because they were the first two down the maze of hallways that housed people and that way they could be around everyone else and everything else that was happening at all times.

There's an open room right there. Next to Luke's. Or there's more down the hall that don't have any neighbors. Most of these front rooms are occupied. Haley added, pointing to a door on the right of the hallway that was slightly cracked open. Luke smiled a bit and glanced between his sister and his friend, wondering where he would choose to stay. Part of him had been keeping that room free ever since this place had been built in the event that maybe Nick did return and help him run things, but he had a feeling his friend might not want to be in such close proximity to everyone else. Plus, that was a dream that seemed fleeting and foolish now. Haley was his partner in keeping Nightingale up and running and although he wouldn't mind having Nick at his side as well, he was pretty sure that his friend wouldn't be up for that anytime soon. We've managed to get most of the rooms furnished with things we've found here and there at thrift stores and things like that. So it's really up to you where you want to stay. Luke said, laughing a bit at the idea of all the mismatched furniture this place housed before resting his gaze on his friend.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

He gave a glare at Luke for taking his bag again, but it turned into a smile back to the two when they asked if he was going to be staying here. He kept up with Luke as he walked, his having a little difficulty keeping up as his body was starting to hurt a lot from the pain killers wearing off that they had him under. He winced as he reached the empty room next to Luke's, then nodded towards it. "I think I'd rather stay up with you guys. I've been on my own for long enough, I think," he stated. "I know I'll be slow at getting better, but I think I'll do it better with people I can trust around me. It's a lot easier to handle issues that way.

"Lemme get changed and some drugs in my system first, then I can go on whatever explorations you two want," he said as he took the bag back. "And don't even try to help me dress myself. I know you wanna see my sexy abs again, Luke, but I am not the physique for that."

He flashed a big, crooked grin to the both of them, his signature smile finally coming out before he headed into the room. He closed the door behind him and dropped his bag onto the bed then started working out of his gear. It took him a while to get even just his military clothes off as he only had one hand and he was trying to be delicate of his body - something he didn't really want to do either. Once undressed to his underwear, he tried not to linger on the bandages he saw in the mirror. He knew exactly what laid under them and the countless surgeries he went under in a short time. He knew it had been for the better that he had them for they warned him he might lose the ability to walk if he hadn't. Yet, every time he saw a scar, all he felt was anxiety and fear bubble up in him over what he had been through.

Shaking his head, he forced himself to take a steady breath to calm down again. It was bad to him that he was getting worked up so easily over just seeing the scars, but it was sadly a natural reaction for him. If a scar caused a flash back though, it scared him what he would face when he finally slept.

Again, he shook his head free of these thoughts and got dressed. He pulled on his jeans slowly as it was still a bit of a struggle to get them over his knee that was swollen despite the anti-inflammatory he'd been given. He got a grey long sleeve on that hugged his body that showed he still had a good amount of muscle despite now being smaller than Luke. He got his arm back into his sling and took his medicine for the day as he hadn't been able to on the plane. Dressed again though, he tucked his crutch under his arm before pushing his sleeves up to expose his heavily bandaged forearms. They were the least bothering stitches he had to his psyche so he wasn't overly worried with showing them. What bothered him were the bandages that were sticking out of the collar of his shirt from his shoulder and chest being wrapped, but he couldn't do much about that unless he opted to live in collared shirts until they came off.

He came out of the room again shortly after, balancing on high top converses instead of combat boots now. "So what else you guys got here?" he asked once he had regrouped with them.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


Haley lit up with a smile when Nick said that he would be taking the room next to Luke's, her eager gaze directed towards her brother. She was well aware that Luke had been subconsciously saving that room for the possible return of his friend, even though her brother had never spoken a word about it. It was clear by the calm smile that slid across Luke's lips that he was happy with the decision as well. He'd have his partner in crime back by his side again not only as his friend, but almost like a roommate again. They both nodded at him in response to his decision though, Haley chiming in by saying "Well good, because you've got two people right here who will be by your side every step of the way." Her tone was gentle, but she was sure of the fact that her and Luke would never let Nick leave their sights again. They'd already lost their best friend once, there was no way in hell that they would lose him again.

His next comment had the two nodding again and Luke handed over Nick's bag without an argument. He was just about to say something about him taking his time to settle in when Nick made a comment about his sexy abs. A deep laugh rumbled from Luke's throat before he rolled his eyes at his best friend. "Oh, alright, I guess I'll have to wait to get a look at that sexy bod." he joked back, grinning wildly and winking at him. Haley was laughing as well and as Nick vanished behind the door, she made some sort of comment about the two being lovers and humming a ridiculous tune that she knew irritated Luke. The last thing Nick would see before going off in his room to change was Luke scooping Haley up in his arms and spinning her around in protest of her childish comments. Though they had gotten bigger and changed on the outside, they were still the two ridiculous siblings that Nick grew up with at heart.

