The HQ Team (PLOT)

Wally stood utterly still throughout Steven's tirade and then Karen's, eyes flicking back and forth between the two as he drew closer to Wallace. Later, he would look back and reason that it made sense. Steven, for whatever reason, was either clearly experiencing some crazy mood swings or trying desperately to cover up his cracking facade, and the murder and the events that followed...

Well, you could only push a man so far until he snapped.

But to actually see Steven so angry...

Wally could count on maybe both hands the number of times Steven had been angry in his entire four years of knowing people. Less than eleven times since Wallace had introduced them. That was pretty remarkable, especially considering the stress that all of the leaders had been under that first year and a half, while turning the collection of hotels into a city. But Steven, though definitely badly wounded by the end of the world and then the death of Alexandrite, had rarely resorted to yelling or even calm anger to get things done.

As if there wasn't enough going on, hearing Colress wasn't likely at a police station made his insides go cold. Clair was a vicious, vicious bully. When she wanted something she didn't stop until she got it or had to stop pursuing it due to things out of her control, and the latter always made her more pissy and cruel later. Steven had told him during their lesson the day before that Clair really didn't seem to care much about the investigation and was, if anything, irritated that she had to devote time to it. Was she taking that out on Col? Or was there something else...?

"I know I didn't. And I'm glad to hear you say that. But they do and that's all that matters."
"That won't stop them if they want to close the case quickly."
"Evidence will pop up to indict me if they need it."

Last night he'd promised up and down that Steven wouldn't let that happen. But were Colress's fears going to come true after all? He felt his chest tighten at the thought. Col wouldn't be able to handle those cells. Oh gods, not at all. Col was way more fragile than Steven and he still had to poke Steven to eat sometimes. What would happen to the scientist if they just... locked him away? And he couldn't go see him anymore?

He knew the answer. He did. He just didn't want to think about it.

The yelling was blurring into a background of sound and oh gods, he was feeling sick. What if things erupted? What if their fighting became more than words- what kind of trouble could Steven get into-

Don't panic. Don't panic. His breathing was getting faster and he sucked in a large one to try to stop it before it got worse. If you freak out Wallace might send you back to your room. You can't let that happen. You gotta be there when they find him.

-nd she is far more likely to answer where she is if you ask her, when she's not even supposed to be holed up somewhere totally isolated to begin with!" he tuned in time to hear Steven snap. The Champion paused a moment to rub a temple, taking a deep breath. With a voice that was calmer but not neccesarily less angry, he grumbled, "Legends- we can fight later. Just- get Clair on the walkie talkie and ask her where she is and then you can go back to your computer."

Please listen, he begged Karen mutely with his eyes from his spot against his cousin's side. He just wanted to find his friend.

"Well you weren't doing your job the night you were assigned to security, were you?" Well, no, but what was the point in bringing that up now? She was trying her damndest to make up for it now, she was forgoing sleep and food and-- FUCK what more did this asshole want?! "There were several missing minutes from that tape! If you'd had even just one of your pokemon keeping an eye on it someone could have alerted you there was a problem, but no! I'm not bitching that you haven't found anything else because none of us have, but if you'd been paying attention then maybe we'd have a little more to go on!" She opened her mouth to argue, but he ran her over. "And yes, I know Clair is above you, but in case you haven't noticed, she hates me. And she is far more likely to answer where she is if you ask her, when she's not even supposed to be holed up somewhere totally isolated to begin with!"

It looked like Steven's headache was vying with his frustration for control and he steadied himself a moment before continuing. "Legends- we can fight later. Just- get Clair on the walkie talkie and ask her where she is and then you can go back to your computer."

"Yeah, when we first get something fucking straight--" Karen began, her hands still balled up in fists, "I know I fucked up. I know. But I'm kinda without a time machine and can't make me stop fucking Sid long enough to pay attention. So in lieu of that, I am working my ass off right now to make up for it. I am doing everything in my fucking power to fix this, so stop talking to me like I'm still being a lazy piece of shit. Might come as a surprise to you, but I actually do care about people dying."

She turned and rummaged through the mess on her desk, shoving several piles of papers and garbage to the ground as she looked for something. After a few seconds, she found her prize: a walkie. "Clair, Senior Nerdlove wants you. Come get him out of my asshole, please? He's bugging me in my office." She glanced back to Steven with a stale glare. "There. Now leave me alone."

Clair lost track of time in her art, the white noise of her pet's hissing and barely audible whimpers drowning out the rest of the world. All that remained was her. Her perfect world that she had to claw and carve out herself out of the shit heap Lance planted them. Despite being glad at having more power now that Lance was temporarily out of her hair she still missed her sanctuary.

Hissssss-

Wait- What? What the hell was that? That sound certainly didn't come from the man above her. Hell it didn't even sound human. Was that little mouse in her office messing with shit? Did he come to and start snooping around on his own? Enraged Clair dug her blade in too deeply and a loud cry of pain and surprise erupted from her pet's mouth causing her to backhand him into silence. His quiet whimpers she only allowed this time because she had a tiny monster to deal with.

Hissssss-
"Clair, Senior Nerdlove wants you. Come get him out of my asshole, please? He's bugging me in my office."
-click.

The sound made more sense as Karen's annoyed voiced crackled through the speaker of the two-way radio on her desk. How long had it been since Clair had even carried that thing? At least a week. How in the hell was it even still charge? Whatever. With a firm sneer to the still unconscious scientist as well as the infernal machine that interupted her playtime she snatched the device and held down one of the morse code buttons a touch long to release a loud screeching sound through the other end. "Oops, sorry dearie, almost dropped you," she replied through the walkie with her usual over-sweet tone. "As happy as I would be to bring your suspect I'm afraid that it is going to take a few minutes."

Looking back at Colress she felt another spike of anger that he was still wussing out. This man was working his way further and further up her shit list and at this point she didn't care if he was guilty or not she just wanted him in one of her cages. "He's been out cold since we got to my old office so give me a moment to have one of my dragons bring him to you. Does anyone know if he's eaten today? Oh what am I saying, you wouldn't know any more than I. Oh well. Have him to you in two shakes dears!"

Rolling her eyes at her own disgusting politeness she clipped the walkie to her belt and began cleaning up her mess in the other room. Once her pet was somewhat bandaged and safely locked back in his cell she grabbed one of the Poke Balls from her belt and let loose her Dragonite, Mnementh. Clair bade him to pick up the limp scientist once she was sure the idiot wasn't going to wake and they began their trek to the Security building.

To his surprise, Karen actually...

Well, not backed down. Karen never really backed down. But...

"Yeah, when we first get something fucking straight-- I know I fucked up. I know. But I'm kinda without a time machine and can't make me stop fucking Sid long enough to pay attention."

She admitted culpability. A glance at Steven's face, at the very slight parting of his lips before his expression closed off again, confirmed Steven was as surprised as Wally was. It was rare for Karen to admit fault, especially at something so utterly severe. Given the slurs she had said to his cousin in the past, Wally was struggling to find it in himself to feel anything in the general direction of positive towards her.

But he couldn't deny it made him feel something he couldn't identify. Though the Champion's face was now neutral, he bet Steven felt the same.

"So in lieu of that, I am working my ass off right now to make up for it. I am doing everything in my fucking power to fix this, so stop talking to me like I'm still being a lazy piece of shit. Might come as a surprise to you, but I actually do care about people dying."

Steven opened his mouth to reply but shut it when she went rummaging around in her desk; within a few moments she pulled out the walkie talkie. Wally could almost melt in relief. Clair would answer her, right? This was almost over. "Clair, Senior Nerdlove wants you. Come get him out of my asshole, please? He's bugging me in my office."

"Oops, sorry dearie, almost dropped you." Clair's honeyed voice crackled through the other end of the speaker, making Wally wince. She was the last person on earth he wanted to see, a fact he was only remembering now. Idiot. Finding Colress meant finding and dealing with Clair. How did that not really hit him until this second? Fuck it. At least it would get them closer to finding his friend. "As happy as I would be to bring your suspect I'm afraid that it is going to take a few minutes. He's been out cold since we got to my old office so give me a moment to have one of my dragons bring him to you. Does anyone know if he's eaten today?"

Wally let a curse slip out under his breath. Probably not. And even if he did being in the prison would be more than enough to make him faint.

"Oh what am I saying, you wouldn't know any more than I. Oh well. Have him to you in two shakes dears!"

Shutting off the communication, she glared at Steven. "There. Now leave me alone."

"Th-thanks for getting ahold of her," the boy muttered as he left Wallace's side to walk as fast as his skinny little legs could carry him towards the door to wait for Clair.

Gods this could not be over fast enough.

"Yeah, when we first get something fucking straight--" Karen started. Her hands were still fists. Steven did his best to not react. Fine, let her say her piece, whatever. As long as it got them closer to the goal. "I know I fucked up. I know. But I'm kinda without a time machine and can't make me stop fucking Sid long enough to pay attention."

