It was supposed to be for fun. They were supposed to have fun. But, looking back, they should’ve known that anything which involved the serpentine chemist and the amaranthine slayer was bound to end in disaster – if they’re lucky.
It had been Killjoy’s idea: ask the two to join in their training session, because it would be very instructive to have an insight into Sabine’s tactical and precision mind and then combine it with Reyna’s piercing and lethal skillset. “It’s practically a recipe for an all-kill,” she said. “It would be fun!” she said.
And since it had been the German’s idea, it fell on her to make it happen. Jett, Raze, and Phoenix accompany her, however, to witness firsthand the rejection for moral support.
On their way to Viper’s lab, they came across Sage. She had looked rather cross but was quick to school her scowl into a smile. She asked what the four were up to. Killjoy delightedly informed her of her plan.
So, in a surprising turn of events, a few minutes after being told to go and wait at the training room, two black-clad figures entered.
‘Huh, Sage actually convinced them to join us,’ was the collective thought of the group. But, then again, it’s only the healer who could… persuade the two opposing forces to participate in an activity together.
‘She used us,’ is the late realization of the four. They could only sigh. They suppose they could forgive her for that, given that she has a boatload of things to do and that she did defuse the situation (which she helped create) earlier.
They really can’t blame her for grabbing the opportunity to have some time to herself. It can’t be easy to constantly be between a rock and a hard place, regardless if she chose to be there in the first place. How Sage manages to do any work at all, despite always having to act as mediator, is truly a mystery, if not some sort of sorcery.
But as the four young agents appraise their resident medic, all they see is the Sage they’ve known from the beginning: effortlessly radiant. It’s as though her additional job of babysitting two dangerously headstrong children is just a walk in the park for her.
It’s Phoenix who breaks the silence. “You’ve gotten used to their spats, have you?”
Sage doesn’t seem at all fazed by the question. “Being with them will do that,” she answers easily.
“That was wild, though. I thought they were gonna rip each other’s throat out,” Raze comments, recalling what happened in the training room. They’re all probably gonna be nursing bruises from the close contact shooting of the paint gun had they not had a radianite healer on call. She still doesn’t know when their training session turned from that into a literal death match; that is, Reyna and Viper looking possessed to end each other, collateral damage (better known as Raze, Jett, Killjoy, and Phoenix) be damned.
“Are they also like that when you’re all together? Or do they behave better?” the Brazilian asks, before taking a sip of the soda she managed to snag from the fridge as they were on their way to the med bay – just the four of them; Viper and Reyna had been banished somewhere undisclosed, awaiting their fates.
Sage turns to her and, with a straight face, answers, “Oh, that was nothing. You should see them in bed together.”
And Raze promptly spits out the drink she just took. Sage, ever the carer, runs one hand across the warhead’s back to help soothe the latter. Phoenix looks everywhere else except at Sage, while Killjoy.exe appears to have stopped working.
“They’ve corrupted you,” Jett, who’s not unscathed, tells the healer.
“Have they?” is the coy response.
Four sets of wide, unbelieving eyes stare at a pair of mischievous glinting ones. The owners of the former must be dreaming – their gentle bastion couldn’t possibly have just said what they had just heard and then worn that enigmatic smile they’re now seeing.
Sage smiles more broadly as she gets up from her seat. She heads towards the med bay’s door. “You should all head to your rooms and rest; doctor’s orders. You have had enough excitement for one day,” she continues, motioning the younger agents out of the med bay.
Phoenix, now straight up avoiding Sage, goes to Killjoy (aka the one who took the brunt of the chaos) and helps her up. The four mutter in zombie-like fashion their ‘goodbye’s before exiting the room.
Sage chirps a ‘goodnight’ but leaves the door open for when she leaves. She decides she will close up early today. She does it quickly, but she takes her sweet time getting to her own room.
Before long, however, she reaches her door. It’s not a very big base; it’s always a short trek from one place to another.
She stands in place for a while. There, she catches the faintest hint of chatter inside. If she had to guess, the occupants are either passing blame to each other or are conspiring to get out of trouble. Perhaps she should have herself a nightcap first. No harm in keeping them waiting a few more minutes – might even teach them a thing or two. Besides, Sage can’t really deny that she’s quite enjoying what she’s doing. After all, she hasn’t had her share of excitement yet.