His Only Hope

Give or Take

Oliver's POV

I clutched the necklace the strange young girl had given me in my hand, staring down at the metal links. She had truly known my mother? And... apparently... my uncle? I walked down the hall, unable to tear my eyes away from the locket. My hand reached out, wrapped around the golden knob to one of the many guest rooms we owned. Maybe I should've just killed her when I had the chance, at Hotel Obsidion. She had killed two of my siblings, after all. Maybe not indirectly, but... she was a coldhearted, cruel murderer who-

I blinked in surprise as I stared down at her, asleep on the bed. Any thoughts of arguing with her, of killing her, vanished. Her head was twisted to the side, leaving her right cheek on full display. The word "DUD" in all capitals was carved there, a scar. I wondered, for the first time, how it had gotten there. Reginald had been shitty before we started drugging him. Had he etched it into her face? Had someone else, an enemy of hers? Had she done it herself? No - whenever I called her Dud, she got this look on her face like she wished she could disappear. Like she wished she could forget something.

Like this, she was almost... cute. In the way that a puppy was cute. She could just be a little girl, excited for Christmas and going out with her friends. But then I remembered her using her power to deflect Chris' laser. That was virtually impossible. I remembered her lifting me up in the air with her electric force field, the feeling of my skin being on fire. I'd never felt that before. Fire didn't hurt me.

But clearly, electricity could. And that meant she was dangerous. She could kill me, my whole family. Maybe she'd killed Marcus already, tortured him with her shield. Or with her hands. She seemed capable, cruel, like she could-

She sniffled, turning her head and drooling a little bit. I looked away, unable to see her as a monster when she reminded me so much of my sisters when they were younger. She was just another one of us, her childhood crushed by Reginald. Maybe I should just... let her be.

I looked down at her locket resting in my calloused hands, hesitating. Clearly, they meant more to her than to me. I was being selfish. 

I looked down at the picture of my mother one final time, letting out a heavy breath and dropping the necklace on the nightstand. I stood up and left quietly, sparing one last glance at the sleeping girl before I shut the door behind me.

...

Your POV

You woke up when you heard people talking beneath your window, dragging yourself groggily from the creaky bed and peering out the dark window. You must have slept through the day - you hadn't had a good rest in a while. Through narrowed eyes you watched as Allison pulled open her trunk and walked out of your view toward the front door. Ben and Fei peered into the trunk before nodding at each other, and your shoulders stiffened.

You had an idea what might be in the trunk. Allison was getting out of control. You watched as Ben slammed the trunk. 

You pressed a hand to your forehead, squeezing your eyes shut. She'd killed Harlan. Viktor was going to freak out. And honestly... you were, too. Since when was Allison a cold-hearted killer? She had been getting worse, but this was just...

"Hey, Dud."

You spun around, readying yourself to raise a force field, before realizing it was Ben. You sighed, rolling your eyes. "It's Eight. If we're going to work together - and we clearly are, since you now... have... Harlan - you're going to need to call me by my name."

"Then how about you tell me your real name?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow and staring down at you coldly. "Since we're going to be best friends now." You pressed your lips together and looked away. It would be so easy to tell him, but you couldn't bring yourself to open your mouth. Your name was something you only wanted to share with people you trusted, people you loved, especially since you'd kept it close to your heart for so long.