Like the absolute nutcase that she was, Alex made a mad dash for the door. Unfortunately for her, my legs were longer. She yelped as I scooped her up and threw her over my shoulder, waltzing her back to the tech who kept frowning at her scans. Alex pounded on my back as I tugged her knees against my chest and attempted to block out the insults she was throwing my way.
“How long would it take?” I choked out as she whacked me between the shoulder blades.
The tech shrugged. “I looked into her file and already started working on some new units. Removal and re-implantation should take about four hours or so?”
I clenched my teeth—we would be here until midnight. “Recovery time?”
“She should stay here for the night for monitoring, to see how her ability adjusts to the new fit. After that, she should take it easy for a few days, and then keep up with care for the next few weeks. The biggest concern is infection, but that’s fairly low risk if she keeps to the doc’s orders.”
“Hi, hello, I’m Alex,” she drawled as she pushed up on my shoulder, turning to us with a sickeningly sweet smile. “I don’t know if you knew this, but typically, someone has to consent tofucking surgery!”
“Well, technically, I work for the VIA,” he deadpanned. “They’re not exactly consent-based, to be fair.”
Alex balked, and I spun her around, grunting as I settled her in a princess hold. Very Hero-like of me, I would have been proud, except she was staring up at me like a cat who was preparing for a bath.
Lethal.
“You need an upgrade, Sweetheart,” I smiled, attempting to ease the blow.
She sneered. “My body, my choice, motherfucker.”
My eye twitched. “I’d never force you to do anything you don’t want to… within reason.”
“Within reason?”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course. Your body is your choice, all the way. I’m pro-whatever-the-fuck-people-wanna-do, except when it comes to your brain melting from the inside.”
Before she could respond, I pointed to the scans, entirely serious. “Look at it, Alex. That’s not good, and you know it. You got a pass for five years, but it’s time. I’m not letting your skull implode because you’re afraid of surgery. I will be here. I’ll do whatever you demand, butpleaseuse that big brain of yours and focus.”
Strangely enough, she listened. For the first time since the topic of total removal came up, Alex studied what was in front of us. Her scans showed her skull from the side, the front, and the top. Two horns poked out of the bone, and burrowed straight through it. The problem was that they’d dug too far. They widened at the base, flaring out and separating from their original anchors.
“The nodes,” she whispered, pointing to thin rods that jutted out from the center of the horns, hovering right above her brain. “They weren’t visible before. They were hidden in the metal.”
“Well, it’s not exactly metal. Your implants are a special blend of plastics and?—”
“—yeah, I’ve heard the lecture before; let’s focus on the sharp, pointy things about to assault my brain.”
I placed her back on the ground, trying not to focus on how she tensed and leaned away from the images. Her cheeks turned pink, and she pulled her lips into her mouth. Alex was ready to burst into tears, and I couldn’t stand it. My body moved on its own as I put my hands on her shoulders, tugging her back into my chest. She crossed her arms, but didn’t pull away.
This is fine,I told myself.Joon would be okay with this.
Usually, the mantra was a lie to comfort myself. This time, though, it was true. Joon wouldn’t have wanted her to be scared; he wouldn’t have wanted her to go through it alone. I took a deep breath, calming my own racing heart, and turned up the heat a touch. My body hummed with warmth, and Alex leanedinto me. Her shoulders dropped, and I swore I heard a sigh escape her lips.
“If we postpone this, you’ll have a year or so before they make contact with any soft tissue. How has your ability to use been? The equipment itself is outdated, but with the way it's dug in, we’d expect you to be working at twenty-five, thirty percent capacity. Not sustainable for a Hero.” The tech turned to us, not a care or worry to be seen.
Meanwhile, Alex felt ready to crumble, and my stomach sat in knots.
“Fucking tragic,” she sighed. “Alright… let’s get this over with. Do I get good meds at least?”
He scrunched his nose, gearing up to say ‘no’, but I stared him down while I spoke into her ear. “I’ll get you whatever you need, don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
She tilted her chin up with a raised brow. “I want a morphine drip.”
Kill me now.
FOURTEEN
ALEX
