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"Oh, yeah, I read about that last month," Derek said, accepting the file from Nell. "It was in the papers. They think the boy was replaced during recess."
Nell was a little frustrated that the villain wasn't thinking what she was thinking. "No, listen, the kid went to a gifted school."
"So did I, so did Platform. What does it matter?"
"Well, maybe the kid who was taken was gifted with powers."
The Afterdark considered the possibility. "Now I see what you're getting at."
"...and?"
"Well, if Seer kidnapped a smart kid for having powers, is that why he wanted you?"
Nell shrugged, but that was what she had been thinking.
Derek sighed. "Well, it's all fucking stupid. This is the idea that is the closest to making sense, so let's go with it. Unfortunately, we still don't know anything about anything." He was visibly frustrated gesturing with his hands and frowning. He had raised his voice.
Nell was feeling a gnawing in her stomach thinking about the missing boy, and hoped he was alive and alright. The girl thought about the boy's parents, and how worried they must have been. The last thought produced in her feelings of jealousy; her own parents had never cared, and her foster parents had cared even less. With a creeping horror, it occured to Nell that Derek was the only person who had ever stuck his neck out for her.
What did it say about her, that the only person who valued her presence was a psychotic monster? It said a lot. It said even more about her than the fact that she had been an unwanted child said.
"Oh, yeah, I read about that last month," Derek said, accepting the file from Nell. "It was in the papers. They think the boy was replaced during recess."
Nell was a little frustrated that the villain wasn't thinking what she was thinking. "No, listen, the kid went to a gifted school."
"So did I, so did Platform. What does it matter?"
"Well, maybe the kid who was taken was gifted with powers."
The Afterdark considered the possibility. "Now I see what you're getting at."
"...and?"
"Well, if Seer kidnapped a smart kid for having powers, is that why he wanted you?"
Nell shrugged, but that was what she had been thinking.
Derek sighed. "Well, it's all fucking stupid. This is the idea that is the closest to making sense, so let's go with it. Unfortunately, we still don't know anything about anything." He was visibly frustrated gesturing with his hands and frowning. He had raised his voice.
Nell was feeling a gnawing in her stomach thinking about the missing boy, and hoped he was alive and alright. The girl thought about the boy's parents, and how worried they must have been. The last thought produced in her feelings of jealousy; her own parents had never cared, and her foster parents had cared even less. With a creeping horror, it occured to Nell that Derek was the only person who had ever stuck his neck out for her.
What did it say about her, that the only person who valued her presence was a psychotic monster? It said a lot. It said even more about her than the fact that she had been an unwanted child said.
