𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ━ five hargreeves³

16│DEFYING DEATH & OTHER FUN THINGS TO DO ON A SATURDAY

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘ. ᴘᴀɴ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ᴅᴇғʏɪɴɢ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ &
ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ғᴜɴ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴏɴ ᴀ
sᴀᴛᴜʀᴅᴀʏ꒱


❝ WHY IS LEXI. . . GLOWING? ❞

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

Reginald pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. After he parked the car, they stood next to the drainage ditch as he gave them a briefing that was unpleasantly similar to what their training had entailed. "Near-immortality is an unbelievable gift. Yet, you come back to life at unpredictable intervals outside of your control with reflexes of a wet noodle, thoroughly unable to defend yourself or your team. Somehow, you've turned an asset into your liability."

"Yeah, well, not that I care about your opinion but if I were to improve myself, how would I do it?"

"First, let's sharpen your reflexes. Practice makes perfect. Stand there." He pointed to a spot across the road. "When you're fast enough to catch this ball, you will have succeeded."

"Why not? Okay." As Klaus went over to the other side, Alexa made to follow him.

The older man put a hand on her arm. "Not you."

The blonde jerked her arm away from him and took a few steps back. Wariness was clear in her eyes as she watched her brother begin to cross the road. Her skin prickled as the hairs on her arms stood up. Her brother— oblivious to the danger that he was walking into— continued to speak: "but just so you know, I have the hand-eye coordination of a drunk kitten."

Reginald threw the ball before he finished talking and Klaus made to dart after it. The toy bounced several times on the asphalt until he caught it. "See? Ha ha!"

Almost as soon as he lifted the ball up in triumph, Alexa's blue shield shimmered into existence behind him. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut as she concentrated on keeping the wall intact despite the pain that split across her mind. She let out a whimper of discomfort and, at the same time, her shield disappeared just as a bus came barreling down the road. It hit Klaus mercilessly as it went by without a pause.

She opened her eyes to see her brother lying in the road, motionless. The girl knew that he wasn't dead— he'd already come back to prove it— but the sight of his limp form didn't stop the tears from welling in her eyes. As she struggled to get them under control, Alexa came to the realization that this was going to be a very long day.

Reginald, on the other hand, remained completely unflappable. He took out a pocket watch to start the timer. "Klaus Hargreeves. Reanimation training. Trial commencing 1:15p.m.." Then, he turned to the blonde. "Now, let's get started on you as we wait for him to come back. When you tried to use your shield this time, what happened?"

"A headache," she answered— then she cringed. Speaking the weakness out loud somehow made it seem even more pathetic.

As expected, he was entirely unimpressed. "That's all? Why on earth would that stop you from using your powers?"

She tugged on her blonde hair as she thought. "I can't concentrate with it. It's like. . . the connection is severed because of the pain."

"Interesting. What do you mean by 'connection?'"

"Well, whenever I share my powers with someone— but especially my siblings— their cells or-or some kind of frequency shifts into place to match mine. I can feel them— mostly just where they are, not what they're doing— however faintly whenever they have some of my power. I think that part— the desire to protect them— comes from my heart." She put a hand on the left side of her chest. "It might sound cheesy but I think that's how it works, why I can separate my powers. My shields, on the other hand— the physical manifestation— come from my mind, as you said. I think the connection between my heart and my mind has been severed, making my power weaker overall."