trans_9 | The Revelation (bendy-timed before the Meet and Greet)

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The Revelation (bendy-timed before the Meet and Greet)

The Sub-Visser was dying. It was obvious to anyone in the MedBay, from the way Paco was shuddering and moaning in his restraints. The last hold-out of the Yeerk infestation was dying. It would all be over soon.

He looked up as Superboy and Robin entered the MedBay and laughed, baring his teeth in a grin.

"Hey Superboy, want to know a secret?" he asked. "It's a good one. A real kicker, that Francisco and Jaime and Speedy have been keeping from you and your little friend there."

And before Jaime can stop him, he spits it out:

"You're dead when you go home. Dead! Had a nice funeral, too bad you weren't there too enjoy it. Oh!" he rolls Paco's head to look at Robin. "And I wouldn't get too attached to your little buddy Kid Flash either. Oh wait, too late isn't it? Ah well. At least Superboy goes out saving the world. Flashy drops the 'kid' off his name and goes out like a punk."

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Brenda laid her hand on Paco's chest, rubbing gently back and forth over his heart as if she could ease it's pounding somehow.

"Shhh, it's alright. Just breathe, it's almost over."

She wants to look in his eyes, reassure him somehow, but she's fixated on the roll of slimy grey flesh eking it's way out of his ear instead.

"--Get out get out get out, want you out, die die die die--"

Paco's eyes were squeezed shut but tears still leaked out anyway.

Yeerks absorbed bits of their hosts. Not physical pieces, but the Sub-Visser had more than memories of all of the hosts he'd infested over his life. In fact, he didn't even remember the vast majority of the hosts whose pieces were suddenly popping up as he died.

And now, all that was going to Paco. Gedd, Taxxon, Hork-Bajir, and dozens upon dozens of species that the Yeerk couldn't name -- everything the Yeerk had absorbed was being downloaded to Paco's brain.

"--out out outoutoutout--"

The Sub-Visser fell the rest of the way out of Paco's ear, shuddered once, and went still.

Paco was free.

Brenda reachs down and squeezes Paco's fingers, sliding the hand on his chest up to touch his cheek and turn him toward her, searching his eyes for a moment before she can relax.

"Hey you." she gives him a weak smile. "It's out. You're alright now."

Aren't you? Please?

"Just take it easy for a second and let me unstrap you."

She slips her fingers under the bonds at his wrists, refusing to acknowledge the nervous shudder than runs through her as his hands are freed. But she leaves the ankle bonds to him once he can sit up and takes a moment to make good on a personal promise, looming over the Sub-Visser's corpse for a moment before reeling back and pounding it into the exam table with one fist. It makes a supremely satisfying crunch/squish noise under her knuckles.

"Bastard..."

Even with it dead in front of her she's still angry.

Paco shot up into a sitting position as soon as Brenda unstrapped him, grinding the heel of his palm against his ear where the Yeerk had just been, muttering fragments of prayers in English and Spanish. He wanted to get as far away from that thing as possible. Yanking himself free of the ankle bonds, he hopped off the table and began to pace, clenching his hands at his temples and breathing hard.

Oh man. Oh man, he had really screwed the pooch there.

He needed a hug. Paco was man enough to admit it to himself, even if he wasn't going to say it out loud. He turned and threw his arms around Brenda and just held on.

"Sorry," he whispered hoarsely. "Sorry."

Brenda leans into the hold, just burying herself against his chest and squeezing her arms around him. Thoughtlessly she reaches up long his spine, threads her fingers into his hair and strokes with her thumb along the soft space just behind his jawbone, trying to be soothing without lifting her face from the crook of his neck right now.

"Shht, it's alright. Don't apologize." She murmurs. "It wasn't you. We all know it wasn't you. It's gonna be okay."

She swallows the desire to cry pretty well all things considered.

Paco took a deep breath and let it out. Then did it again. Third time around, he felt like he could let go of Brenda without collapsing. He scrubbed a hand over his face and chuckled, wincing a bit at how unhappy it came out sounding.

"Man. Epic fail there," he said. He forced a grin and spread his arms wide, to indicate the whole of the Med Bay and beyond.

"Welcome to the meatship, Brenda!"

It's sort of a joke. A really, really crappy joke.

She gives him a slightly sad smile, hands still resting at his waist.

"I feel totally welcomed, really. I got to tackle a werewolf right off the bat and Brainy's called my stupid at least once so I think I'm initiated by now."

"Oooh, we got werewolves? That's new. I just got shot at because Jaime freaked everyone out." And got tackled by Kate. Paco sobered a bit, then smiled again. "I'm told that's how Brainy shows his affection. Speaking of, I've never actually spoken to him without a slug. This is going to be a hell of a lot more fun now."

Brenda smirks, although she doesn't miss that moment where his smile slips.

"Yeah. They're huge and they talk. I should have been way more terrified about tackling a nine-foot wolf-creature but... well I was just out of the muck. I'm going to put that one down to fight or flight reflexes getting their wires crossed."

