The Trick to Falling in Style

Promise

Vermillion carried the last unconscious hybrid into the underground station. He dodged the nurses and doctors busily running around to examine the other hybrids. A nurse holding a lot of folders nearly crashed into him, but he stepped out of her way. She breathlessly thanked him before realizing what he was carrying. She stopped, quickly turning back around. The folders nearly fell from her grasp, but she managed to balance them as she nodded her head towards a bed near the back of the room. She muttered something too fast for Vermillion to completely understand, but he assumed that she was telling him to put the hybrid on that particular bed. He probably caught her saying something about being with the hybrid shortly. That could have been wishful thinking, though. Whether she said it or not, though, Vermillion placed the unconscious body onto the bed like she asked. He made sure that the body was comfortable, putting the head on the pillow and pulling up the blanket. The moment he stepped away, the nurse- now without folders- took his spot. She started hooking up nearby machines to the person, absentmindedly muttering different things to herself.

Vermillion immediately vacated the room. There was no reason for him to be there. He had enough medical knowledge to keep himself alive, and he was discovering that he was barely doing that these days. The nurses and doctors around him had far more credible experience and knowledge. Vermillion will only get in their way as he stood around waiting for something to happen that he could solve that they couldn't. Vermillion knew that the likelihood of that happening was about as likely as Clara giving up her pursuit to make hybrids the top predators in the world.

Vermillion released a heavy breath as he stepped out of the medical wing. The muffled noises of heart monitors and people rushing around echoed in the sterilized hallway. Vermillion was extremely happy for the temporary moment of peace. He knew that once he left the hallway, he would be faced with three somewhat angry and embittered heroes who would demand answers Vermillion wasn't ready to provide. He went over the full, unrestrained truth in his head, picking out the parts he was willing to tell. He had to make sure he had enough to create an accurate story, but there were some parts he absolutely couldn't tell. He knew Ankh, Nemesis, and Blaze. He knew what they would loudly object to. He knew that if he told them why he was hiding, they would drag him to the tower while claiming he was the idiot. Vermillion probably was, but he couldn't risk their lives.

Vermillion belatedly noticed a new noise in the hallway. It was soft, but it wasn't muffled in any way meaning that it was from the hallway. Vermillion looked around. He didn't see anyone else in the hallway. None of the doors were ajar. By all accounts, he was alone in the hallway. The sound, however, argued against that claim. Vermillion could tell that it was getting closer. It was then that he thought to look up instead of keeping his gaze on the ground around him. Vermillion's eyes widened as he saw the source of the noise. He quickly lifted his arms up, barely catching Shroud as the spider hybrid dropped from the roof to the ground. The force of Shroud landing had Vermillion tilted forward, but he spun the momentum until he was spinning in a rough circle with Shroud falling against his chest. Shroud giggled like it was a game, completely unaware that Vermillion almost didn't catch him.

"Mimi!" Shroud happily exclaimed. Out of all the names he ever possessed, Mimi was probably his favorite, if not the most embarrassing. There was no baggage attached to that name. The worst thing he had done while using that name was leaving Shroud without saying goodbye. Shroud, at least, didn't seem to hold any immediate grudges. There might have been some underlying resentment, but Vermillion would cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Shroud! Look at you! I bet you're quite the ladykiller. Or the gentleman-killer. I don't judge," Vermillion shrugged. He situated Shroud onto his hip as he walked down the hallway. Since their last meeting, Shroud had regained a lot of his health. He wasn't as thin from malnourishment, and his hybrid features had smoothed over. His energy levels seemed a lot more appropriate for a toddler. Vermillion had been slightly worried about leaving Shroud at Origins, but it seemed that Nemesis and Prescient were keeping their promise.