Yes it is. No more fighting. It's over now. We will go home. You did help. We are safe.
[Clipped, passionate words in her own tongue. She knows English, yes. When the moments are tense, when her head and instincts have gone to a sort of default, Spanish comes easier.]
I'm with you. Are you with me?
[In a manner of speaking. It's a call for awareness. No judgment. He knows why she acts as she does, the level of brutality is a knee jerk response. He couldn't stop or reach Elektra, and he hopes to cross the divide enough to bring the inertia of the moment to a stop.
Frank still hangs back. He has a pretty lousy gash across his thigh where a bullet grazed. Matt is weary, taking a bad fall and trying to keep the sway of fatigue out of him. There is hardly any movement in the warehouse. The tension is thick.]
[ She's dubious. They do bad things, that much is obvious. They did these things before Matt and Frank came to make them stop. Will this make them stop? Her normally slow and composed heartbeat ratchets up higher. She can hear the soldiers from the lab in her head.
Use your abilities. Finish this. Matt's voice is also in her head. Telling her that he hopes she doesn't have to use them. Her claws. Her abilities. Not like this. ]
I'm---
[ Her claws slide back into her skin, cuts healing directly after. ]
[No blame. It is the very last thing she needs to hear about. Laura's sense of right and wrong is still malleable. The last thing Matt wants is for it to be coated with blame or resentment for herself. That's where this gets trickier. Elektra did not have shame, that was fine. She did not empathy, that was what made reaching her even harder before the Hand changed her.
The claws slide away and Matt gently reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder.]
You're safe. You did what you had to do. It's alright.
[He talks to her and is easing himself close, reminding her that touch is not lethal. Matt's hands are free from the gloves that hang at his wrists so she can smell his skin. Not just the suit or blood in the air, scent to help recognition.]
Breathe a moment with me. And then we need to leave. You, me and Frank.
[As far as Matt is aware, Frank is fixed to the spot. His mind is racing and his heart is pounding. If only he could be in two places at once. He hates that it's a choice. With Frank he knows he won't get lost too, too far. With Laura? There has been no gauge.]
[ She twitches a little with unspent energy and upset when the man they are closest to sobs on an exhale. Her more animal instincts think: enemy. Her hair is sweaty and sticks to her head. It drips down her face a little, leaving itchy streaks in blood. ]
You---[ She hesitates. At least enough presence of mind to keep her from saying their names aloud. ]--the two of you are safe?
[ Her nose twitches and her hands reach up to find his bare ones to hold. Her smaller hands are sticky with drying blood. She and Frank talked about this once. Some people will always be bad people. Are these those kinds of people?
They do not smell like Matt does or Foggy or Karen. Or even Frank. She almost says something else but then the sounds of sirens come to her ears. If she heard them, she knows Matt did as well. ]
We're a little hurt. [Hurt and a little hurt are a fine line, look he is speaking the truth and his heart is beating hard out of panic.] We're going to be okay. Breathe.
[Matt curls his fingers around her's tightly. Sticky or not sticky, this is Laura. She needs to be Laura and no one else. He knew she could be a fighter. He had always known. And now he is just processing it for the full weight of its meaning.
The sirens are shrill and distant. Matt goes rigid.]
Please help me get Frank to move. He is--[Scared is not the word.] He's remembering things he doesn't want to.
[The sound of his own name sort of pulls Frank out out of his fugue a little.]
[ She can smell that he isn't lying to her. The bulk of the injuries are for the other men. They will live. They may not walk out of here in one whole piece.
His hand curling around hers tight brings her focus back to the room and not the sirens. Her foot slides in a puddle and her jaw clenches. She saved them but this---this was bad, wasn't it? She shakes her head to dispel the thoughts. ]
Si. I can help. [ She lets go of Matt's hands and goes to Frank, taking a shoulder and tugging to try and get him moving. She is stronger than she should be but he's still a grown man stuck in his own head. Near dead weight. ] Up, up. We need to go.
Careful. [Matt keeps holding on, the misstep is like she had slipped in a puddle.]
We're moving.
[Frank startles some at touch. The first name out of his Lisa. Matt comes up on both of them fast, He grabs the Marine by the shoulders. Laura tugging on him and making his brain work to recognize her.]
I'm--yeah.
[There he is. Sort of. The three of them hustle out the back door. Frank's van is there. Clearly only he can drive.]
Frank, Frank. We need to get back home. Please. Can you do this?
[They can ditch the van perhaps. Though it would be here, it would be evidence.]
Yeah.