"You have a flight reflex? You?" Paco made a shocked face. "Where have you been keeping it all these years, in the back corner of your closet?"

He paused and started looking her over for bites. "You told it that you were already plenty scary once a month, right?"

She socks him a good one on the shoulder for that even though she laughs. Feels right. Normal.

"You'd be f**ked if I was a werewolf. With your luck I'd transform into a hideous monster one week and then get PMS the next. You'd have to start carrying chocolate in a holster."

She learned a long time ago that it was way easier to roll with the PMS jokes than to get upset about them. If she really wanted him to shut up she'd just go into graphic detail about her reproductive organs until he covered his ears and started singing 'Henry the Eighth I Am' at the top of his lungs.

"Uhm, so... I met a half-ghost who used your body for a while. Danny? He knew who I was because I punched him. Thanks for the pre-established rep there." She stuck out her tongue.

"You would, too," Paco agreed. "You'd do it on purpose."

Normal was the plan right now. At least as normal as it got, standing in the Med Bay of a giant, sentient meatship flying through multiple universes, while wearing plantsuits that had their own pulses. But it was the plan.

"Hey, that wasn't even remotely my fault," he said. "Danny asked if we had a female friend that threatened to hit us. Apparently, we're not unique in the multiverse."

Brenda rolls her eyes but sighs a little. "Yeah yeah, defer the blame there Paco. Nicely done."

She rubs his arm a little, then gives in to the urge to hug him again.

"Crap it's good to actually hear YOU again. I'm sorry I hit you in the face before. I didn't WANT to break your nose."

"I am completely telling the truth this time," Paco said. "Danny and Jaime will back me up on this. Actually, Danny's dating his version of you."

Paco had no idea. None at all. He'd been asleep when Kate and Brenda were talking.

"Trust me, chica, it's good to hear me too. And seriously, don't worry about it. I'd rather have a broken nose than a throttled you, and Brainy's dealt with the broken nose issue already anyway. Doesn't even sting."

She can't help the way her smile falters when Paco says that about Danny, but she forces it back into place and reaches up to touch his nose a little. It DOES look remarkably fine.

"Least the green guy knows what he's doing with noses. Is he always that testy and arrogant with people?"

Paco noticed the way her smile faltered and winced a little. Probably shouldn't have brought that up, since that kiss during the Reach invasion Hadn't Happened. Capital letters and all. Which meant Awkward that he really didn't want to deal with right now, so new subject!

"He's like that until you get him around Supergirl. Then he gets this glazed expression like the quantum physics equation he was thinking about suddenly turned into an picture of her naked, and he's not sure if that means he's cheating on Science with her or not. And she wants to tap that too. She adopted his monkey."

Brenda tries to smother a giggle at that 'cheating' line but fails spectacularly and just bursts into laughter a moment later, ending up leaned on the side of the medical bed hugging her ribs and making a pointed effort to keep breathing properly.

"Oh my God Paco, seriously..." she's still laughing a little bit and wiping at her eyes. "Oh jeez, and I was worried being stuck on this ship would be too depressing to handle. Stupid me, you're here. What was I thinking?"

Would you look at that, he already felt better.

"What can I say, I'm just full of cunning social insights," Paco said. "Actually, if you set aside the kidnapping and tentacles and variety pack of creepy-crawlies and food and..." he trailed off and grimaced. "Okay, no, the ship sucks, but the people on board are pretty cool."

"Fair enough. If we're going to be lost on a meatship might as well have decent company." Brenda frowns a bit then. "Although, freaking SUPERMAN is here. I don't know whether to be encouraged that we have him on our side, or horrified that whatever this place is it managed to get SUPERMAN."

"Superman's here?" Paco gaped a little. "Whoa, I am officially out of the loop." He rocked back and forth on his heels and sucked air in through his teeth. "Damn. I don't know what to think about that either. But bad guys do that kind of thing all the time, right? The Reach had Jaime on board their ship, and then he--"

Paco bit his tongue. "Uh, are you from my past? I may have already blown the timeline all to hell, but I don't want to make it worse."

Brenda lets her smile slip a bit at that, but shakes her head right away.

"No no. I'm ahead of you actually. It's... about two weeks before the end of the school year for me."

She hopes that's specific enough.

"Not too far ahead of me," Paco said, nodding. "So, like I was saying, the Reach had Jaime on board their ship and naked and he still kicked their asses. Superman at least has a plantsuit."

He hoped. Because the idea of Superman joining Team Naked was...a little disturbing.

"Yeah. The plantsuits by the way? CREEPIFYING." She examines her arm with a disgusted frown.

"I figure better plantsuits than naked," Paco said. "Or making a kilt like that one guy has. And we had to make him wear that. Random nudist guy on a meatship, what a world. Worlds." He made a face. "But they definitely need to go. We can find some other way to keep clean, there's a bathroom with running water and everything."

"Oh my god, you should not sound so excited about being able to find RUNNING WATER on a spaceship so advanced it kidnaps people from different points in TIME."

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