Holy Wars

[Gifted]

"We need to meet up first. I don't want them breaking us up until we get our revenge." Joan answered.

[Raven]

"Fine. Then tell the rest of the team, I'll be back soon."

[Gifted]

"I will." Joan agreed, and ran down to find the others.

[Raven]

Francis was back fifteen minutes later - clearly longer than it would have taken him to walk, and his knuckles were bloody.

Kenny stared at me, clearly feeling guilty and questioning whether he'd made the right call.

[Gifted]

Xander pulled me up to the room - it was definitely me, but I refused to open my eyes. Xander unlocked the cage and shoved me inside, and I stumbled and fell and caught myself against the bars due to not being able to see. Xander was holding Kenny's sword and my gun. "Here she is. The moment we entered the building she shut her eyes and refused to open them."
Not knowing who was in the room with me, I sat down in the corner, pulled my knees up and buried my face in my arms.

Joan had gone around and gathered everyone in the meeting room by this point. "They seem to think that by taking Gifted away from us, we're going to fall apart. We are not going to prove them right. We need to knuckle down, work together and get her back." She seemed to be trying to take a leadership role.

[Raven]

"It's alright," Kenny said. "They've got me cuffed. You can feel, if you want. Xander, do you have any sunglasses around the base?"

Mercy was no leader, so she made no objection, though she sat back in her seat and didn't seem convinced Joan was going to manage it. Erin looked distinctly uncomfortable. She'd heard the exchange. Francis crossed his arms and didn't sit down. "And how do you propose we do that?" he asked.

[Gifted]

I tensed hearing his voice so close to me. He seemed to have made me more, not less scared now that I knew for a fact he was in the room. "Fuck off." I snapped, not looking up.

"Gifted left us a lot of information and our standard attack pattern. And she practically gave us permission to stop pulling our punches now that she isn't here. I'm usually the last or second-to -last in anyway, so I can play mission control just fine until I'm needed." Joan said.
If Francis wanted to fight her for it, he might have an uphill battle; Mariah didn't seem to care who was leader as she was used to following orders. Vivian looked equally as uncomfortable as Erin, and it didn't seem like a change in leadership was going to fix that. Victor seemed a bit more open, but he was mostly concerned about my well-being.

[Raven]

Kenny sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean for this to happen, I really meant to turn myself in."
"I'll look for some sunglasses," I supplied.

"She did not give us permission," Erin corrected, looking between Joan and Francis.
Francis stared at Joan coolly. He wouldn't propose he replace her, but he was waiting to see how she handled the others.

[Gifted]

"She said we were gonna do it anyway, which basically means she's not going to get angry at us when we do. That's basically permission. Look, obviously we can still be careful with Dianna, but they cannot just take our leader and think they can get away with that." Joan wasn't even that trigger happy - she'd been trained capture was better, and so only killed when there was no other way out - but she was pissed.

"If you can find some." Xander said. "I don't think we have any around here, we can ask Olivia to pick some up next time she goes into town for food if you want."

[Raven]

"No! They're people, maybe you weren't ever like them, but the rest of us were, they think they're doing what's right. We can't kill them for it," Erin insisted, sounding on the verge of tears.
"I don't think you're the best person to run mission control," Francis said, calmly changing the subject.

"Alright," I agreed. "He has the cuffs on, and he wouldn't hurt her even if he could, it's just a matter of her feeling safer."

[Gifted]

"Then who is? The only one with a more objective viewpoint is Mercy, and no offense Merc, but I don't think you'd be great at mission control. Everyone else is dropped in the thick from the get-go."

Xander nodded. "You're welcome to look, though."

[Raven]

"You couldn't pay me," Mercy responded.
"Vivian has to keep one of her clones outside," Francis said.

"I'll take a look. Can you get Ryan or Lynn to come play guard?" I asked. "Or stay yourself?" I glanced at Gifted, not wanting to scare her more. I figured those three would help her feel more safe.

[Gifted]

The thought hadn't even occurred to me until right now. "Send Lynn." I said. That would show them my intentions had always been good towards them - maybe a bit tinged now that I'd tried to blackmail them into not capturing me, but still mostly pure. And in a way they could not deny and did not compromise me! Damn I wish I'd thought of that sooner. Raven always gave me the best ideas.

"You want me to do it?" Vivian's eyes widened.

[Raven]

"You're from outside of the fence, it makes sense. You won't risk your life by distracting yourself - your clones, sure, but not your life. You've known the Director longer than any of us, haven't you?" Francis asked.

"Alright. I'll try to find her," I said, then asked Xander, "If you're okay with that?"

[Gifted]

"Why should we let the prisoner pick her guard? It sounds to me like she has some kind of plan." Xander said skeptically.

"I mean, I guess... we weren't exactly on good terms last time we crossed paths." Vivian said. "I don't know if I want to be responsible for you lot."