He blinked.

That... was not what he had been expecting to hear. Granted, he was not entirely sure what he had. expected to hear-- maybe some last, bitter jab, or a denial that any of this was her fault. But her admitting some fault fell to her was...

Not new, exactly, but rare. Especially given what her carelessness had resulted in, or at the least, contributed to. He forced himself to take whatever strange emotion he was feeling (guilt; it was guilt, he knew; yes, this was partially her fault, but it was at least a little his own fault too; he knew they were not being very vigilant in their work and he had not moved Sidney anyway) and shove it down. He would deal with it later. She was still talking, and he made himself listen. "So in lieu of that, I am working my ass off right now to make up for it. I am doing everything in my fucking power to fix this, so stop talking to me like I'm still being a lazy piece of shit. Might come as a surprise to you, but I actually do care about people dying."

Well considering the words you've used when speaking to Wallace, sue me, I am surprised. He didn't trust himself to speak. Right now he needed to find the doctor, and once that was done, figure out where to go from there. Which included finding some arrangement for Wally. Both of those things were more important than fighting Karen right now, even if the reminder of the violent slurs she had so carelessly (and oftentimes, with pointed cruelty) thrown at his best friend's face was making him want to kill her all over again. Or at least give her a good shaking.

"Clair, Senior Nerdlove wants you. Come get him out of my asshole, please? He's bugging me in my office."

The speaker crackled. "Oops, sorry dearie, almost dropped you." "As happy as I would be to bring your suspect I'm afraid that it is going to take a few minutes. He's been out cold since we got to my old office so give me a moment to have one of my dragons bring him to you. Does anyone know if he's eaten today?" Steven's eyes widened in alarm and Wally's quiet little curse didn't escape his notice. The suspect fainted? Why hadn't Clair gotten a doctor to help!? If it wasn't hunger it could be serious! He wanted to speak but Clair's ramblings were lightning fast.

"Oh what am I saying, you wouldn't know any more than I. Oh well. Have him to you in two shakes dears!"

Karen turned off the walkie talkie before Steven could get even a word in, let alone enough time to instruct Clair to bring Colress to the hospital. If he had been feeling as awful as yesterday her glare may have done something, but as it was, he just glared back. "There. Now leave me alone."

"Th-thanks for getting ahold of her," Wally said in a hasty little mumble, finally unplastering himself from Wallace's side to wait by the door.

"Yes, thank you," Steven said in a clipped voice that he wished could be a little more barbed. Glancing at Wallace, and then at their surroundings (and at the officers studiously pretending to not be watching any longer), he turned and followed Wally, giving his skinny shoulder a brief little pat as the boy rubbed his own arms. He had been put through far too much in one day...

Unfortunately there was nothing more they could do now but wait. And immediately have Colress sent to the hospital as soon as Clair brought him. She probably either left her walkie talkie on her desk or wouldn't answer it, so there was no point in working himself up over getting ahold of her to tell her to take the doctor somewhere he could recieve medical aid.

He had to believe that if Dr. Gannon had hit his head when he fainted that Clair would have noticed and done something. But he couldn't bring himself to be very optimistic. This entire day was already completely shot. At this point there was not much that could surprise him, a thought which immediately made him want to kick himself. Such thoughts invited chaos.

"I wish," he growled as they waited by the door, Steven grateful for the few moments of privacy, "that today were over already."

"Ditto," Wally muttered, misery in every haggard line of his face. Steven's expression softened.

"Well, it is for you, Wally. I'm giving you the week off- ah!" He held up a finger as Wally opened his mouth to protest. "No. There's no arguing with us this time. You need it."

"... Then when you guys leave to go sort this mess out, I want to stay with Col." Leave it to Wally to bargain. He'd prefer the child stay at their side throughout the rest of the nightmare that was today; Steven would be lying if he said he wasn't shaken over the fact that Wally had been so close to where murder had either happened or a body had been hidden. Especially given that the crime had happened so recently. Had Wally been maybe a half hour earlier on that scene, there was a possibility he would not be alive right now, silenced by the killer to avoid exposing their identity. The thought made him sick and it took all of his willpower not to shudder.

On the other hand, dragging Wally around would be taxing. For all of them. He and Wallace needed to move with speed and efficency; Wally right now was suited for neither. And also there was the legality of it all. Though he was the one who had discovered the body, he was probably not supposed to be involved in the rest of the process. And at least in a hospital room the boy would be surrounded by people who could help him in the event that the day's events caught up to him and set off a panic attack (which could then set off a second asthma attack), as opposed to sitting in his room. His pokemon were excellent protectors, but given the choice between only them and actual doctors...

Not that that solved anything about the rest of the week off that Wally was now getting. He meant it; there was no way Wally would be able to work for the next few days, given the intense terror of discovering a crime scene and the asthma attack and the worry for his friend. But while Wally shouldn't work, he and Wallace would have to.

Who could help...? Wally would need a babysitter, and he wouldn't take kindly to the fact, either, being the teenager he was... Maybe he should allow him to work after all, if for no other reason to ensure Wally would be doing something instead of letting those images torment him...?

Steven's eyes strayed to the blood still on his uniform and his nausea returned. Nope. Out of the question. They would need to figure something out. Maybe Austentitic could? But for now...

"I don't see why not," he started, his voice as even as he could make it, which was decently accomplished. Two good acting moments in one day. He was outdoing himself. "As long as you stay in the hospital and don't go wandering off. And have a pokemon bring you fresh clothes. Wallace?"

(Given the severity of the slur thing, which I was made aware of how awful it was by other users, I'm going to give y'all a little insight into Behind the Scenes and say that this is someone else who has Steven now. The choice for Steven to remain silent while people who were supposed to be working professionally with him were calling his best friend a fag was super not my choice lol. But since it was written as an external thing and not as part of Steven's thoughts I kind of have to roll with it because there's no way to go back and edit it out without affecting entire conversations that have already taken place; pls don't judge Steven too harshly because he never would have done that if I'd had him at the time and I'm gonna be doing my best to work with it as best I can. As in, that won't be happening again.)

Eugh, why was Clair's voice so sugary sweet when she talked to other people? Just have a normal voice. Nasty customer service fake bullshit. Karen understood why, she would just like to keep all her teeth free of cavities and not suddenly develop diabetes. The Dark trainer all but tossed the talkie back onto her desk when she heard the little imp stutter out some gratitude. "Th-thanks for getting ahold of her." She raised a brow at his meek words, unsure of why he felt compelled to thank her for summoning someone that absolutely loathed him.

"Yes, thank you," Steven added, making Karen feel uncomfortable. Why the fuck were they being all "please" and "thank yous" now? She scoffed at their politeness and plopped back into her chair, popping an ear bud in an ear.

"Don't thank me yet," she mumbled, happy to leave them alone and get back to her grueling, mind-numbing work.

Wallace sighed as there was a long empty breath between them. With Karen happily ignoring them and Clair on her way, there was little to do. There was a chair nearby, but all three of them were far too tightly wound to take it. Or too polite.

"I wish," Steven growled as Wallace rejoiced in the silence finally dying, "that today were over already."

"Ditto," Wally muttered in reply, and Wallace couldn't help but offer a hand on his cousin's shoulder for support. The poor thing... He was already a little wiry stress ball, and now having a dead body fall on him... He squeezed the thin shoulder in his grasp and made the conscious effort not to fuss over how thin that shoulder currently was. Not the time.

"Well, it is for you, Wally. I'm giving you the week off- ah!" He held up a finger as Wally opened his mouth to protest, and Wallace couldn't help the small appreciative smile that grew on his face. Despite all the hardship and strife, there were still little flickers of the old Steven. He knew it'd be gone soon, but... it was still nice to see that he was still in there, buried beneath the stress and anguish. "No. There's no arguing with us this time. You need it."

Little Wally matched Steven by bargaining, something he'd gotten all too good at. "... Then when you guys leave to go sort this mess out, I want to stay with Col."

Wallace's eyes flicked to Steven, and the man knew what sorts of thoughts were likely spinning around in his best friend's head. While Wallace wanted Wally close after such a traumatizing event, there was no denying that he certainly slowed them down and likely wasn't old enough or even authorized to see and hear what would be around him should he follow. Truly, Wally was better off away from them while they worked the case.

However, Wallace wasn't entirely sure about him staying with the only suspect. And that nickname? Just how close were they? It was more than a little alarming that Wallace knew so little of Wally's friends, especially since one of them was... a fair bit older than Wally himself. Weird. Not.... bad, but still weird.

And on the other hand, Wally just went through something that would likely haunt him for the rest of his life, so he should probably go and do whatever the fuck he wanted.

"I don't see why not," Steven evenly began, "As long as you stay in the hospital and don't go wandering off. And have a pokemon bring you fresh clothes. Wallace?"

