Nell forced herself to laugh nervously, thinking it was a joke. By Derek's reaction to her chuckle, she realized it wasn't. She shut up.
"Fixer," he said seriously, calling her by her alias. "You work for supervillains. For professional monsters. People who kill, injure, and otherwise damage people every day. You give them even more power than they already have and make them more dangerous than anyone would really need to be."
The girl was quiet in acknowledgment of the truth, but she wondered where the man was going with his lecture.
"You teach dragons how to breath fire," The Afterdark analogized. "Don't think that one of them won't burn you."
Nell knew he was right, but didn't want to admit it just yet.
"It's not if, it's when. I'm willing to bet that most of the people you work for will treat you with the respect you deserve or will at least afford you the most basic of human dignities. Someday there will be one who won't."
She looked down at her hands. "I've always known that, Derek. I'm just delaying the inevitable. I'm lucky I have you."
"Honestly, Nell, you've got that last part quite backwards."
Chills ran all up and down her spine. "How so?"
"I've got you."
In the right context, his words could have been considered romantic. In this context, they were a chilling reminder of The Afterdark's real disposition and of how powerful he was compared to her. Fortunately, he dropped the subject.
"Fixer," he said seriously, calling her by her alias. "You work for supervillains. For professional monsters. People who kill, injure, and otherwise damage people every day. You give them even more power than they already have and make them more dangerous than anyone would really need to be."
The girl was quiet in acknowledgment of the truth, but she wondered where the man was going with his lecture.
"You teach dragons how to breath fire," The Afterdark analogized. "Don't think that one of them won't burn you."
Nell knew he was right, but didn't want to admit it just yet.
"It's not if, it's when. I'm willing to bet that most of the people you work for will treat you with the respect you deserve or will at least afford you the most basic of human dignities. Someday there will be one who won't."
She looked down at her hands. "I've always known that, Derek. I'm just delaying the inevitable. I'm lucky I have you."
"Honestly, Nell, you've got that last part quite backwards."
Chills ran all up and down her spine. "How so?"
"I've got you."
In the right context, his words could have been considered romantic. In this context, they were a chilling reminder of The Afterdark's real disposition and of how powerful he was compared to her. Fortunately, he dropped the subject.
