Aria didn't remember falling asleep.
One moment, there was fire… noise… the sound of metal tearing apart and the weight of VEX's arm holding her steady as everything collapsed behind them.
The next—
Silence.
Soft.
Still.
Her eyes opened slowly.
The first thing she noticed was the ceiling.
Plain. White. Cracked slightly at the corner like it had seen time pass quietly without being fixed.
Then came the feeling.
Warm.
Not the burning heat from the lab.
A calm warmth.
She blinked again, her vision adjusting.
"…where…"
Her voice came out hoarse.
She tried to move—
Pain answered immediately.
A sharp pull ran through her side, forcing a quiet groan from her lips.
"Don't."
The voice came from nearby.
Calm.
Familiar.
Aria's eyes shifted.
VEX sat across the room, leaning back slightly in a chair, one arm resting on his knee. He looked the same as always—calm, composed—but there were small signs of the fight.
A tear in his sleeve.
Dried blood along his shoulder.
"You'll reopen the wound," he added.
Aria frowned slightly, trying to sit up anyway.
"I'm not made of glass…" she muttered.
She pushed herself—
And immediately winced.
"Yeah…" she breathed, sinking back slightly. "…okay, maybe I am right now."
Silence lingered between them for a moment.
Then her expression changed.
Her eyes sharpened.
"…Dr Blanc."
The name came out low.
Heavy.
VEX didn't respond immediately.
But his gaze shifted slightly.
"You knew," she said.
It wasn't a question.
He looked at her.
"I suspected," he replied.
Her jaw tightened.
"He's the one doing all this," she said, her voice rising slightly. "The mutants… the experiments… everything—he's behind it."
"Yes."
Her hands clenched slightly against the sheets.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"You weren't ready."
That hit harder than anything else.
Aria turned her head away, frustration building.
"I got captured," she said. "I couldn't fight. I couldn't even stand. I just—watched."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I was useless."
"No," VEX said.
She turned back toward him, anger flaring.
"Don't say that. You saw it. I couldn't do anything. My powers just—"
"Stopped," he finished.
She froze.
"…yeah."
Silence.
Then—
"They didn't stop," VEX said.
Her brows furrowed.
"What?"
"They were suppressed," he clarified. "Temporarily."
Aria blinked slowly.
"…so what does that mean?"
"It means they can come back."
Her chest tightened slightly.
"…can," she repeated. "Not will."
VEX didn't answer that.
And that alone told her everything.
Her gaze dropped.
"…I felt it," she admitted quietly. "Like something inside me just… shut off."
She clenched her fist slightly.
"It was the first time I felt normal again."
That scared her more than she wanted to admit.
VEX watched her for a moment.
Then stood.
"You rely on it too much," he said.
Her head snapped up.
"Excuse me?"
"Your power," he continued. "It's become your first instinct. Your solution to everything."
She frowned.
"Well yeah—I mean, what else am I supposed to use?"
"Yourself."
The answer came instantly.
Cold.
Direct.
Aria stared at him.
"…I am using myself."
"No," VEX said. "You're using something you were given. Not something you've built."
That hit.
Hard.
She looked away again, her jaw tightening.
"So what, you're saying I'm weak?"
"I'm saying," he replied, stepping closer, "that if your strength can be taken away that easily, then you were never truly strong to begin with."
Silence.
Aria's chest rose and fell slowly.
"…you're really bad at comforting people," she muttered.
"I'm not trying to comfort you."
She let out a quiet breath.
"…yeah. I can tell."
Another silence passed.
Then—
Her expression softened slightly.
"…you came for me."
It was quiet.
Almost like she didn't want to say it out loud.
VEX didn't respond immediately.
"I placed a tracker on you," he said instead.
Aria blinked.
"…you what?"
"During training," he continued. "Precaution."
She stared at him.
"…that's creepy."
"It saved your life."
"…fair."
She exhaled slowly, staring up at the ceiling again.
"…I thought I was done," she admitted. "When he injected me… I couldn't feel anything anymore. No strength. No speed. Nothing."
Her voice dropped.
"I was scared."
The word hung in the air.
Real.
Honest.
VEX didn't interrupt.
For once.
"I don't want to feel like that again," she said.
Her eyes hardened slightly.
"I don't want to be that helpless."
VEX nodded once.
"Then don't be."
She frowned slightly.
"…that's not how it works."
"It is," he replied. "You just don't like the process."
She sighed.
"…which is?"
"Training."
Of course.
Aria closed her eyes briefly.
"…I knew you were going to say that."
"Good."
She opened one eye slightly, giving him a tired look.
"…can I at least recover first?"
"You are recovering."
"…I meant like normal people do. Rest. Sleep. Eat junk food. Watch movies."
"No."
She groaned softly.
"You're actually the worst."
He didn't argue.
Instead, he turned slightly toward the window.
"Your body is already adapting," he said. "The suppression won't last forever. But when your power returns…"
He looked back at her.
"…you need to be ready to use it properly."
Aria stared at him.
"…and if it doesn't come back?"
A small pause.
Then—
"Then you learn to fight without it."
That answer hit differently.
Not comforting.
But real.
Aria let out a slow breath.
"…you really believe that?"
"I don't believe," VEX said. "I prepare."
Silence filled the room again.
But this time—
It felt different.
Not heavy.
Focused.
Aria slowly pushed herself up again.
Carefully.
This time, she managed to sit.
"…okay," she said quietly.
VEX watched her.
"…okay?" he repeated.
She nodded slightly.
"I don't want to be weak," she said. "Power or no power."
Her eyes met his.
"So train me."
For a second—
There was silence.
Then—
A small shift in VEX's posture.
Approval.
"Good," he said.
Aria exhaled softly.
"…but if I pass out, I'm blaming you."
"You won't."
"…confidence."
"Fact."
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Then her expression changed again.
Serious.
"…Dr Blanc isn't going to stop, is he?"
"No."
"And the mutants…"
"They'll increase."
Her grip tightened slightly.
"…then we don't stop either."
VEX nodded once.
"Exactly."
Outside, the city moved like nothing had changed.
Cars passed.
People walked.
Sirens echoed faintly in the distance.
But somewhere beneath all of that—
Something was building.
Something bigger than before.
And for the first time—
Aria wasn't just reacting to it.
She was preparing for it.
Even without her power—
She would rise again.