[Matt lets Laura sit up front. She's small and would not be recognized. For Frank he lugs him to the driver's seat. Slowly coming to the moment. Driving is a mindless task. The city is always busy though here on this side of town and the side streets there is fucking no one.]
[ Laura helps as best she can with the getting to the van. Matt is more help, she can help move Frank easier. When he drives, he does it like he isn't really thinking about it. She's seen this before with some of her friends after tests or training.
This far away look. It's how one of them looked before he ran off the roof. ]
We're home now. [ They park but Frank doesn't budge after he turns off the van. She hesitates just a moment and reaches out to place a small hand on his forearm. ]
[He's in there. Just deeper than before. The carousel is turning. The bullets are flying. His daughter and son, his wife...all gone.
Matt slumps in the back. He is trying to keep his composure too for Laura and for Frank. His body is angry at him. But they are all here and together.
Parking now, Frank doesn't move. Matt slowly hauls himself up right. The touch of the young girl's hand on the Marine's arm gets a slow look. Laura is still soaked in blood. Hell, not like that would change in the next few moments.]
Yeah.
[Stumbling and without a helmet, Matt opens the driver's side door to pull him from the van.]
Let's go, Frank. Almost there.
[The situation is tense. Matt has a weary smile for Laura.]
[ Laura climbs out with him, but doesn't miss the way that he looks at her. No, not her. The state of her. She does not know his story but she knows that scent. He hurts.
They get up the stairs, quiet to not draw attention, and then into Matt's apartment. She doesn't have a smile to offer back for Matt. Once they get inside, Laura gets the first aid kit and sets it on the table. ]
[Frank's stumbling tread on the ground is bolstered by Matt who has found his second wind. They get upstairs with minimal incident, that doesn't mean it didn't take some time. He eases Frank to sit. He's almost dead weight.]
I'm gonna tend to his leg. [Still in his suit but it's fine for now. His own discomfort is taking a backseat.]
How about you jump in the bath? Get clean and settle down. When you're done you can help me.
[ They need to look at Matt as well. He is in pain. The way Frank looks at her with that faraway gaze, she knows that she is not much help until after she cleans up.
More talking about what happened will come later, and she isn't sure how she feels about the idea. Her stomach twists in a little knot at that. ]
I will do that.
[ After she's done she goes to the closet to find clothes for both of them. Frank doesn't have many there but there are a few. Her hair is still a little damp when she comes out. ]
[The helmet is on the coffee table, his gloves are completely off. Matt crouches and eases off Frank's jeans to his shins to get a better look at the graze. Frank grunts. It's painful, not shaking off the daze wholly.
Yeah it hasn't been a good time for him at all.
By the time Laura is out of the bathroom and clean, the wound is bandaged. Matt dabs sweat from his brow.]
Thank you.
[He reaches out to Frank who has moved to look at Laura a bit like he hasn't seen her before.]
...Frank she brought a change. It'll feel better.
[Not a good chance that they'll get him to bathe right now. He reaches out and for the first time since the warehouse he says anything.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[Clipped, passionate words in her own tongue. She knows English, yes. When the moments are tense, when her head and instincts have gone to a sort of default, Spanish comes easier.]
I'm with you. Are you with me?
[In a manner of speaking. It's a call for awareness. No judgment. He knows why she acts as she does, the level of brutality is a knee jerk response. He couldn't stop or reach Elektra, and he hopes to cross the divide enough to bring the inertia of the moment to a stop.
Frank still hangs back. He has a pretty lousy gash across his thigh where a bullet grazed. Matt is weary, taking a bad fall and trying to keep the sway of fatigue out of him. There is hardly any movement in the warehouse. The tension is thick.]
no subject
[ She's dubious. They do bad things, that much is obvious. They did these things before Matt and Frank came to make them stop. Will this make them stop? Her normally slow and composed heartbeat ratchets up higher. She can hear the soldiers from the lab in her head.
Use your abilities. Finish this. Matt's voice is also in her head. Telling her that he hopes she doesn't have to use them. Her claws. Her abilities. Not like this. ]
I'm---
[ Her claws slide back into her skin, cuts healing directly after. ]
I'm with you.
no subject
[No blame. It is the very last thing she needs to hear about. Laura's sense of right and wrong is still malleable. The last thing Matt wants is for it to be coated with blame or resentment for herself. That's where this gets trickier. Elektra did not have shame, that was fine. She did not empathy, that was what made reaching her even harder before the Hand changed her.
The claws slide away and Matt gently reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder.]
You're safe. You did what you had to do. It's alright.