The Water master nodded. "I'd rather him be where there are a lot of eyes on him than not. Though you're going to tell me more about this 'Col' guy later, ok?"

The walk back was slow and that 100% was intentional. Clair wanted to drag out how long it took for her and her beautiful Dragonite to return because she had specifically been told to come back with Colress and she really didn't enjoy being told what to do by that pathetic excuse for a Champion. He wasn't better than her and in this situation they were equals so he had no right to pretend to be her boss. And having Karen call her instead of manning up himself? Even more pitiful.

'He is probably still upset about the other night,' she mused with a saucy grin. He hadn't been able to look at her straight much less actually talk to her since then. So all the better to make him wait and prove once again who was the dominant in this power struggle of theirs. She would show up when she damn well pleased and they would have no choice but to accept it. What were they going to do, come get her? That would just mean she still won because then they would take the trash with them and save her the trouble. Win freaking win as far as she was concerned.

With more than a half an hour passing since she was called the security building finally came into view and she had Mnementh pause a moment, straightening herself out and making sure there were no visible stray drops of blood from her art earlier before having him continue again. If anyone saw her all it would appear like is her normal preening so she wasn't worried about far off observers, only the close by ones once she was inside. Speaking of- Was that a pair of fairies hanging out by the door?

Clair grimaced a moment as indeed Wally and Wallace's disgusting green heads became clearer and she slowed down even further, her dragon dropping back without even a gesture to keep his mistress in front of him. The sniveling rat and his pillow biting cousin were the last people she wanted to deal with right now when she hadn't properly vented her frustrations earlier but now she had no choice. With a heavy sigh and one last roll of her eyes she put on her best smile before reaching them to give them no chance to harangue her upon entry. "Hello boys. Could you move please? I'm afraid Mnementh is a bit large for so many people to occupy the door in front of him. As you can see he's carrying a bit of extra weight with him as well so it's best we get him inside."


((Wally's post mentioned him going to the door to wait for Clair so I assumed Wallace was over there with him because he was touching his shoulder in the subsequent section after it mentioned Wally moved. Let me know if I need to change that in here.))

"Yes, thank you," Wally heard Steven add. He might have been proud at the barely concealed anger in his guardian's voice if not for the fact that he was just so bone-crushingly weary. Leaning in the doorway, it took a moment for him to realize that Steven had patted his shoulder. He smiled, faintly, in gratitude, but didn't look over at him. He hoped Steven wouldn't notice how tired he was.

"I wish," Steven said, his voice low and full of bubbling, simmering anger, Wally grateful for him breaking the silence regardless, "that today were over already."

"Ditto." He rubbed his face. God. End already. He felt his cousin's hand find its way to his shoulder and stay there, giving it a little squeeze. A bud of gratitude and relief bloomed at the gentle touch and he leaned into it a little bit, allowing himself to soak in the respite from Wallace's care.

"Well, it is for you, Wally," the Champion said, startling Wally in both the parental firmness and in the content of the words themselves and effectively yanking him right from his brief moment of peace. His head snapped over to stare at him. In the millisecond it took to get upset over being given the rest of the day off, he had started to calm--really, he'd just found a body. Even Wally could forgive himself for taking a break for the rest of the day in light of that.

But then Steven continued.

"I'm giving you the week off- ah!" Wally opened his mouth, but the little noise and Steven holding up a finger quieted him. Oh no, no no; he didn't want to be useless! The rest of the day was fine, but a week!? "No. There's no arguing with us this time. You need it."

Fuck, he was not winning this. What to do, what to do- oh!

"... Then when you guys leave to go sort this mess out, I want to stay with Col." Colress would need someone there when he woke up. He didn't know exactly what had happened yet, but that was a pretty sure bet. The events of the last few days would have taken their toll on his emotions as well as his body, and he likely didn't have access to his pokemon. If he didn't have someone in that hospital room he would either have a potential panic attack or drown in depression. Or both.

Wally wouldn't blame him. He held his breath as Steven mulled it over.

"I don't see why not," Steven began slowly. "As long as you stay in the hospital and don't go wandering off. And have a pokemon bring you fresh clothes. Wallace?"

His eyes snapped to his cousin from where they'd been fixed on the bloodstains on his uniform. No. Do not freak out. Wipe that blood from your mind.

"I'd rather him be where there are a lot of eyes on him than not," Wallace answered. For a moment, Wally felt like melting in relief.

Then came the second part.

"Though you're going to tell me more about this 'Col' guy later, ok?"

"Yeah, no problem, Wal." Inwardly he was screaming. This was the exact thing Colress did not want and yet he'd fucked it up. Was it the nickname? It was probably the nickname, he realized, feeling ill. He only nicknamed good friends. Of which he had precious few.

Wal.
Steven.
Col.

And that was about it. Erika was a nice lady who he was happy to do various gardening stuff for, but he'd never really talked to her openly about himself or what he enjoyed; they worked her garden together sometimes, or other times he took care of her garden when she couldn't for some extra pocket money, and she let them be in comfortable silence. It was beyond peaceful, but not the kind of comfortable he felt around his two guardians or Colress.

Cynthia was in a similar vein as Erika; he liked her; he respected her; she was powerful and intelligent and surprisingly warm and friendly. But he didn't know her, not really. He shelved books for her in the library she overlooked in the Kanto District, and organized its files, and helped her fix various library mishaps. All for free; he wouldn't ask her for money to maintain such a precious resource (and, frankly, he wouldn't ask for money from Erika either; she just insisted) Sometimes he and the Sinnoh Champion read in close proximity, on the rare occasions there was time. But he didn't speak to her about the things close to his heart, did not let her get any deeper than the surface, and did not speak, generally, unless spoken to. She did not push, and her presence alone created a safe, relaxing enviornment in the library for him to retreat to whenever.

Both ladies let him keep his distance. Or maybe they wanted him to. Regardless, he was glad to work with them, for them, and to spend time in their presence. But he did not know them. He referred to them as Ms. Erika and Ms. Shirona.

And they were the only two people he had regular contact with outside of his three good friends. Wallace had every reason to be concerned that Wally had made a friend he hadn't said much about but had apparently decided to tag with a nickname. He hadn't even really thought of how personal a thing it could be, really. He just... it just felt natural, once he knew someone in any way broaching personal rather than casual. All of Wally's pokemon had nicknames, shortened versions of the names he'd given them. He'd given Wallace his nickname within a couple weeks of knowing him. He'd done the same with much of his guardians' pokemon.

(Really, the only reason Steven didn't have a nickname was because 'Steve' just felt weird. It didn't suit the man at all and felt wrong on his tongue and in the echos of his mind, so he discarded the name after using it once or twice to refer to his other guardian when speaking to his pokemon.)

Even as he acknowledged it was only fair of Wallace to want to know the man more, his insides went cold. Would Colress be in any state to realize he shouldn't say anything incriminating in front of his cousin? He wasn't stupid but gods knew his self-destructive streak had few bounds. If he was feeling awful enough later-

No, he scolded himself. No, he wouldn't have to worry. Colress was not in any state to be seen today by someone he didn't know, and Wallace was a compassionate man well-versed in how people worked. That was why he'd said he and Wallace would have a talk later about Colress. And that would be easy. It would be fine. It would all be fine. There was no way Colress had done anything so he would be cleared, and whenever Wallace decided 'later' was, he could tell Wallace the truth about how he'd met his friend and how they became friends. As long as he left out Colress's past and how sick he was, which were easy enough to omit, everything would be fine.

He had just about calmed himself down when Clair showed up. At the sight of Colress dangling lifelessly from the Dragonite's grip, the boy almost screamed.

"Hello boys. Could you move please? I'm afraid Mnementh is a bit large for so many people to occupy the door in front of him. As you can see he's carrying a bit of extra weight with him as well so it's best we get him inside."

Face white, he skittered to the side, staring with wide eyes at first Colress, then Clair.

"I'd rather him be where there are a lot of eyes on him than not." Steven gave a tiny smile of relief. It was good to encourage independance in someone of Wally's age, that much about parenting Steven knew, or could guess at, but it was hard sometimes, knowing when to pull back, when to push, and when to compromise. Here, compromise was the best choice. It was good that Wallace, as much like a fussy mother as he could be, realized this, and realized it quickly. "Though you're going to tell me more about this 'Col' guy later, ok?"

Steven nodded. He would like to hear about him, too. For all he trusted Orion to keep Wally safe from anyone with less than pure intentions, if his charge and pupil had made a friend, it was his duty to know at least a little about them.

