Night mode

“What the hell!” Shannon shouted as they pulled away from the apartment.

“Sariel. He-”

“Kelly, I was remote viewing you. I know why you went in! That’s how I know Cliff’s fine, he’s just tied up. I meant what the hell, why did you go without me?”

Kelly breathed deeply, and started to tear strips off her shirt to make improvised bandages. “I wasn’t thinking. I knew he was in trouble, so I just charged.”

Shannon grimaced. “Okay, I get that. I do. But it was stupid. And now you’re bleeding all over my car!”

“Sorry about that,” Kelly muttered. She was starting feel dizzy. “Hey, you didn’t happen to get healing powers from Chemosh, did you?”

“No.” Shannon tensed her jaw. “Kelly, how much blood have you lost?”

Kelly’s hands were starting to grow numb, and trying to wrap the bandages was like trying to type with your hands asleep. “Um…lots.”

“How…how bad a shape are you in?”

Kelly felt her head getting fuzzy. Something in what Shannon had said. “Bad? Shape?” Yes, that was it. Shape. Something about shapes.

“Oh my god we need to get you to a hospital. Can a hospital help you? I don’t even-”

“Shape!” Kelly shouted, so suddenly Shannon swerved the car in surprise. Kelly grabbed Shannon’s arm, ignoring the sound of horns honking. “Shannon, I can shapeshift!”

Shannon looked at her with wide eyes. “Then stop talking about it it and do it!”

Kelly took a few deep breaths. Finding the strength to close the wounds was hard, and focusing enough to do it was a nightmare. By the time she had, her vision was growing black, and her head was in a full on spin. “All…done,” she muttered, before passing out in the seat next to Shannon.

—

When she woke up, it was in Shannon’s apartment. Booger was sitting on her chest, and had been pawing at her nose while she slept, his tongue hanging slightly out of his mouth in a permanent, derp infused blep. As soon as he saw she was awake, he meowed and rolled over to be pet on his belly, in the process falling off her chest and onto the bed beside her. He decided that was the best place to be and started purring as Shannon came in.

“Here, drink this.” Shannon said, handing her some green drink. Kelly took a sip from it slowly. It tasted like grass and herbs and worst of all, kale.

“Some kind of potion?” Kelly asked.

Shannon gave her a strained smile. “Just some high iron food. I wish it was a potion. I could have made one, but I have no idea where to get a newt’s eye at this hour.” Kelly stared at her, and Shannon shook her head. “Not kidding. And before you ask,” she said, as soon as Kelly opened her mouth again, “Cliff is still fine. Sariel was badgering him about signing up, but Cliff just recited the Green Lantern oath over and over instead of answering until Sariel wandered away. He can’t hurt Cliff, not unless Cliff lets him in.”

That thought got a smile out of Kelly. “Sariel is not expecting how stubborn Cliff can be,” she said, then the smile faded as she considered further. “We have to go get him, Shannon. He’s going to eventually crack.”

Shannon shook her head. “You’re about as strong as Booger right now, and half as threatening. Most of the Sarombies are asleep right now, we can wait. Talk to Chemosh when you have the strength to call him. All that.”

Kelly tried to argue, but Booger crawled over to lay on one of her hands. When she tried to lift it, the weight of the cat was too much. She glared at Shannon. “Did you tell him to do that?”

“It’s Booger, you think he figured it out on his own?” Shannon smiled. “Rest, Kelly. I’ll keep an eye on Cliff, and if anything changes i’ll let you know. But right now, rest.”

Kelly nodded. “Thanks, by the way, for saving my life.”

Shannon’s smile widened. “Of course. After all, you saved mine. Glad I got to return the favor.”

Before Kelly could ask her what the hell that meant, Shannon had left the room, and true sleep claimed Kelly.

—

When dawn broke, Booger was idly chewing on Kelly’s fingers. He meowed when she woke up, and again – more urgently – when she sat up. Shannon came in, giving her a frown. “You’re already up?”

Kelly nodded, flexing her hand and putting her hooves on the floor. “Yeah, I feel…actually pretty alright. Guess I can shift to heal myself up.” And recover from massive bloodloss faster, although I shouldn’t point that out to her.

“It almost killed you yesterday. You realize that, right?”

Kelly rubbed the back of her neck and stretched her shoulders, shifting her body back to it’s fully human appearance. “Yeah, I know. I was there, remember?”

Shannon shook her head. “You were there, but you weren’t exactly with it. I’ve got breakfast cooking, come on.”

Booger tried to follow them into the kitchen, but had gotten himself tangled in the sheets. Kelly chuckled and helped free him before going after Shannon. “You’re still not the brightest, are you?” she said to the cat.

Booger’s tongue stuck out further, and Kelly found herself wondering how smart the cat really was. She scooped him up and carried him into the kitchen. “So I’m going to need to run home, then I can go meet Chemosh. Once I’ve done that, I can go deal with Sariel and save Cliff.”

Bacon was scraped out of the pan and put onto a plate. “You mean we can,” Shannon said, her voice firm.

“Maybe. Shannon-”

“No, Kelly. Nope, nada, zilch, not going to happen. You’re bringing me, and unless you promise to, I’m just going to remote view you the entire time you’re gone and make sure I get to Cliff’s apartment when you do.”

“You can’t heal the way I can,” Kelly countered, planting her feet on the floor like Shannon might try to physically bowl her over. In the back of her mind was the knowledge that Shannon couldn’t monitor her when she went to the studio or Chemosh would probably be very unhappy with them both. And Kelly needed him happy. “And besides – wait, hold on.” Kelly’s eyes narrowed. “If you were just watching me, how were you so close to Cliff’s place?”

Shannon blanched. “Now, really, Kelly, that’s hardly the most import-”

“You weren’t watching me at first, were you?” Kelly pressed, her eyes narrowing. “You were watching my brother!”

“I…” Shannon stared at Kelly in a perfect imitation of a deer in headlights.

“And you told Cliff about my hair and eyes. You…” Kelly reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose. “How long have you and my brother been a thing?”

Shannon deflated. “About a month now. We were going to tell you, but we wanted to make sure it was going to work before we stressed you out.”

“Damnit, Shannon,” Kelly said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you…you know what, it’s not important right now.” How the hell did I miss this?

“You’re right about that.” Shannon had found her spine again, and quickly. “But there’s no way I’m going to let you go in there alone. I’m not losing either of you, and I’m definitely not losing both of you.”

“Fine,” Kelly snapped. Kelly didn’t want Shannon there, didn’t like the idea of Shannon there, but this changed things in ways that didn’t bear thinking about. “I’m going to talk to Chemosh. You get ready, I’ll call you when I’m going in. Don’t watch me. I don’t think Chemosh will like it.”

Shannon nodded. “Promise?”

“I promise,” Kelly said with a growl, then whirled to leave before she changed her mind. It was a short jog to the studio from Shannon’s apartment, and class started soon. Chemosh would be there, and they had much to discuss.