[He talks to her and is easing himself close, reminding her that touch is not lethal. Matt's hands are free from the gloves that hang at his wrists so she can smell his skin. Not just the suit or blood in the air, scent to help recognition.]
Breathe a moment with me. And then we need to leave. You, me and Frank.
[As far as Matt is aware, Frank is fixed to the spot. His mind is racing and his heart is pounding. If only he could be in two places at once. He hates that it's a choice. With Frank he knows he won't get lost too, too far. With Laura? There has been no gauge.]
no subject
You---[ She hesitates. At least enough presence of mind to keep her from saying their names aloud. ]--the two of you are safe?
[ Her nose twitches and her hands reach up to find his bare ones to hold. Her smaller hands are sticky with drying blood. She and Frank talked about this once. Some people will always be bad people. Are these those kinds of people?
They do not smell like Matt does or Foggy or Karen. Or even Frank. She almost says something else but then the sounds of sirens come to her ears. If she heard them, she knows Matt did as well. ]
no subject
[Matt curls his fingers around her's tightly. Sticky or not sticky, this is Laura. She needs to be Laura and no one else. He knew she could be a fighter. He had always known. And now he is just processing it for the full weight of its meaning.
The sirens are shrill and distant. Matt goes rigid.]
Please help me get Frank to move. He is--[Scared is not the word.] He's remembering things he doesn't want to.
[The sound of his own name sort of pulls Frank out out of his fugue a little.]
no subject
His hand curling around hers tight brings her focus back to the room and not the sirens. Her foot slides in a puddle and her jaw clenches. She saved them but this---this was bad, wasn't it? She shakes her head to dispel the thoughts. ]
Si. I can help. [ She lets go of Matt's hands and goes to Frank, taking a shoulder and tugging to try and get him moving. She is stronger than she should be but he's still a grown man stuck in his own head. Near dead weight. ] Up, up. We need to go.
Up, si. It's ok.
no subject
We're moving.
[Frank startles some at touch. The first name out of his Lisa. Matt comes up on both of them fast, He grabs the Marine by the shoulders. Laura tugging on him and making his brain work to recognize her.]
I'm--yeah.
[There he is. Sort of. The three of them hustle out the back door. Frank's van is there. Clearly only he can drive.]
Frank, Frank. We need to get back home. Please. Can you do this?
[They can ditch the van perhaps. Though it would be here, it would be evidence.]
Yeah.
[Matt lets Laura sit up front. She's small and would not be recognized. For Frank he lugs him to the driver's seat. Slowly coming to the moment. Driving is a mindless task. The city is always busy though here on this side of town and the side streets there is fucking no one.]
Let's go.
no subject
This far away look. It's how one of them looked before he ran off the roof. ]
We're home now. [ They park but Frank doesn't budge after he turns off the van. She hesitates just a moment and reaches out to place a small hand on his forearm. ]
We're home. We have to go inside now.
no subject
Matt slumps in the back. He is trying to keep his composure too for Laura and for Frank. His body is angry at him. But they are all here and together.
Parking now, Frank doesn't move. Matt slowly hauls himself up right. The touch of the young girl's hand on the Marine's arm gets a slow look. Laura is still soaked in blood. Hell, not like that would change in the next few moments.]
Yeah.
[Stumbling and without a helmet, Matt opens the driver's side door to pull him from the van.]
Let's go, Frank. Almost there.
[The situation is tense. Matt has a weary smile for Laura.]
C'mon Laura.
no subject
They get up the stairs, quiet to not draw attention, and then into Matt's apartment. She doesn't have a smile to offer back for Matt. Once they get inside, Laura gets the first aid kit and sets it on the table. ]
no subject
I'm gonna tend to his leg. [Still in his suit but it's fine for now. His own discomfort is taking a backseat.]
How about you jump in the bath? Get clean and settle down. When you're done you can help me.
no subject
More talking about what happened will come later, and she isn't sure how she feels about the idea. Her stomach twists in a little knot at that. ]
I will do that.
[ After she's done she goes to the closet to find clothes for both of them. Frank doesn't have many there but there are a few. Her hair is still a little damp when she comes out. ]
I brought new clothes.
no subject
Yeah it hasn't been a good time for him at all.
By the time Laura is out of the bathroom and clean, the wound is bandaged. Matt dabs sweat from his brow.]
Thank you.
[He reaches out to Frank who has moved to look at Laura a bit like he hasn't seen her before.]
...Frank she brought a change. It'll feel better.
[Not a good chance that they'll get him to bathe right now. He reaches out and for the first time since the warehouse he says anything.]
Thank you.