The siblings leaned on the wall opposite Nick's room while he got himself ready, discussing what they needed to do in the next few days and who had to work when. It seemed that they're shifts were pretty varied time wise, so there was really only one time in the next week that both of them would be out at work at the same time. And that was a couple days away, so they were sure that Nick would be able to navigate the place by himself by then. The siblings were drawn from their conversation when Nick reappeared in the hallway, dressed in much more normal clothing and the way they remembered him. Well, minus the bandaging that seemed to stick out from every part of uncovered skin.

Haley only let a frown cross her lips for a moment before she forced it away, smiling a bit at his question. Luke didn't let his discomfort about the bandages show and instead shrugged his shoulders, saying "We can show you the training facilities if you'd like? That's probably the most impressive part of it all." Haley nodded a bit, then added "We've also got a meeting room, research lab of sorts, and a library where we keep every piece of literature we've found about our kind. Or at least speculation that we exist." She smiled a bit then looked between the two men. She was sure that Nick would want to see the training facilities first, since that was much more interesting than what she had mentioned, but the pair waited for their friends response before picking the right direction to move in.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick noticed Haley looking at the bandages on him and he shifted a little bit on his crutches at it. He tried to ignore her expression, but it genuinely bothered him. Maybe if his scars were showing, he could explain the stories behind them, give a reasoning for why he had them. With bandages though, he felt like there was just a vague sense of pain there with him. He nodded to Luke though over the training facilities and then agreed with Haley as well. "Both sound like a good way to spend time. I miss both books and my powers. I'll go see the training area first though, then I'll probably settle down into the library since I'm not exactly in jumping around shape yet. My knee and back slow me down still," he confessed with a forced smile, still upset by how she looked at his arms.

He pulled Haley in for a close hug, squeezing her lightly. "Do not worry about them, Haley. I am okay, don't worry about it," he assured her before nodding for them to lead him where ever. He hobbled away a few steps, guessing where they were going before following after whomever was opting to lead them. His mind a little grimmer now as he pulled the sleeves back over his forearms to hide his bandages then adjusted his collar to do the same.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


Haley and Luke smiled when Nick said he'd like to see the training area and the library. Luke wasn't very surprised about either of these choices, or the option they came in, but Haley looked genuinely pleased that he actually cared about seeing the library. She had insisted they have one, no matter how meager, so she felt particularly prideful over it. "Alright then, training area it is then." Luke said, turning on his heels to head in that direction. Just as Haley turned to follow him, she was caught by Nick, who pulled her in to hug her. Biting her lip, she hugged him back slightly at nodded at what he said about his bandages. "Sorry, I'll try not to." she said quietly, unaware that she had been so obvious about looking at them. Luke seemed to be clueless to the interaction, too focused on getting to the training room, but it didn't take long for Haley and Nick to catch up.

A few turns down some hallways that all seemed to look exactly the same later, they arrived at a set of double doors. Luke grinned and pushed them open to reveal a state of the art training room that looked exceptionally out of place within the old warehouse walls. "And this is where we train." Luke stated out loud, his voice echoing off the walls around them. There were sectioned off rooms along the sides of the larger room that had elemental symbols across them - like fire, water, and earth. It was clear that these rooms were equipped to handle practice with the elements, but they were much more intriguing to see in practice. Other than these mini rooms, the overall training area was decorated with various exercise equipment and areas that looked like stations for different skills. If Nick had thought that the warehouse itself was impressive, he was sure to be blown away by this room.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick stepped past Luke into the room, looking around it in utter awe as he bounced a little on the springy floor. "This is amazing guys!" he said, his voice super loud. He pulled his arm out of the sling for a second, tossing it aside and then his crutch with it. Before he could be stopped, he gave a big grin and shook his head so they wouldn't say anything. He took in a deep breath of air prepared something on a level he hadn't tried in years. He glided a foot across the ground, not feeling as balanced with his shoes on, but he still found it. Even when he put weight on his knee, he didn't falter. Then, he suddenly spun.

Pinkish fire suddenly exploded in the air from his hands as he turned, the heat intense from holding it back so long. In the second turn though, he suddenly jumped up and gave a kick through his spin, shooting the fire at the wall that was marked with the flame. And it held. He stood on his one foot, holding his arm up as he panted, the little burst more than he was use to in a long time. "Holy s**t, that's amazing," he said, a giant smile on his face. He desperately wished he could do more, but just that little bit made everything hurt.

He winced as he hopped to grab his crutch again, a smile still on his face as it was clear that he didn't regret the pain at all. "God, I've just wanted to feel that for a long time now," he explained as he got his sling back on to for supporting his healing ligaments. "How do you guys ever leave?"

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }