I know you will, Gwen. [ Jim's smile is soft but earnest, full of faith. It's all they have at this point, but there's a reason they came here - sure, fates in the hands of teenagers didn't exactly sound great on paper, but Jim and Spock do trust them. More than their abilities, more than the web fluid - Jim trusts that they'll do their best to minimize harm.
And then everything goes to shit. Best laid plans, as it were.
In retrospect, it had been optimistic of them to believe that a half-baked plan the four of them had cooked up in less than two hours could reasonably hold Jim and Spock for very long. Each of them individually, perhaps, but together? As soon as the sickness had enough of a hold on the pair of them for them to actually plan the escape together, well - they were fucked, plain and simple.
Then Gwen cured his ass, and now they've got a whole new set of problems.
Jim's exhausted; every bone in his body hurts, aches, pains, and scrapes littering his person. He hasn't slept adequately in far too long, can't remember the last thing he ate - the laundry list goes on. Caked in blood, head rattling with horrible memories both new and old - and what's more, he can still feel Spock.
Like he said, whole new set of problems.
There's no time for him to apologize to Gwen in depth - the way it fucking requires, Jesus Christ, he had said some truly heinous shit to her - no time to process anything, really. They'd cleared out the warehouse, shuffling all of those poor people to one of the makeshift hospitals before setting out in search of Spock and Peter. Peter hadn't made contact as he should have, which could only mean Spock had won the fight as Jim had predicted, oh God. The longer they leave them out there, the more at-risk Peter was of an impatient, unbalanced Vulcan doing something none of them could take back.
He hadn't stopped to explain it to Gwen, why he was so sure he could find Spock - hell, Jim barely understood it himself - but whatever Spock had done to them (Jim remembers, in the bathtub, as his mind succumbed to the Gnosia - their ankles, brushing beneath the webbing. That must have been it, skin on skin contact, allowing them to plan without speaking...) still remained, connecting their minds. The Gnosia is raging on the other side of the bond, enveloping Spock's mind, but he still hasn't turned on Jim.
Jim's pretty sure Spock could crush him to dust, even from a distance, but he also knows, intrinsically, that he wouldn't. To do so would be destroying a piece of himself, too.
Yeah, like he said: not really the time for explanations.
Jim heaves himself out of his seated position, having mimicked Spock's usual meditative pose. His joints crack, muscles protesting, but still, Jim stands. He jerks his head towards a side street, making for it, sure that Gwen will follow. ] I saw Peter, with Spock. He's hurt - I don't know how badly - but he's alive and able to walk.
Spock did this - thing. [ Jim makes an aborted motion to his head, hand trembling slightly as he does so; his gait is not as steady as it usually is, listing to the side as he leads them down the street. ] I know you mentioned you got a good zap from him that one time but - telepathy isn't all bad. Isn't bad most of the time, actually it can be - nice.
[ Jim swallows around the lump in his throat, remembering their hands clasped together at the bar, his fingertips dancing over the back of Spock's hand. How happy his Vulcan companion had been, the way it echoed. He tries to take that memory and send some of it along to Spock via the tether he's built, though how much of it makes it there before the worry overshadows it, he's not sure. ] Anyway, Vulcans can do something called a mind meld. They can literally go inside your mind, your thoughts, your memories. You can do a lot of damage with something like that, but you can also - link two minds together.
[ Jim blows out a breath, cutting a glance over at Gwen. ] That's what he did. Linked the two of us together. They're at the park, by the library, and Spock - wants to trade.
[ They're not far from the park now, and Jim slows, coming to a stop just around the corner. He turns to Gwen, gaze serious, holding out a hand - he doesn't dare touch her, after their fight earlier, but it's clear that his normal impulse would have been a friendly shoulder squeeze. ] Listen to me very carefully, Gwen. You get Peter away from Spock, and if you can't get a clear shot on healing him, you run like hell. Do not try to fight him, and do not try to renege on the deal and take me with you. He won't hurt me, but he will hurt you two, if you get in his way.