Wait a moment. Something unsettling tickled at the edges of his mind. I wasn't especially forthcoming to my parents about my friends, but... I also didn't... entirely trust what their judgement of them would be. The reminder of his parents was a deep stab to the gut as it was, but the admission, even to himself, that his parents could sometimes show their roots as judgmental rich people, was an extra blade on its own. He still remembered their casual attempt to interrogate him about Wallace and if they were a couple, and if not, if Wallace had influenced him in any way-- a fact that was one of the very few secrets Steven had ever kept from his best friend. It hurt that their disapproval of Wallace existed at all, let alone that it ran deep enough to subtly accuse him (and probably continue to silently blame him) for Steven's lack of a girlfriend. Generally it was something he tried to forget ever happened.

But when he and Wallace had taken in Wally--and yes, it was Wallace's name on the papers that secured his guardianship over Wally, but for all intents and purposes they had been raising the boy together--Steven had promised himself that he would do his utmost best to ensure Wally felt safe around him. That Wally would feel comfortable talking openly and freely about anything he wanted and whatever was going on in his life. It was painful that Mr. and Mrs. Stone were people Steven felt he had to maintain a certain amount of distance from so their relationship could stay loving and stress-free; he didn't want that for Wally, especially not after Wally had already lost his actual parents. He vowed to be the best replacement he could be.

And yet...

Wally knows that Wallace and I are fairly accepting people. He'd mentioned Dr. Gannon once or twice as a nice man he met in the library a few times, but... why hide that they're close enough for Wally to tag him with a nickname like that? When Wally was happy about something he never hid it. Why now?

"Yeah, no problem, Wal." Wally answered easily. Steven stared at him a little more intensely than he maybe should have, but Wally failed to notice it and the boy didn't so much as twitch. Smooth delivery, tired smile... nothing seemed out of place in his answer considering the less-than-happy-everything-else going on around them.

Maybe he was just being paranoid. Legends know that enough has happened today to set that kind of thought pattern in motion. Ugh. He really did need a nap...

He wasn't going to get that nap, though, and time dragged on. It became abundantly clear once more how much he was not going to get ten minutes to close his eyes when Clair came up to them. At the sight of Dr. Gannon hanging there limply in the giant dragon's grasp, Wally's face went sheet white and Steven felt a flash of anger flare up.

"Hello boys. Could you move please?" she asked in that sickly, honeyed voice that was convincing if you didn't know the woman intim- like he did. God it made him sick. "I'm afraid Mnementh is a bit large for so many people to occupy the door in front of him. As you can see he's carrying a bit of extra weight with him as well so it's best we get him inside."

"Actually," Steven snapped, "he should be brought to the hospital. Clair, if a suspect faints under your watch like that you're supposed to get them medically checked out! It could be something serious! And if he did it, that would be bad, because if it is something serious and then he dies then we won't be able to interview him! Not to mention if he's innocent then an innocent person would have died under our watch!"

Why did he have to explain that to her! She should know this! Surely she knew the rules! Right!?

Wallace had not expected the ready response from Wally. No fight? No uncomfortable stuttering? "Yeah, no problem, Wal." Wallace glanced to Steven, who seemed to be as bewildered as he was. He made a mental note; he'd need to address this later.

It didn't take long for a new voice to interrupt them as they milled about in front of Karen's office. Clair and her Dragonite -carrying a limp Doctor Ganon- soon appeared. Wallace scoffed in disgust. "Hello boys. Could you move please?" Ugh. Was it possible for her to speak like a normal person and not some bimbo in some cheap porn? Disgusting. "I'm afraid Mnementh is a bit large for so many people to occupy the door in front of him. As you can see he's carrying a bit of extra weight with him as well so it's best we get him inside."

"Actually," Steven snapped, earning a small look of shock from Wallace, "he should be brought to the hospital. Clair, if a suspect faints under your watch like that you're supposed to get them medically checked out! It could be something serious! And if he did it, that would be bad, because if it is something serious and then he dies then we won't be able to interview him! Not to mention if he's innocent then an innocent person would have died under our watch!"

"So maybe back your skanky ass back," Wallace grumbled under his breath.

"Actually," Momentarily surprised by Steven's sudden animosity Clair faltered, allowing the silver haired man to get his thought in, much to Clair's chagrin. "he should be brought to the hospital. Clair, if a suspect faints under your watch like that you're supposed to get them medically checked out! It could be something serious! And if he did it, that would be bad, because if it is something serious and then he dies then we won't be able to interview him! Not to mention if he's innocent then an innocent person would have died under our watch!"

"So maybe back your skanky ass back," Oh don't you fucking chime in pillow biter. Convenient holes to fuck don't get opinions.

"Actually," she replied, echoing Steven's word with her own, "he was never in any danger so seeking medical attention would have been a moot point. Maybe you've been Champion so long you have forgotten but fainting isn't fatal, and I know what to look for as far as his condition. He was breathing normally, he was still reactive to stimuli, he just. passed. out. Probably had a panic attack, he does seem a little weak in the nerves. So no, an innocent person wan't going to die under my watch. I'm not so careless as to let that happen," she looked at Steven with a smile. "Unlike some people."

A passing officer began making remarks about their argument being so public and Clair merely shot them an even wider grin. "I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to make such a fuss. I was simply unprepared for such a personal attack by those who haven't even asked what happened before deciding they were justified. Between murderers and now colleagues questioning perfectly sane decisions a girl starts to feel on edge."

"So maybe back your skanky ass back," Wallace added in a quiet grumble under his breath. Wally figured he hadn't meant for Clair to hear, but with them so close, of course she did.

"Actually, he was never in any danger so seeking medical attention would have been a moot point." But it still had to be done, right? Wasn't that just policy? He glanced over at Steven and guessed the answer was a resounding yes, judging by his face. "Maybe you've been Champion so long you have forgotten but fainting isn't fatal, and I know what to look for as far as his condition. He was breathing normally, he was still reactive to stimuli, he just. passed. out. Probably had a panic attack, he does seem a little weak in the nerves. So no, an innocent person wan't going to die under my watch. I'm not so careless as to let that happen," Fixing her eyes on Steven in particular, she gave him a smile that made Wally's skin crawl. His pulse pounded in his ears, equal parts fear and fury. "Unlike some people."

Someone grumbled about noise. Clair, never one to miss an opportunity to be a nudge, retained that same smug grin as she aimed an apology in the general direction of whoever had complained. "I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to make such a fuss. I was simply unprepared for such a personal attack by those who haven't even asked what happened before deciding they were justified. Between murderers and now colleagues questioning perfectly sane decisions a girl starts to feel on edge."

Ugh, I hate you. He was nonetheless very much wishing that Wallace had kept that to himself, even if Clair maybe deserved it. That personal attack left Wally's insides squirming, but really, in light of how Col was the one hanging unconscious from a Dragonite that Wally didn't trust to not be exactly like his trainer, Clair was far from getting the worst end of the deal, here.

"Now wai-!" The anger that had bubbled over like lava, which he was about to hurl right in her stupid face consequences be damned, was stopped in an instant when Steven's hand found his shoulder, the Champion's voice quiet and steady.

"Wally, hush," he said. There was steel in his eyes, something cool and steady that made Wally stop in his tracks. "It's okay. Let me handle this."

"But she-!" Wally pointed at her, feeling a little absurd now, like a tattling child. His face burned.

"I know. But you don't need to be involved in this anymore than you already are. Let me handle it." His grip on Wally's shoulder tightened, just a bit, before he loosened it. Biting his lip, Wally nodded his assent and folded his arms across his chest.

He really didn't want to cause more problems for his guardians, and the only way to do that right now was to shut up. However much he wanted to yell at Clair for being so totally unconcerned with the human life hanging in her grasp and any sort of respect for the law.

(There was a little confusion regarding where people were; Karen's not close enough to them to have gotten annoyed so that was removed. It's now just some random, passing officer.)

"So maybe back your skanky ass back," Wallace mumbled. Steven winced. Wallace, no. That was such a bad thing to add.

"Actually," Clair started. One word in and already Steven wanted to shake her. "he was never in any danger so seeking medical attention would have been a moot point. Maybe you've been Champion so long you have forgotten but fainting isn't fatal, and I know what to look for as far as his condition. He was breathing normally, he was still reactive to stimuli, he just. passed. out. Probably had a panic attack, he does seem a little weak in the nerves. So no, an innocent person wan't going to die under my watch. I'm not so careless as to let that happen,"

His face tightened as she smiled at him. Just innocently enough to bar him from being warrented from raising his voice, too. "Unlike some people."

A passing officer mumbled to his friend about the office turning into a zoo, Steven feeling himself flush with embarassment and Clair, of course, saw an opportunity she was more than happy to take. "I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to make such a fuss. I was simply unprepared for such a personal attack by those who haven't even asked what happened before deciding they were justified. Between murderers and now colleagues questioning perfectly sane decisions a girl starts to feel on edge."

He was about to retort when Wally opened his mouth, puffing himself up a little and setting one foot forward as if ready to walk right up to the (fairly taller) woman to give him a piece of his mind. Inwardly Steven swore. Of all the times for you to decide you want to fight her, Wally! Very rarely was he present during one of their spats but when he was, he had always remained quiet!

