trans_9 | Mad Scientist In The Making

Nate had gotten his armor back from Stacy. The initial elation had slowly given way to a very businesslike examination of the suit's use however, following a troubleshooting session in the City. It seemed that Stacy had locked down the suit's time travel capabilities. So that meant he wouldn't be going anywhere, and he wouldn't be pulling weapons out of the time stream either. A few of the deadlier weapons in the suit itself had been disabled. But he'd be able to get those back up and running.

The thing that he had most wanted to know however, was whether the Vision programming was present. Running through his checklists and looking through the programming ands source codes of the armor's minimal AI system, he was soon satisfied that his suit wouldn't be walking around on it's own anytime soon. Good. One less headache for him. Something he was thankful for, what with the way his head had been pounding recently. That being said he didn't want to be walking around in that suit at the moment. At least, not while it was looking like that.

So it was that he ended up in the Special Weapons area, various tools littering the table next to the larger one that he'd laid the suit out on. First things first, he'd need to get rid of that helmet. He didn't want his face hidden, not anymore at least. So he worked for an hour or so at pulling the components from the helmet and incorporating them into the suit. Of course, for the HUD he'd need to find an alternate method. Perhaps he could rig up a retinal projector keyed to his DNA? Well, time enough for that later.

The sound of clinking and fiddling could be heard for a long time. His eyes began to grow tired as he kept working. How many hours had it been? Didn't matter, he had his suit. He needed to finish. Now that fusion cell connected to that power cable. And that ion regulator into that outlet. Yes it was going fine. Picking up another fusion cell, he grabbed his screwdriver and began to unscrew the cap. Hopefully the gel hadn't congealed after disuse, or else it might--

BOOM

The cell exploded in a great spray of coolant gel and metal parts. One sliver of metal ran a cut along his cheek, and he was glad he'd had the foresight to put goggles on, as others pinged off the protective eyewear. Setting down his screwdriver, he pulled the goggles off, a bemused expression crossing his face as he lifted a hand to wipe the gel off it. His hair stuck out at odd angles from the release of static the exploding fusion cell had caused, and he sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

Maybe that was enough for one night.

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He turned away as well, a hand going to the back of his neck. Why did things have to be so complicated. Really, sometimes he wished Stacy had left him to die with his world. Strong story or not. Sighing quietly, he turned to face her back. Was she angry? Or upset?

Reaching out, he brushed the backs of his fingers gently across the small of her back. "Don't shut me out, Cassie..."

"I-" She was trying so hard to stay calm and not cry. "I really thought I'd made up my mind but each time I talk to you..."

His eyes lowered to his feet and he dropped his hand from her back, wringing them together gently. He didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he'd ever had to think about these things before. Why couldn't relationships be like machines. He knew machines, he knew how to fix them, how to make them work. Why couldn't he figure this out? It was like working on a photon transducer in the dark, with stone age tools.

"I'm sorry...I-I didn't know."

Part of Cassie was relieved that Nate was no longer touching her. It was easier that way.

The rest of her really, really wished he was still holding onto her.

"This is not your fault. This is all me." She sighed then looked back at Nate.

It didn't make things easier. Whenever she was close, it was all he could do to keep himself from sweeping her into his arms and never letting go. If he didn't touch her at all, maybe it would get easier.

Still, he had to admit, if only to himself, that if he had the choice, he would have held on to her and never let go, ever.

"That's not true. You were doing fine before I showed up." He shook his head quickly. "I shouldn't even be here. There's no need for me here. Stacy made a mistake."

Cassie grabbed hold of Nate's shoulders, then pressed both hands against his face, making sure he wouldn't look away.

"Don't say that. Bringing you here was not a mistake. You're an amazing person and I'm so lucky I have this chance to talk to you and get to know you. You are so much more than you think you are."

His face may have been in her hands, but his eyes looked over her shoulder, at the floor. Anywhere but right at her. Why was it so difficult to look at her now? He fought the impulse to pull away, to run. And looked back into her eyes.

"I just don't want to hurt you. Or be part of something that's hurting you." He sighed. "I know I can do some good here. I know it. It's just that I don't want to if it's at the cost of hurting you."

"Nate," She said firmly, hands still on his cheeks. "Look at me."

With her hands along his face like that, she would probably have felt his jaw clench for a moment before relaxing again. His eyes lifted from the floor to meet her gaze.

"This is not your fault. You're not hurting me, you're-" Cassie paused and when she spoke her voice was softer. "Listen, there's- there's been a lot of things, a lot of pain in my life. Things haven't been easy. When you left... it was really hard. But I never regretted meeting you. I never thought that any pain I felt wasn't worth it. And I'm telling you now that if anything you do makes my life even a little harder- it's worth it. And I don't want you to ever, ever feel bad about being here. About being with me right now."

He watched her speak, listened carefully to her words. And he made sure to remember them. She was sincere. And it would be a disservice to her to simply ignore what she'd said. He nodded, and raised his hands to cover those she placed along his cheeks. "I'll remember, Cassie."

He took a deep breath. "Thank you."

"Good." Cassie smiled and stroked down his cheek. "And... I do love you. Please remember that too."

"Never forgot for a moment." Which was technically a lie. But well, she would know what he meant. He smiled brightly at her.

Cassie just smiled back. She couldn't think of anything to say, and though she could think of a lot of things to do, none of them were things that she should do.

"Your eye's starting to bruise."

To be fair, the same thoughts ran through Nate's head. And it was only by the strength of his own willpower that he held himself back from doing them. Because He wanted to. more than he could remember ever wanting anyting every before.

He just pulled the equivalent of a facial shrug. "I've had worse."

"You're right." Cassie lightly kissed his brow above his hurt eye. "We should still put some ice on it."

He scrunched his nose at the kiss to his brow. That was something he could get used to. Thought he probably shouldn't... "Do you think Stacy even stock ice?"

"Hm, well maybe the ice in the Sensorium will work. It can make everything else. So long as it's cold it'll work." She paused. "Or we can go to the Medbay. Sorry, I don't get to go to the Sensorium much, I guess I'm looking for excuses."

He smiled, holding out his hand. "The Sensoriums are worth a shot. Come on, I'm with you, they won't be able to say a thing about it." Well, knowing their teammates, they would probably be able to say a lot about it. But that was neither here nor there.

"Sounds good to me." Cassie took Nate's hand, squeezing it just a little. "Let's go."

His hand slid easilys into hers and he returned the gentle squeeze as they set off toward the Sensoriums. He knew Jonas and Kate didn't want Cassie in there without another person. But Nate wasn't going to stop her from getting what she needed. "Let's."

Mad Scientist In The Making

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