[ Once Spock had Jim, with no leverage over him? Well, Jim's banking on Spock being too preoccupied to care much about the teenagers. If not, they're all fucked. ] I'll distract him for as long as I can.
no subject
And then everything goes to shit. Best laid plans, as it were.
In retrospect, it had been optimistic of them to believe that a half-baked plan the four of them had cooked up in less than two hours could reasonably hold Jim and Spock for very long. Each of them individually, perhaps, but together? As soon as the sickness had enough of a hold on the pair of them for them to actually plan the escape together, well - they were fucked, plain and simple.
Then Gwen cured his ass, and now they've got a whole new set of problems.
Jim's exhausted; every bone in his body hurts, aches, pains, and scrapes littering his person. He hasn't slept adequately in far too long, can't remember the last thing he ate - the laundry list goes on. Caked in blood, head rattling with horrible memories both new and old - and what's more, he can still feel Spock.
Like he said, whole new set of problems.
There's no time for him to apologize to Gwen in depth - the way it fucking requires, Jesus Christ, he had said some truly heinous shit to her - no time to process anything, really. They'd cleared out the warehouse, shuffling all of those poor people to one of the makeshift hospitals before setting out in search of Spock and Peter. Peter hadn't made contact as he should have, which could only mean Spock had won the fight
as Jim had predicted, oh God.The longer they leave them out there, the more at-risk Peter was of an impatient, unbalanced Vulcan doing something none of them could take back.He hadn't stopped to explain it to Gwen, why he was so sure he could find Spock - hell, Jim barely understood it himself - but whatever Spock had done to them (Jim remembers, in the bathtub, as his mind succumbed to the Gnosia - their ankles, brushing beneath the webbing. That must have been it, skin on skin contact, allowing them to plan without speaking...) still remained, connecting their minds. The Gnosia is raging on the other side of the bond, enveloping Spock's mind, but he still hasn't turned on Jim.
Jim's pretty sure Spock could crush him to dust, even from a distance, but he also knows, intrinsically, that he wouldn't. To do so would be destroying a piece of himself, too.
Yeah, like he said: not really the time for explanations.
Jim heaves himself out of his seated position, having mimicked Spock's usual meditative pose. His joints crack, muscles protesting, but still, Jim stands. He jerks his head towards a side street, making for it, sure that Gwen will follow. ] I saw Peter, with Spock. He's hurt - I don't know how badly - but he's alive and able to walk.
Spock did this - thing. [ Jim makes an aborted motion to his head, hand trembling slightly as he does so; his gait is not as steady as it usually is, listing to the side as he leads them down the street. ] I know you mentioned you got a good zap from him that one time but - telepathy isn't all bad. Isn't bad most of the time, actually it can be - nice.
[ Jim swallows around the lump in his throat, remembering their hands clasped together at the bar, his fingertips dancing over the back of Spock's hand. How happy his Vulcan companion had been, the way it echoed. He tries to take that memory and send some of it along to Spock via the tether he's built, though how much of it makes it there before the worry overshadows it, he's not sure. ] Anyway, Vulcans can do something called a mind meld. They can literally go inside your mind, your thoughts, your memories. You can do a lot of damage with something like that, but you can also - link two minds together.
[ Jim blows out a breath, cutting a glance over at Gwen. ] That's what he did. Linked the two of us together. They're at the park, by the library, and Spock - wants to trade.
[ They're not far from the park now, and Jim slows, coming to a stop just around the corner. He turns to Gwen, gaze serious, holding out a hand - he doesn't dare touch her, after their fight earlier, but it's clear that his normal impulse would have been a friendly shoulder squeeze. ] Listen to me very carefully, Gwen. You get Peter away from Spock, and if you can't get a clear shot on healing him, you run like hell. Do not try to fight him, and do not try to renege on the deal and take me with you. He won't hurt me, but he will hurt you two, if you get in his way.
[ Once Spock had Jim, with no leverage over him? Well, Jim's banking on Spock being too preoccupied to care much about the teenagers. If not, they're all fucked. ] I'll distract him for as long as I can.