He supposed the Simmons blood in him had to come out at some point but now was absolutely not the time.

"Now wai-!" Before he could get any further, Steven put a hand on his shoulder. As he predicted, the sudden contact immediately gave Wally pause, and he looked up at him, eyes burning with anger and pain.

"Wally, hush," Steven said quietly. There was a tiny bit of relief in him, just a small bit, when Wally hesitated instead of just moving to try to verbally spar with Clair again.

At times like these he was very grateful that he still had his poise. Being trained to be the heir of a prestegious company had had its advantages when he'd suddenly found himself the leader of the entire region. The ability to get people to listen to him, to trust him, was one he was especially glad he hadn't lost. Sounding more calm and collected than he felt, exactly, the Champion went on. "It's okay. Let me handle this."

"But she-!" the boy pointed at her, frustrated.

"I know," he sympathized. "But you don't need to be involved in this anymore than you already are. Let me handle it."

Please Wally. Just let me handle this.

He could have sighed with relief when Wally disarmed, nodding and stepping back into his cousin, arms almost hugging himself. Steven felt a twinge of guilt--he had no intention of teaching Wally not to stand up for himself or to bullies--but he pushed it away as best he could. Lance was already going to be unhappy when he returned, and the last thing he wanted was for any of this infighting nonsense to touch this child. Besides, Clair would only fight back twice as hard if someone with zero authority challenged her directly, and that was not what Dr. Gannon needed right now, either.

Now hopefully Wallace would also take the hint and not yell or make personal attacks. Wallace being his righthand man (and also an adult), he was far more open to him jumping in. But making it personal would only play into her hands. Wallace, come through, please...

"Okay," he said to collect himself, and he turned once more to Clair, keeping his voice even with a great deal of effort even though he very much wanted to at least grit his teeth. "I realize fainting isn't fatal, Clair, and it's also much less dangerous if he didn't fall when he did. But nonetheless, the rules are that we have to make sure a doctor looks at him. There's no way you can't know that, not after four years of the job you took. There's no point in fighting right now; let's get him to the nearest hospital so we comply by the rules and then we can argue about you whisking a civillian off instead of bringing him to the station like you were supposed to."

He could tell he still had an undercurrent of anger to his tone; half of him regretted that, knowing there was a chance she may take that as a challenge of some kind even if she didn't decide to now pounce on Wally's conduct. On the other hand there were multiple witnesses present, even if they weren't paying full attention at the moment. There was no way she could want to risk not doing the reasonable thing and agreeing to bring the doctor to the hospital, was there? Just concede. Please.

"Actually," Clair began with an air of condescending so thick and repugnant, Wallace nearly retched. "he was never in any danger so seeking medical attention would have been a moot point. Maybe you've been Champion so long you have forgotten but fainting isn't fatal, and I know what to look for as far as his condition. He was breathing normally, he was still reactive to stimuli, he just. passed. out. Probably had a panic attack, he does seem a little weak in the nerves. So no, an innocent person wan't going to die under my watch. I'm not so careless as to let that happen." Wallace's face pinched as Clair insulted Steven, her aloof tone adding even more. God, what Wallace would do to shove that disgusting smirk into a toilet and let her drink her way out. "Unlike some people."

Things got even worse as some bystanders commented on the noise and she had the utter gall to stand there and play the fucking victim. Wallace shot Steven a look, silently asking permission to slap the bitch. It went unnoticed, unfortunately. "I'm sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to make such a fuss. I was simply unprepared for such a personal attack by those who haven't even asked what happened before deciding they were justified. Between murderers and now colleagues questioning perfectly sane decisions a girl starts to feel on edge." Bitch--

So utterly enthralled in his own fury, Wallace didn't notice his tiny cousin stepping forward, about to give the skank a piece of his own mind. The trouble with that was that she would have taken that piece and quite a few others as well. "Now wai-!" Thankfully, Steven got a hold of the boy first, silencing him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Wally, hush," the Champion soothed. To Wallace's relief, Wally obeyed, though he obviously wasn't a fan of it. In his best calm voice, one that Wallace could honestly listen to all damn day, Steven continued. "It's okay. Let me handle this."

"But she-!" the boy pointed at her, frustrated.

"I know. But you don't need to be involved in this anymore than you already are. Let me handle it."

Wally retreated back into Wallace's arms, and the latter welcomed him wholly, embracing his wracked cousin in a fierce, protective hug. One day, he was going to claw that bitch's eyes out with his glorious nails.

"Okay," Steven began in a smooth, calm voice-- probably a tone that was much more mellow than he actually felt. "I realize fainting isn't fatal, Clair, and it's also much less dangerous if he didn't fall when he did. But nonetheless, the rules are that we have to make sure a doctor looks at him. There's no way you can't know that, not after four years of the job you took. There's no point in fighting right now; let's get him to the nearest hospital so we comply by the rules and then we can argue about you whisking a civilian off instead of bringing him to the station like you were supposed to."

"Fainting itself isn't that bad, but the sudden stop at the floor usually can be," Wallace added with a firm voice. "Steven's right. Let's just go to the doctor and see what he says instead of pointing fingers."

"Now wai-!"

Oh you dirty little shit- Clair stared at Wally as he tried making a scene, Steven's grip on the boy the only thing keeping him safe from her clutches as he attempted to figuratively get in her face as he was far to minuscule to actually be threatening.

"Wally, hush. It's okay. Let me handle this."

"But she-!"

"I know. But you don't need to be involved in this anymore than you already are. Let me handle it."

Oh no, by all means let him come to her. Clair's smile had barely faltered during the exchange and now she wore it almost like a predatory badge of honor. She wanted Wally to come at her, to dig his grave deeper and deeper until her face was the last thing he saw as the walls of earth collapsed on top of him. It would be a satisfaction like no other to know his pathetic existence would no longer plague her waking world and only his screams would decorate her sleeping one.

Unfortunately the little duct rat crawled back into the arms of his pillow-biter cousin and she was once again being addressed by the idiot who thought he was actually the one in charge. "Okay, I realize fainting isn't fatal, Clair, and it's also much less dangerous if he didn't fall when he did. But nonetheless, the rules are that we have to make sure a doctor looks at him. There's no way you can't know that, not after four years of the job you took. There's no point in fighting right now; let's get him to the nearest hospital so we comply by the rules and then we can argue about you whisking a civilian off instead of bringing him to the station like you were supposed to."

Clair had to stop from rolling her eyes during his little lecture and returned with a diatribe of her own. "First of all, I wasn't supposed to bring him here. At no point was the direction or rule to bring him here as he hadn't been arrested and wasn't under questioning. He was in protective custody which, as you well know, means he needed to be somewhere he could be monitored and contained. And despite being the security center this is not a very secure building. Windows, multiple exits, no patrol, this place is like trying to break out of a house of cards. Anyone with a mind to leave could do so with almost no effort."

Snapping her fingers the large Dragonite walked towards Steven and dropped the lanky scientist unceremoniously into Steven's arms without caring one wit whether or not he actually caught the man. "You want him to go to the doctor, be my guest. I was told, verbatim, to 'please be kind and take him somewhere secure' and to 'not kill him' by our very own dear Karen. And when I told her to call me when she was ready for him she didn't question it in the least as to where we were going so obviously she wasn't expecting us to be here. And you-" she turned to Wallace despite having ignore him to this point. "He passed out in a chair at my desk so he was fine. Drop. It. He's not my responsibility anymore."

"Fainting itself isn't that bad, but the sudden stop at the floor usually can be." Thank you, Wallace. Steven felt his appreciation of his best friend nudge up several notches as Wallace, probably putting forth an immense amount of effort not to go all in at Clair, spoke up in his defense in a reasonable, professional way. "Steven's right. Let's just go to the doctor and see what he says instead of pointing fingers."

Of course, Clair had to ruin it all in no time flat. As was her wont.

"First of all, I wasn't supposed to bring him here. At no point was the direction or rule to bring him here as he hadn't been arrested and wasn't under questioning. He was in protective custody which, as you well know, means he needed to be somewhere he could be monitored and contained. And despite being the security center this is not a very secure building. Windows, multiple exits, no patrol, this place is like trying to break out of a house of cards. Anyone with a mind to leave could do so with almost no effort."

Protective custody did in fact exist, and Steven wanted once again to shake her, because he didn't know the law well enough to dispute her on this. He knew what she had done here was not to protect the doctor and that she had seen this far more like an arrest than anything else, but he couldn't prove it. Intuition wasn't proof.

He wouldn't get much time to think about how much he wanted to shake her brains out because with the snap of Clair's fingers he suddenly found himself scrambling to catch the man dumped at him.

