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 Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 4:45 pm
Julian had Brooklyn’s starseed.
It didn’t seem real. He’d carried it in both hands, like a butterfly trapped in a cage of fingers. He was afraid of it escaping but he didn’t want to hold it so tightly that he crushed it. He didn’t trust himself right now, but he was terrified that if he took his eyes off of it, it might just fly away.
He’d powered down as soon as he could after the General left, and he’d immediately texted Maisie and Atticus and Elliot. He didn’t know how to reach the others, but those three he could.
Maisie was Brooklyn’s friend before all of this. Atticus’ fathers were the ones who had brought her to the hospital, and Elliot’s parents had been visiting her daily to try and keep her spirits up.
He’d told them where he was, and that he had her starseed, and that he was on the way to the hospital if they wanted to meet him there. It wasn’t too late, and the hospital had open visiting hours. He had to make it almost all the way across town, and he was traveling by foot, but he went as quickly as he could.
Elliot and Atticus had been in the middle of a movie when they got the text. They’d been sent to the movies to take some time to relax, because both of their parents knew how hard they were working. Alastor and Sessrumnir were out patrolling now, and their plan had been to join them when they finished–whether they’d been invited or not–but the news that Julian had Brooklyn’s starseed meant that they didn’t have to.
They arrived before Julian did, and knowing he was still on his way, they waited out front for him just outside of Brooklyn’s room.
Julian took comfort in knowing that they were there already, and when Maisie texted that she had arrived, too, he’d picked up the pace and jogged the last few blocks. He slowed only in the hospital, and only because he didn’t want to draw suspicion to himself.
When the elevator took too long to come down, Julian almost convinced himself to run up the stairs. He might have, if he wasn’t worried about his heart giving out.
The door opened just before he gave up and risked it, but it was the longest elevator ride he’d ever been on. He rode up, alone, hoping that the elevator didn’t break and trap him in here. Hoping that Brooklyn didn’t somehow give up while they were so close.
Brooklyn was just down the hall from the elevator and as soon as he spotted the three other teenagers, he almost felt like he could breathe again.
The starseed was still cupped in his hands and he walked slowly, so sure that if he was going to trip, it would be right here, just feet away from her. As soon as he approached the group, it was a great effort to keep his voice down. He forgot his manners, he didn’t greet them, didn’t thank them for coming. All he could think about was making sure Brooklyn woke up.
In a whisper, he blurted, “How do we put it back?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 5:42 pm
Julian had Brooklyn’s starseed.
Atticus almost couldn’t believe the text they got, and his heart had nearly lept out of his chest. Being at the movies was hardly a comfort, but he appreciated the suggestion to try and get him to stop and breathe for a little while.
But knowing that Julian had Brooklyn’s starseed was definitely a good reason to leave.
He held tightly to Elliot’s hand, because if he didn’t then he would absolutely be pacing the halls, or tripping over important cords, or just crying on the floor. As it was, he wasn’t crying yet but he didn’t know if this would actually work.
It had been so much longer than his had been out. Nearly two weeks.
Atticus glanced up at Elliot, blinking away the tears that were threatening to fill his eyes, his other hand rubbing at his chest, as though trying to remember how it felt when Elliot returned his. He’d been unconscious, but he remembered the warmth as much as the coldness when it had been ripped from his body.
“I think just… hold it close?” he whispered his suggestion, still looking at Elliot as he spoke, because he would know best. He was grateful that Maisie was there too, and it was such a shock to find out that she was his cousin. But in a way, that made things a little more tolerable in all of this. As long as they were able to help Brooklyn, at least.
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Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2023 11:54 am
Julian’s here, she texted Riker, keeping him as up to date as she could. If he weren’t such a coward, he would just suck it up and show his face, but whatever. If he wanted to keep his normal life and his superhero life more separate than Maisie had decided to keep hers, he could deal with the stress of having to wait for answers.
