Heaven or Hell

04

"Kal i just dont think its a good idea to go out on another job tonight, especially with jane" everyone nodded in agreement with me, well everybody but kali obviously and jane who was asleep. "The cops keep getting closer. and after the chase last night they're definentally onto us, and we don't have any new plates, and if it makes any difference im exhausted"

"Dottie kicks in her sleep" dottie gave me an apologetic look and wrapped her arms around me hugging me tight "sorry munchkin"

"Well the reason the cops have been catching on is because you keep exerting your energy using your other abilities, now we have her" I almost laughed letting out a breathy scoff "she is a child Kal. a literal child, you sound like the goddamn lab."

"You're gonna compare me to those assholes, after everything I have done." There aren't many things that can make me genuinely mad. But anything to do with the lab does, and kal has really been pushing it. She claims she's doing this for justice and revenge for our brothers and sisters that never made it out.

Yet she's using the same methods that the lab used. Maybe less kidnappy and torturous but she knows how to get into your head and she can twist words to make it seem better than it actually is. She didn't even need some special ability to do it, she had it naturally. "Then let's get Jane's opinion."

"Get my opinion on what?" We all whipped our heads around to see Jane stood on the stairs. She was still wearing the flannel she came in but had switched out of her overalls for some of my old sweatpants. "Good morning Jane" Kali smiled and I already knew that Jane would agree.

Kali was intimidating, and Jane was the type of person to try and act cooler in front of someone to impress them. Which is exactly what kali is counting on.

"Would you like to go on a little job with us tonight?" Jane briefly looked at me before looking directly back at Kali "what kind of job" Kali completely debriefed her on the entire job, surprisingly not leaving out any details like she did when she explained it to me.

"So you kill the bad men?" We all sat in the debriefing room watching as Jane shuffled through old security badges and newspaper clippings. "Aww is Shirley temple scared?" I could have punched Axel in that moment if I wasn't across the room from him.

"No, i've killed" she looked like she was maybe 12-13. There isnt really a prime murderous time in someones life but if there was one it definentally wouldnt be 12-13. "And did they deserve it?" jane gently shut her eyes before nodding "...yes"

"So did these men. All of them."

"Listen jane, this is a lot all at once, you don't have to answer all at once you can take some time to think it ove-"

"-i'll do it"

I closed my eyes taking a deep breath in. I needed a break.

When I opened my eyes Kali smiled at me and without breaking eye contact asked "so do you recognize any of them?" I immediately turned and left the room walking up the stairs and to the roof again. I don't even know why I was so pissed off. She is able to make her own decisions and it is not like I've known her for long enough to say that this isn't like her.

But I wish someone had tried to convince me not to join Kalis group. I probably wouldn't have taken their advice much like Jane, but I just wish I had, had that warning. It's not that I didn't love Kali or any of the other group members. It's just that if i had never joined i would probably be off doing my own thing, living a somewhat normal life.

In a normal legal house, in a normal legal neighborhood, with normal legal neighbors. I'd be going to one highschool with all of my other highschool friends instead of jumping from highschool to highschool. I would definitely have a cat named some stupidly ridculus name that somehow fit the cat. And I'd have loving parents and a little brother that I would drive around, and all his friends would think I was super cool.

I wouldn't live in New york. We would all live in a small town where everybody knew everybody, and we would occasionally take a small vacation to one of our uncles or aunts beach house and I would bring a couple friends with me to secretly get high on the roof with. I would have a highschool sweetheart boyfriend and we would have been secretly in love with each other since elementary school but we didn't get the confidence to do anything about it until freshman year.

We would do cute coupley things like picnics in the park at sunset, and makeout in the back of a drive-in movie. We would take a polaroid picture of each other everywhere we went, and everyone would call us the IT couple.

"You ok?" I turned and saw Mick closing the door behind her and slowly start to walk over lighting a cigarette. "Yeah" she nodded, handing me the cigarette and I happily accepted "you don't seem ok?" I ignored her just focusing on the view and inhaling and exhaling the smoke.

"You look like you're thinking, and it looks like it's making you sad" i handed it back to her and watched her "i don't really want to talk about it" she nodded slowly letting the smoke slip from her lips. "Then what do you want to talk about"

"Kali's pissing me off" I shrugged and she smiled sitting against a small bench Jane and Kali had pulled up next to the ledge last night. "The whole jane thing?" I nodded and sat next to her.

"She's so young, and Kali knows exactly how to make her do whatever she wants," Mick nodded, handing the cigarette back "she recognizes love as manipulation."

"she thinks she's helping to protect jane against the bad men, she thinks she's helping jane defend herself."

"It's not right"

"I never said it was, just explaining. She doesn't know another form of love. Cause despite her not wanting to admit it, the lab affected her a lot more than she would care to admit" mick had a point

Kali had been there for a lot longer than I had, I had only been there for a little less than a year. She was there for multiple, and she was much younger than me when I was taken. She doesn't remember much of her life before the lab. I remember everything.

"I don't like when you're right" mick smiled and i finished off the cigarette squishing it on the ledge "about last night-" i waved her off "i get it" she shook her head "i shouldn't have been all harsh about it. Especially cause i know how hard this whole situation has been on you"

"I just would miss you too much" I smiled, grabbing her and pulling her into a big hug kissing her cheek "if i did leave. and that's a big if, i would visit you all the time. And you could come to visit me." She smiled, letting her head lay completely on my shoulder while I rubbed circles on her back.

"DANI!!!!!" we both turned quickly to see dottie and axel stood in the doorway.

"Shirley Temple just moved an entire train car with her mind!"