Steven had spent so much time in his youth mining, and it was a hobby that had continued into his early adult years as Champion. It had left him with a nice physique, but four years of trying to hold the remains of a country together through sheer stress and crushingly exhausting hard work took a toll on him physically as well as emotionally. Though he did his best to stretch when he could and his job sometimes required a lot of walking, his muscles weren't what they used to be.

Dr. Gannon, however, was achingly light. Despite Steven's reduced strength and Clair's sudden order, the Champion managed to half-catch the scientist, ending up with his arms around the man's middle. Making sure he didn't miss took up enough concentration (and the sudden panic of seeing the man falling absolutely didn't help) for Steven to miss the start of what Clair had to say. He shifted the doctor a bit in his arms to get a better grip and gave a quick, rushed command for Wally to lend him Orion, the fairy appearing in seconds from his pokeball and scooping Dr. Gannon from his arms as Steven glanced over at Clair, absolutely steaming.

"-him to go to the doctor, be my guest. I was told, verbatim, to 'please be kind and take him somewhere secure' and to 'not kill him' by our very own dear Karen. And when I told her to call me when she was ready for him she didn't question it in the least as to where we were going so obviously she wasn't expecting us to be here. And you-" Here she turned to Wallace and Steven felt his ire shoot up to near volcanic levels as he processed what this monster of a woman had just done and how she actually had the nerve to whine as though she were the victim! "He passed out in a chair at my desk so he was fine. Drop. It. He's not my responsibility anymore."

"Like hell she told you to be nice when you were yelling at him earlier!" Wally exploded, at last finding his voice. His cousin's arms kept him from stepping forward but his rage wouldn't be contained.

"It wasn't very kind to drop him!" Steven hissed, fit to move from wanting to shake her to wanting to strangle her. "If I'd missed him and his head hit the floor-!"

Fuck this. He had responsibilities and right now the doctor took priority. Glancing back to make sure Orion had said scientist (and he did, holding the unconscious man bridal-style in his arms; at the fairy's side was Wally, holding the glasses that had been moments ago on Dr. Gannon's face) Steven gave Clair a glare worthy of the sun with the amount of heat behind it and snapped, "I don't have time for this but I promise you, this is not over."

Gesturing to be followed, he swept past her, hands balled into fists.


The walk to the hospital was quick and it wasn't long before they handed Dr. Gannon off to be examined and taken care of. Steven sat in the waiting room, refusing to leave until a doctor, not Clair, certified that he would be fine. His personal code of conduct would demand nothing less.

And besides, if he went back to Clair in this state, he'd probably punch her.

How could she talk about doing the right thing and then blatantly, brazenly, remind him how little she cared, and how easily she contradicted her own words when trying to imply she gave a shit about human life, by risking an unconscious man getting a concussion. Legends, he was still seething.

Wally, clearly in an even deeper state of agitation than himself, could not sit still. He paced back and forth, Steven fairly certain he had never seen such fury in the child before. He should maybe be concerned, but far be it from him to tell the boy not to feel what he was feeling. It would be hypocritical for him to tell Wally to settle down.

"This day," the Champion growled after a few minutes of waiting, "can go to hell and stay there."

Last time they'd had this conversation (a conversation which needed a rehash given the sheer ridiculousness of the last half hour), Wally had at least replied. This time all he and Wallace got from their young charge was a grunt of agreement. Steven's face softened a touch and he glanced to meet Wallace's eyes, questioning what to do.

Maybe he should be worried. Rage was likely more productive than whatever else Wally could be feeling right now, but he had been through entirely too much today and probably shouldn't be using so much energy...

"Maybe," he said tentatively, noticing the white-knuckled grasp the boy had on the doctor's glasses, and figuring speaking up was in order, lest Wally break the frames somehow, "you should ease your grip a bit?"

(Wally and I are switching turns this round again, and once again, we also co-wrote this. The time has now changed to early afternoon, since they talked for awhile and then had to walk.)

"Fainting itself isn't that bad, but the sudden stop at the floor usually can be," Wal pointed out smoothly. Wally had a feeling it was taking his cousin a lot of effort to be diplomatic. Frankly, it was taking Wally the same amount of effort. "Steven's right. Let's just go to the doctor and see what he says instead of pointing fingers."

But we should point fingers, he growled inside his head. Because there was someone at fault. That someone was Clair. Why should they have to back down! It wasn't fair.

"First of all, I wasn't supposed to bring him here," Clair returned like the absolute piece of lying shit she was, and Wally's fingernails bit into his palms. Wow, he really should have cut those earlier; that was going to leave a mark. "At no point was the direction or rule to bring him here as he hadn't been arrested and wasn't under questioning. He was in protective custody which, as you well know, means he needed to be somewhere he could be monitored and contained. And despite being the security center this is not a very secure building. Windows, multiple exits, no patrol, this place is like trying to break out of a house of cards. Anyone with a mind to leave could do so with almost no effort."

Protective custody? But that was for victims! And they didn't think Col was a victim! She was full of shit, wasn't she? From his place in his cousin's arms, he glanced up at Steven and bit his lip. Steven's face remained stony, but the mask was slipping slightly; he was mad. Either she was right and Steven knew she had an out, or Steven was stuck for some other reason.

And just when he didn't think Clair could get douchier, she did.

With the snap of her fingers, her Dragonite dumped his unconscious friend on the ground- or at least, half at the ground and half at Steven, who by some miracle managed to catch him, staring half at Col and half at Clair in shock as he tried to process what the fuck Clair just did. It was giving Wally some trouble too, but Steven recovered first, looking over his shoulder at the boy with a soft hiss of "Orion!"

Jolting a bit and then realizing what Steven needed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his fairy. Though his poor friend didn't know what was happening and he knew Orion was being assaulted by rage from all sides, the Gardevoir was quick to gently take Colress from the Champion.

"You want him to go to the doctor, be my guest," Clair said as Orion relieved Steven of the unconscious scientist, and Wally wished in that moment that he could tackle her and punch her and make her feel even a little bit of the pain she so readily inflicted on other people. Why was she like this!? "I was told, verbatim, to 'please be kind and take him somewhere secure' and to 'not kill him' by our very own dear Karen. And when I told her to call me when she was ready for him she didn't question it in the least as to where we were going so obviously she wasn't expecting us to be here. And you-"

She turned to Wallace and Wally felt himself shudder with anger and fear, glaring at her as if he could will her to disintegrate if he just stared hard enough at her stupid face. "He passed out in a chair at my desk so he was fine. Drop. It. He's not my responsibility anymore."

No, fuck her.

"Like hell she told you to be nice when you were yelling at him earlier!" he shouted, shoulders hunching and fists rising just a little as he spat his hatred out at her. Oh if only his cousin's grip would loosen! He tried to take a step forward nonetheless and got nowhere.

"It wasn't very kind to drop him!" Wally, trying to keep one eye on Clair and Steven, glanced quickly over at Colress, wondering if the escalating situation and loud voices would wake him, but no. Orion, scowling and clearly wishing as much as Wally and Wallace to tear her eyes out, stood at his boy's side, carefully holding the doctor. Noticing the crooked way his glasses sat on his face, Wally reached out and carefully took them. The last thing Col needed now was for them to fall off and someone to step on them. "If I'd missed him and his head hit the floor-!"

His guardian cut himself off and glanced back over at them before leveling another glare at Clair. "I don't have time for this but I promise you, this is not over," he snapped as he moved past her, making a quick guesture for the rest of them to follow.

Wally needed no second bidding.


It wasn't a long walk from the police station to where this district's hospital was located but to Wally it felt entirely too long. So did handing Colress over to the medical personell. And so did having to wait.

There was nothing else to be done, though, and even though half an hour ago Wally could have dropped from exhaustion, now he felt like sitting would make something snap. Wound up like a wire, the only thing that helped was pacing, so as soon as they were left in the waiting room, he stood and started to walk.

"This day can go to hell and stay there," mumbled Steven in a growl after what was probably only a few minutes but felt more like an eternity.

"Uh-huh," he replied, having only half heard him.

A pause.

"Maybe," Steven started slowly, carefully, as though trying not to step on a minefield. Wally's world snapped back into focus from the numb, hazy rage he had settled into at the obvious address to himself, but he didn't stop pacing. "You should ease your grip a bit?"

He stopped pacing at the suddden realization that his fingers ached and raised his hand a little to look. Oh yeah. He was still holding his friend's glasses. "Right," he mumbled, relaxing his grip a little. Giving Colress bent glasses would be a poor way to kick off what was probably already going to be a bad afternoon.

He realized his face was wet and with a scowl he wiped his face with his sleeve, hating the way he shuddered. Everything was emotion soup and he hated it.

Of course she had some bullshit reason to deflect her own damn responsibility. Wallace's scowl deepened with every word that dripped out of her festering mouth. "First of all, I wasn't supposed to bring him here," Jesus. Were they really going to fight semantics-- "At no point was the direction or rule to bring him here as he hadn't been arrested and wasn't under questioning. He was in protective custody which, as you well know, means he needed to be somewhere he could be monitored and contained. And despite being the security center this is not a very secure building. Windows, multiple exits, no patrol, this place is like trying to break out of a house of cards. Anyone with a mind to leave could do so with almost no effort." Of course. Why did he doubt her?

