Of Storms and Prophets: Audrey's and Nathanael's Story

So Nate and I got to talking, and we thought it'd be cool if we wrote a series of one-shots with Nathanael and Audrey. Most will be separate from each other, 'cuz like I said: one-shots. Some will take place between chapters 3 and 4 of the isotopes (during that one year they hung out in Boston). Some will take place in the period after chapter 4. Some one-shots will even be an AU (alternate universe--meaning there aren't necessarily tied into the storyline at all). Some will probably be completely off-the-walls-will-not-make-any-sense.

So yea; similar to Orcus and Corey's story, it'll be a double posting thing, and we've actually already got a few ideas in the works Hope y'all enjoy it!!!


PS--like the title? We thought to combine the two different backstory titles into one ^.^

((here we go: first one-shot. Remember, these are meant to be stand-alones, unless it's obvious there's a continuation from a previous entry))

When they first met, she hated him.

She yelled, swore, punched, and kicked at him. She called him every name under the sun, and she had even briefly thought about tripping him and leaving him to the zombies. She ignored his chivalrous actions and rejected every outstretched hand to help her up.

She couldn’t believe how she was the one who got stuck with him.

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When they first met, he didn’t really notice her.

He smiled, laughed, made light of the situation, and offered countless hands to help her up. But then again, he did that for everyone. He took her punches with winces and indignant protests, and never once tried to retaliate. He saw her cold, coffee black eyes, but after a few hours, saw something that no one ever had. He saw a chance to bring her back.

He couldn’t believe how he was the one who got to have her all to himself.

((but when you think about it, all this stuff is in the past....maybe we should revise that bit. Anyhoo, thanks for getting it up and running!))

“You stupid, stupid Aussie!” Audrey shouted at him; anger blazing in her eyes, “How could you lose the others! We were flying side-by-side!”

Nathanael held his hands up defensively as the goth advanced on him, “Sheila, I can’t explain it any better! One minute they were there, and then the next they weren’t! Besides, you were flying with me; you didn’t notice either!”

The fact that he had pointed that out made Audrey even more furious, because he was right. She was at equal fault in losing the other isotopes. Hell; she had been flying the helicopter with him and hadn’t noticed.

“Look, we’re a lot better off than we were yesterday.” Nathanael pointed out, which mercifully, brought Audrey up short.

Again, the bachelor was right.

Yesterday they had still been under Helli0n’s thumb. Yesterday they had still been following Helli0n’s orders. Yesterday, they had still been numbers.

Today, they were free.

However, not wanting to concede a single inch to this annoying idiot, Audrey growled and spun on heel before storming out of the room. Out of the people she had to get stuck with, she had to get stuck with him. The guy who didn’t know when to shut his mouth and take a situation seriously instead of smiling and making light of it.

Just. Her. Luck.

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Nathanael let out a shaky breath when the goth left. Honestly, she could get pretty scary. On the plus side though, Audrey’s hadn’t hit him this time. Thinking back to when she had given him a solid right hook on that plateau, he rubbed the left side of his face and winced.

Walking over to the refrigerator, the Aussie opened the freezer half of the box and pulled out a lump of ice the size of his fist. He winced again when he pressed the cold, hard substance against his aching jaw.

Nathanael knew he could bring her back. She could try and play it off all she wanted that she was a big, tough, bad-ass isotope who didn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone else, but he saw past that. Audrey cared, but she had herself under wraps. The bachelor just had to get her to open up again.

He took away the ice and appraised the large bruise on his face. It would take time, but time he had. Nathanael made it his mission to bring Audrey back. He didn’t realize the consequences of such a mission until it was too late.

He began to fall for her.

((Try not to choke on the fluffiness of this entry))

“So you…were in the Occult Division.” Nathanael said softly as he slowly ran his fingers up and down Audrey’s left arm.

The goth sighed deeply before she answered, “Yes…I joined a few days before I turned sixteen…I’d been approached two weeks prior though. It was an offer to join, though looking back, I think if I had said no, they would’ve forced me anyways.”

She shifted so she was closer still to the Aussie. Lying on his bed, she was on her side with her head resting against his chest. Every thump of his heart was heard, and whenever he spoke, she could hear it rumble in his chest. Her left arm was slung over his torso.

Nathanael in turn was on his back with his arm around Audrey. That was the one moving up and down her clear skin while the other twined in her hand. Alone, with no chance of interruptions from other isotopes.

“Did you have a code name?” He teasingly asked; inhaling the scent of her shampoo. Flowers? Who knew the girl liked the smell of flowery shampoo?

Audrey snorted softly, “Of course. We all had codenames. All of them were mythical creatures, and almost every name matched up to our powers.”

“There were exceptions?”

“Orcus was one. He created illusions, but his codename was Angel. Maybe there’s further reasoning that I don’t know of, but as far as I know, he’s an exception.”