Maisie kept a look out to make sure they weren’t being watched. This part of the hospital wasn’t very loud or busy, but there were still people around. And what about cameras? Were there any in the vicinity? Maybe not in Brooklyn’s room, but what about the halls? The elevator? What were they supposed to do if Julian was noticed?
So far, so good. The nurses had been kind when Maisie made her way up. No one seemed to stop Julian when he came to join them. There weren’t any suspicious doctors poking their noses into their business. There was just the four of them, hovering together, contemplating the starseed.
“What if it’s not the right one?” she said, keeping her voice at a whisper, too. “Like, how do we know it’s really hers?”
If everyone had a starseed, then how was anyone supposed to keep track of them? Did one person’s starseed look different from another? Did they feel different? Was there some way to sense whose was whose? If they put back the wrong one, what would that do to Brooklyn?
Maisie really wished she could punch the guy who took. What a jerk for causing them so much trouble.
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Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2023 7:48 pm
It was good that Maisie was keeping an eye out because it was more than Julian could manage. He was shaking, and the stress of everything felt like it was crushing him. Any second now, he was certain he was going to implode.
She was speaking with a logic he did not want to hear. He didn’t want to think that this starseed could be the wrong one.
“He said he was sorry,” Julian tried to justify. He sounded desperate for her to believe it, but the reality was that he was just desperate for that to be the truth. “He wanted me to message him to tell him that she was okay. I said I would. I don’t know.”
“It’s okay,” Elliot said, and tried to sound reassuring and optimistic about all of this. He squeezed Atticus’ hand and hoped that this was Brooklyn’s starseed.
“Come on, let’s go in her room. We can talk there. If it’s her starseed, it should go back in by itself, it just has to be close to her.” He knew no one was watching them, but it was better safe than sorry–especially if she was going to wake up after this. The less suspicious they were, the better.
Julian faltered, because he was terrified that it wouldn’t go in, but waiting out here wasn’t going to do anything. He didn’t argue, though, and slipped into the room.
It felt cold. Colder than he remembered. Brooklyn looked so pale. So tired. He didn’t know if the starseed in his hands was humming or if it was just his hands shaking so badly. It felt like it took forever to cross the distance to her bedside, and he was dizzy as he stood next to it.
He looked over his shoulder, like he expected a Negaverse agent to appear, but no one did. It was just them. He looked at his friends, and then he looked at Brooklyn.
At some point, he’d stopped breathing, but he forced himself to open his hands.
The starseed didn’t move. He held his hand closer to her.
It still didn’t move.
A second passed.
It was the wrong starseed.
Another second passed, and the starseed almost seemed to twitch. It glowed, but dimly.
And then, it moved. Slowly, but certainly, it disappeared into her chest.
Julian still couldn’t remember how to breathe.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2023 7:19 pm
It took a few moments, but finally, finally Brooklyn drew in a sharp breath and her hand twitched slightly. In the next moment, her eyes slowly fluttered open and she made a noise of some confusion.
“...What happened? What…where’s that guy? Why…” She couldn’t see well, and it was almost impossible for her to rationalize just what was happening, the heart monitor she was attached to beginning to beep as her alarm began to increase. “...What’s going on? Where am I?”
Was she in a bed? But…how did she even get here…and where were her glasses and…
Squinting, she tried to figure out who all of the faces around her were, but the closest one was the easiest. “...Julian?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 7:49 pm
Atticus was pretty sure he could feel the color drain from his face at Maisie’s concern. If it wasn’t the right one?? Why would Julian have been given the wrong starseed??
But Elliot seemed confident, and Atticus was eager to cling to his positivity. Atticus didn’t mean to seem pessimistic! But they’d tried so hard to find this person. They’d talked to a Princess! They could have gotten hurt trying to convince the Negaverse to give them information. The fact that the General just gave Julian Brooklyn’s starseed was such a relief, but Atticus was also worried that something back could still happen.
So he held tightly to Elliot’s hand and watched with red, watery eyes as the starseed was placed over Brooklyn’s chest and finally, finally, disappeared into her.