Suddenly, with a snap of her fingers, her Dragonite dumped its cargo onto a barely ready Steven, who struggled with the sudden burden. Wallace lurched forward to help him as best as he could from the awkward angle he was caught at, and shot Clair his dirtiest of glares. What the actual fuck?! "Orion!" Steven hissed at Wally, who quickly obeyed.

"You want him to go to the doctor, be my guest," the bitch snapped smugly, and in that moment, Wallace wanted nothing more than to gouge that condescending look right out of her eyes with his bare thumbs. "I was told, verbatim, to 'please be kind and take him somewhere secure' and to 'not kill him' by our very own dear Karen. And when I told her to call me when she was ready for him she didn't question it in the least as to where we were going so obviously she wasn't expecting us to be here. And you-"

She turned to Wallace specifically, and their glares met as the latter righted himself, now that Orion was carrying the poor unconscious man. "He passed out in a chair at my desk so he was fine. Drop. It. He's not my responsibility anymore."

"Like hell she told you to be nice when you were yelling at him earlier!" Wally snapped, and Wallace had to remember that the only reason the boy wasn't going after Clair right now was that his own arms were a barrier between them. He hugged Wally a little closer, not wanting to give the boy a chance to escape.

"It wasn't very kind to drop him!" Steven barked as well, and Wallace let out a small sigh of relief. He'd rather Steven go head to head with her rather than little Wally. "If I'd missed him and his head hit the floor-!" He stopped himself short. "I don't have time for this but I promise you, this is not over." With a small gesture of his hand, he bid them to follow, and Wallace and Wally obeyed. With one last ugly look to Clair, he brought up the rear of their little posse, following the only man in the damn plateau worth following.


Waiting in the hospital with two other irate, impatient men was something that Wallace wouldn't have ever put on his "favorite past times" list, but there they were. He sat next to Steven as Wally paced a trail in the linoleum, and after a few tense minutes of silence, Steven finally broke it. "This day can go to hell and stay there." Wallace scoffed in agreement as he kept his attention on his nails as he cleaned them.

"Uh-huh," chimed Wally as he continued to pace.

"Maybe," Steven slowly began after a beat, "You should ease your grip a bit?" The change in tone from his friend earned a quick glance as to what caused it, and Wallace spotted the source of the shift: Wally was holding a pair of glasses.

The pacing stopped as Wally realized it too, and deflated a little. "Right."

Fed up with the tension, Wallace heaved a heavy sigh and looked around to make sure they were alone before he began. "This is ridiculous. She shouldn't be in charge. She shouldn't be making these kinds of decisions-- isn't there some kind of contingency we can enact if the current leader is fucking up all the time?" He looked to Steven. "She's terrible. She's always been terrible. Can't we... I don't know, impeach her or something?"

((Skip. After discussing with Steven it seems Clair will not be needed for a while and with her disinterest in everything now that her charge is gone she is going to go on Idle for a little while.))

The sigh that emenated from Wallace was heavy and tired and made Wally look up from rubbing his eyes to watch his cousin. "This is ridiculous." Agreed. "She shouldn't be in charge." Agreed. "She shouldn't be making these kinds of decisions--" Agreed. "Isn't there some kind of contingency we can enact if the current leader is fucking up all the time?"

Wallace looked to Steven, and Wally looked with him. The Champion was biting his lip. "She's terrible. She's always been terrible. Can't we... I don't know, impeach her or something?"

"I'm not sure," Steven admitted softly, looking haggard and tired. Wally's shoulders slumped. "I need to read up on that process, if we even wrote one-- those first several months, when we set this all up, are... are a blur." He rubbed his temple, then glanced over at Wally. At seeing the tears on his cheeks, Steven sat up straighter and muttered something to Wallace, then stood and sat a seat apart from his friend, gesturing Wally to come sit between them.

The boy hesitated before drawing closer, collapsing into the chair, setting the glasses on his lap, and burying his face on his hands. His feet rattled against the floor as he shook and tried to get a grip on himself.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. "Where's Orion?" he asked softly.

"Pu-put him away for a bit," he answered, his voice trembling more than he'd like. "Needed- needed to give him a breather. He was mad and I'm-"

"Not well," Steven answered. "It's okay. It's going to be fine. Why don't you send one of your pokemon out to get clean clothes--"

"Lavender," he mumbled.

"Okay, good." The hand patted his shoulder. "She should be back soon, then. You've been very brave, Wally. We won't let the police interview you until tomorrow, okay? You just- take it very easy today."

He nodded. There was no point fussing over that and he didn't want to, really. Protesting being treated delicately in this situation would be dumb.

A door opened and he looked up to find a doctor entering the waiting room. At spotting them, he smiled gently, Wally feeling his face heat up as the man's gaze landed on him, specifically. Wow, he must look pathetic. "Your friend is going to be just fine," he assured, and Wally sat up straighter, clinging to the good news as the doctor addressed each of them. "No concussions or anything like that. He's a little unwell overall, but that's all there is. We'd like to keep him a few hours to make sure he rests and I expect him to be awake soon."

"Can we see him?" he pleaded. The doctor smiled again.

"Yes, absolutely. This way, please?"

Grabbing the glasses, Wally followed.


Wally almost froze in the doorway of the room the doctor led them to, forgetting to say goodbye to the man and only dimly hearing Steven do so.

Sure, he'd seen the man sick before, but Colress looked worse on that hospital bed than he had with that stomach virus. It was a pretty ridiculous thought, and probably had everything to do with murder investigation and Clair, but it was there, and it made Wally swallow and have to jumpstart his brain before venturing in, hands clenched to his chest.

Slowly, he took one of the seats near the bed, rubbing at his eyes again before looking over. Colress was too pale and too thin and there was an IV in his arm, but Wally was so accustomed to those that he didn't find them scary, just unsettling. He knew what they meant. Sick. And Colress was, just not in a way he could report to anyone.

(It's expected that Wallace hugged him which is why Steven's not doing it; I'll mention it along with Wallace's precise actions next post because he's gonna miss that hug even though he knows Wal's got other stuff to do. Also, more co-authoring! And trying to move things along! As a note for me and Steven we expect maybe a round in the hospital room, at which point Wallace and Steven will leave. And then Colress wakes up. Also, if Wallace wants to suggest that Wally let Orion out for extra comfort now, feel free; Steven will do it otherwise.)

Wallace sighed, a sound that resonated deep in Steven's soul as he looked at his best friend. "This is ridiculous," he said, and Steven nodded. "She shouldn't be in charge. She shouldn't be making these kinds of decisions--"

He paused as an idea struck him. "Isn't there some kind of contingency we can enact if the current leader is fucking up all the time?"

Steven felt his anxiety rise a touch as he felt and saw the eyes of both people he respected the most on him. It was only at the sharp pain in his lip that he realized he had been biting it for, likely, most of Wallace's musings. "She's terrible. She's always been terrible. Can't we... I don't know, impeach her or something?"

"I'm not sure." Legends, he hated admitting that, but it was true. Despite how he tried to rapid-fire search through his brain, nothing like that was coming up. "I need to read up on that process, if we even wrote one-- those first several months, when we set this all up, are... are a blur."

He leaned an elbow on the armrest to rub his temple, glancing over at Wally and feeling cold when he found the tears rolling down the boy's cheeks. At once he sat up properly and leaned over to Wallace.

"Later," he whispered, glancing at Wally again before standing and shifting over a seat. Reaching out, he gestured for Wally to come, and he did, collapsing into the chair. The boy set the glasses in his lap and buried his face in his hands, likely trying to calm himself down, but it wasn't working. His sneakers made little noises against the floor as he trembled.

Trying to push aside everything else he felt, Steven rested a hand on his skinny shoulder. "Where's Orion?"

"Pu-put him away for a bit," Wally answered him in a little voice. "Needed- needed to give him a breather. He was mad and I'm-"

"Not well," he answered for him. This poor boy... "It's okay. It's going to be fine. Why don't you send one of your pokemon out to get clean clothes--"

"Lavender."

"Okay, good," Steven said, still using his calmest voice as he patted his shoulder, grateful that the cat was already on the case. "She should be back soon, then. You've been very brave, Wally. We won't let the police interview you until tomorrow, okay? You just- take it very easy today."

Wally nodded and Steven swallowed. It was good he didn't argue, but he couldn't tell whether that was because he saw the sense in his words or if he was just too worn down to. Probably both.

A door opened and Steven looked from his charge to the doctor, who smiled kindly at first all of them, and then mostly Wally.