Atticus couldn’t control the sob of relief that escaped when Brooklyn woke up, and he immediately turned against Elliot to cry on his shoulder so Brooklyn didn’t have to see tears and think it was her fault when it wasn’t.
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Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 7:37 pm
Maisie wasn’t really an emotional person.
Well, okay, yeah, she got scared a lot and tended to scream when that happened. (Who could blame her? Destiny City was full of monsters!) And, sure, she cried sometimes when she was angry. (That was definitely hormones.) But other than that Maisie liked to think she was very chill. She wasn’t going to shake like Julian or sob like Atticus. She could be cool about this! It was the right starseed after all! After a breathless moment in which Maisie feared she’d been right, the starseed returned to its proper place in Brooklyn’s chest, and Brooklyn was awake.
Maisie sighed and slumped in relief, but she definitely wasn’t going to cry. (Maybe later, in the privacy of her bedroom, but not here!)
She sent another hasty text to Riker: It worked!!!!!!!!!!!
“Hey, you’re okay, you’re in the hospital,” she reassured Brooklyn before she’d even finished typing the message. Once it was sent, Maisie scrambled around looking for Brooklyn’s glasses. Someone — probably a nurse, but maybe Michael and his husband (she was not going to think about how much of her family was already involved in this stuff) — had been kind enough to leave them neatly folded on the little tray table attached to Brooklyn’s hospital bed.
“Here, you’re gonna hurt your head if you keep squinting like that,” she said, passing the glasses over. “How long do you guys think we have until the nurses run in gasping and gushing over her miraculous recovery?”
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2023 10:45 pm
They would only have seconds before there was a bit of a clamor from down the hall. Elliot had wrapped an arm around Atticus to reassure him, and for all of his faith even he could only hope that this would have turned out so well.
If it had been the wrong starseed, they would have been back out on the street again tonight.
But, it hadn’t been. Brooklyn was breathing, moving, talking. There was so much that he wanted to say, but in that moment he knew they weren’t going to have many opportunities too.
How many nurses in this hospital might be in the Negaverse? How many people would have been aware of what her symptoms meant? Would anyone know what they had done, or that her starseed had found its way back to her?
Would she be in danger–or any of them?
He didn’t know. The thoughts were in the back of his head, but for now he was too elated that she was alive.
Julian didn’t stop shaking, even when she spoke to him. He thought he might have imagined it at first, but the others saw it too. Maisie was speaking, was handing her glasses.
It wasn’t a dream. She was okay.
He could have burst into tears from the relief of it all, and he managed to lean in and give her a quick hug before the monitor next to her bed started beeping quietly. The voices down the hall were getting quicker, so he spoke as quickly as he could–
“It–it’s me, yeah. You’re safe. You were in a coma for a while, but that’s–you’re okay, everything’s okay.”
He hoped. He didn’t know if there were long term effects from losing your starseed. But from what he’d heard over the past few weeks, as long as she got it back, that was the most important part.
“We’ve been visiting you, um–but you don’t have to be scared of anything. We’re all here for you. We missed you. And everything’s okay, honest. You don’t have to worry.”
The door opened with enthusiasm and maybe slight panic; two nurses and a doctor arrived with inquisitive, startled looks. The monitor by her bedside had clearly alerted them, and suddenly the room felt like it was swarming with people there to check on her.
The teenagers were rapidly being ushered out by medical professionals and people eager to check on Brooklyn, and there was hardly any chance for much of a goodbye. There was a promise that they could come back later–and they would!–but right now there was an unspoken understanding that they needed to make sure Brooklyn was stabilized and cleared for–well, Julian didn’t know.
But, she was awake. And that meant they could collect themselves and come back and actually talk about what had happened.
…Hopefully they’d let her leave, soon. He didn’t want to spend another minute in the hospital, and even if she’d been unconscious the whole time, he doubted she’d want to be cooped up there, either.
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