"Your friend is going to be just fine," he said. Wally sat up straighter, clearly desperate for good news. Well, it was about time he finally got some. "No concussions or anything like that. He's a little unwell overall, but that's all there is. We'd like to keep him a few hours to make sure he rests and I expect him to be awake soon."

"Can we see him?" Wally begged. Oh, he hoped the doctor said they could. And when the man smiled, Steven felt some small bit in him relax.

"Yes, absolutely. This way, please?"

And so they followed.


They were almost in the room when the boy froze, Steven and Wallace right behind him on either side. Being much taller than him, it was easy to see into the room and why Wally had stopped.

Steven considered himself lucky that he had not seen many people in the hospital until Wally, but his introduction to the boy had quickly changed that. As Wally occasionally had bouts of very serious illness, Steven learned the horror that accompanied seeing someone that one cared about in a hospital bed. It was not an easy experience, and he rested a hand on Wally's shoulder while the boy took a moment to collect himself.

Once inside and seated a few seconds later, he turned his attention from Wally to the doctor and winced. Life clearly had not been kind to him recently. He was too thin. He looked sick. The IV in one arm did nothing to make the fact better.

He felt his blood boil a little when he remembered how Clair was responsible for some of the man's misfortune. He recalled those scared eyes from the interrogation and knew the encounter today with her would do nothing for that timidity.

"I'm not sure." Steven's strained uncertainty didn't do anything for Wallace's nerves, but it was better than an outright "no". Or was it? At this point, closure might be preferable to false hope. "I need to read up on that process, if we even wrote one-- those first several months, when we set this all up, are... are a blur."

Wallace sighed. It was true that they had scrambled to do likely years' worth of organization in a few short weeks, and in all probability, the changing out of higher personnel got thrown to the wayside. And Clair wasn't even in Steven's jurisdiction. She was Lance's, who... where the fuck was he? By some miracle, if there was a way to demote her, it wouldn't be in Steven's power... As Wallace lamented, he was lightly surprised to see the other man lean in and whisper, "Later."

Perhaps they weren't dead in the water?

Too distracted by the possibility of actually knocking Clair off her down pedestal, Wallace remained a passive participant in the following conversation between Steven and his cousin, offering at least some comfort through contact. The poor boy; just how close was he to this scientist to be this worried? Especially if Orion wasn't able to handle being around him from how the conversation was going.

Thankfully, the doctor soon joined them and led them to the room that held Colress. The small relief Wallace felt for being able to get up and move was quashed as his young cousin was stunned still in the doorway. The poor boy... Wallace knew just how terrible someone could look in a hospital bed, under those unforgiving lights and how easily IV catheters could bruise a weak body. But Colress was something different entirely. He looked as if he had been starved for weeks...

Wallace winced, but said nothing, instead putting a hand back on Wally. He didn't have any words for his little cousin, as Wally would know better than anyone what the instruments and IV meant. He only wished he could do more...

Wally swallowed and leaned into his cousin from his seat with a shudder.

For a few minutes all was quiet; Steven breaking it nearly made the boy jump.

"I know you're worried about Orion," he said quietly, "and given the... incident earlier today, I'm not surprised. Anyone would still be... very upset after finding what you did."

Too tired to pretend finding a dead person hadn't freaked him out, he nodded numbly.

"But Wallace and I can't stay more than a few minutes before we'll need to leave to do our jobs, and the deal was that you stay here, with your pokemon."

He winced. Yeah, that had been more or less the deal.

Slowly, he reached into his bag and pulled out the pokeball, fingering the heart-shaped sticker on the device. Holding it in his lap, he stared at it, head hanging. Feelings welled up inside him, emotions that struggled to have any coherent thoughts put to them for several minutes until, finally, they did.

"He was still leaking," he muttered. "The guy who killed him- he was there not long before I was- what if-"

He shook his head, covering his mouth. Nope bad idea abort that was the worst thought.

He felt Steven's hand on his shoulder and raised his head to look at them both.

"You'll get him, r-right?" If he were any less upset he'd care about the tremble in his voice but fuck it. "You'll find out who really did this? C-cause-"

He pointed to Colress with a shaking hand.

"He didn't do it, a-and- and if they arrest him for it an innocent man goes to prison and that- that m-monster's still loose and will kill more people please don't let them pin it on him please.

(More co-writing! The idea is that they'll be called away next round back to the investigation. I don't wanna shaft Wallace so I'm giving him a little room to talk before we move them along.)

Steven opted to remain standing, entirely too on edge after the events of the day (and it was only a little time after noon, he lamented with a glance at his watch) to want to sit again just yet. Having sat for several minutes earlier had only wound him up again, and he felt anxious to just... walk. Go somewhere. Do something. Standing here miserably near the sick doctor while not doing anything to improve the situation made him feel both useless and ansty, neither of which he enjoyed.

But it was important to linger for a few minutes for Wally's sake. After finding a dead body and then seeing Clair treat his friend with such total disregard, it was no wonder he was a wreck. He was probably still processing it all, and to leave now would be callous. Wally needed them.

But, he reflected painfully, they could not remain here forever, as much as he'd prefer to help the boy.

Glancing over, he saw Wally sitting there in silence, hands gripping his knees tightly enough to turn the knuckles white. Grimacing, he braced himself to do what had to be done and break the silence.

"I know you're worried about Orion," the Champion began, feeling bad that even though he'd made sure to keep his voice soft and calm, the boy still started, "and given the... incident earlier today, I'm not surprised. Anyone would still be... very upset after finding what you did."

Wally nodded. His eyes were a little in focus, but he very much looked numb and exhausted. Oh, did Steven hate what he was about to have to say...

"But Wallace and I can't stay more than a few minutes before we'll need to leave to do our jobs," he reminded Wally, "and the deal was that you stay here, with your pokemon."

Wally winced. Steven wasn't very happy about exposing Orion to misery either, but...

Yes, there would be doctors around, but it wasn't just his physical health he worried for. Wally needed company right now, and Orion was his most trusted companion. He had seen how deep their bond was.

Wally reached into his bag and withdrew Orion's pokeball, but rather than let the fairy out, he began to fiddle with it. Steven kept his patience. If Wally needed to build up to this, there was no harm in letting him take the extra few minutes to.

"He was still leaking," came the quiet mutter, and Steven felt his heart about stop.

Please don't tell me he realized-

"The guy who killed him- he was there not long before I was- what if-"

His stomach twisted. He did.

He shouldn't be surprised. Wally was a clever child. But he'd hoped that particular facet to this horror would remain unrealized for awhile longer. Preferably until the murderer was caught.

The boy covered his mouth and Steven eased a hand to his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He felt the muscles beneath relax just a touch at the familiar comfort, and those doe, silver eyes of his looked back up, first at him, and then at Wallace.

"You'll get him, r-right?" Steven was nodding immediately, but Wally's ramble wasn't done yet. "You'll find out who really did this? C-cause-"

Wally pointed at Dr. Gannon, hand shaking.

"He didn't do it, a-and- and if they arrest him for it an innocent man goes to prison and that- that m-monster's still loose and will kill more people please don't let them pin it on him please.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Steven promised, giving the panicky youngster a calm, steady look. "We won't let anyone innocent be blamed and we'll do everything in our power to make sure no one else dies."

He already planned to deliver on that, but Wally's terror added a resolve he didn't realize his exhausted mind was missing. They needed to stop this.

The silence threatened to drown them all, and thankfully Steven broke it before it broke Wallace. "I know you're worried about Orion," the Champion began, his voice carrying that soft strength Wallace associated with the man, "and given the... incident earlier today, I'm not surprised. Anyone would still be... very upset after finding what you did." Wallace looked to his oldest friend as he continued. "But Wallace and I can't stay more than a few minutes before we'll need to leave to do our jobs," he reminded Wally, "and the deal was that you stay here, with your pokemon."

He was absolutely right, of course. If they wanted to find the real killer, they couldn't do it while at Wally's side. He gave a small appreciative nod to Steven as Wally idly handled Orion's pokeball. "He was still leaking," Wally's tiny voice began, and Wallace's heart broke. "Leaking". Never had such a mundane word been so... repulsive. "The guy who killed him- he was there not long before I was- what if-"

Wallace felt nauseated. If Wally had been there moments earlier, he could have witnessed the murder. Or been a victim of it. He swallowed against the wave of sickness as Wally continued in a dull, lifeless monotone. "You'll get him, r-right? You'll find out who really did this? C-cause-" Wally pointed to his unconscious friend. "He didn't do it, a-and- and if they arrest him for it an innocent man goes to prison and that- that m-monster's still loose and will kill more people please don't let them pin it on him please.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Steven promised, giving the panicky youngster a calm, steady look. "We won't let anyone innocent be blamed and we'll do everything in our power to make sure no one else dies."

Wallace nodded in agreement. "We will. And... Would you like more company? I can leave Bubbles here with you, too." Hopefully, the Azumarill's brighter disposition would aid with the heavy air.