Nathanael traced the calluses on Audrey’s palm, “What was your codename?”

Audrey sighed again, “Fae. My name was Fae. They’re pretty much fairies. Fairies that can see the future. My drill sergeant would mockingly call me ‘fairy’ whenever I had moments of weakness.”

She didn’t have to look up to know that the Aussie was frowning, “How hard was it in the Occult Division?”

“…all isotopes can fight, but most know how to do other things. They could fly hovercrafts, build with their hands, etcetera…but the Occult Division? We learned how to kill. We learned how to fight and kill. We were trained to be indestructible—undefeatable and emotionless. We were trained to follow orders without question. Looking back, I’m surprised I managed to survive.”

They fell into comfortable silence, in which Audrey wrapped her left arm more firmly around Nathanael, and Nathanael rested his warm hand on her elbow.

“How did you get out?” He asked after a few minutes, “You were in Salem when we met. How’d you, a lethal Occult operative, wind up at an outpost in the middle of nowhere?”

Audrey cringed from the memory, and Nathanael backed off, “I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me—I’m too curious for my own good.”

“No, no…it’s okay…I should probably tell someone anyways.” She took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing, “It was Operation: Thin Air. We were fighting Jvstice, and they had an Anti-Matter bomb. Everyone and everything for miles and miles around would’ve been disintegrated. The commander in charge demanded that I see where the bomb was. I…my visions…they’ve never been 100% accurate. It’s only in the last year and a half that they’ve gotten much, much better. I looked into the future and saw the bomb at a location, and I told them it was there.”

“And it wasn’t.” Nathanael murmured; stroking her raven black hair.

Audrey nodded, “They sent almost their entire fighting force to go shut down the bomb and fight Jvstice, only to find out that the bomb wasn’t there, and a whole regiment of Jvstice was. One of the Occult operatives managed to find the Anti-Matter bomb and dispose of it…but my actions almost lead to the death of thousands of people. Occult Division doesn’t accept mistakes, especially not ones of that size. You don’t get kicked out of Occult, but for all practical purposes, I was. I was put in Salem—isolated, no action, and no room for mistakes.”

“I’m glad you made that mistake.”

“What?!” Audrey half-shouted, pushing herself away from Nathanael and looking at him with a flicker of anger in her eyes, “Why are you glad I almost killed thousands of people?!”

Nathanael reached out and touched her shoulder, “Because I got to meet you. Your mistake landed you in Salem, and Salem was where I was sent to assist the G2s. We never would’ve met if that didn’t happen.”

It threw Audrey for a spin, and while her jumbled thoughts tried to make sense of everything, Nathanael gently tugged her back down against his side, and he wrapped his arms firmly around her.

“You’re safe now. I’m going to make sure of it. They’ll never hurt you again.”

Audrey knew he couldn’t promise that, and no one ever could. However, she knew he would try with all his abilities to do it.

She believed him.

She believed him with all her heart.

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

“Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“No.”

“…please?”

“NO!”

“Come on!”

“God dammit, Nathanael! I said NO! My answer is not going to change no matter how many ‘pretties’ you put in front of ‘please’!”

“…what if I add two cherries on top?”

A dangerous growl was the answer to that suggestion.

“It’s not like I’m asking you to do the Irish Step or a Cossack dance; I’m just asking for a few cartwheels!”

“NO!”

Audrey was a badass isotope. She’d been trained by the Occult Division; a lethal, future-seeing weapon who gave her enemies chills when they heard she was coming. She did NOT do CARTWHEELS.

Neither was she supposed to fly off the handle so easily, but Audrey had discovered that Nathanael had an uncanny knack of pushing all her buttons simultaneously whenever he pleased.

“You could use a break.”

“I’ll take a break when Helli0n is burned to the ground.”

“I believe what you’re referring to is ‘retirement’, which I don’t think is possible for us.”

Audrey inhaled deeply, straightened from her hunched position over a map of the NAC, and slowly turned to the weather-manipulating isotope, who had that exceedingly annoying dopey grin on his face, “Nathanael, I am WORKING. We are supposed to be taking down Helli0n, NOT. DOING. CARTWHEELS.”

Nathanael looked like a kicked puppy, “But…but…cartwheels.” It was like he couldn’t possibly imagine anyone not liking them; never mind downright refusing to partake in the action.

“I will never do cartwheels unless my life depends on it.” Audrey seethed out in a voice laced with contempt and hatred.

The Aussie shuffled over to a chair across the table from her, and collapsed into it with a pouty huff of air. He crossed his arms on the table before resting his chin on his wrists.

Audrey slammed her palms on the table with a little more force than necessary as she resumed her study of the map. After a few seconds, her eyes flicked over to Nathanael, and honest to God, she swore she saw his eyes light up with an idea.

At that moment, a vision claimed her eyesight, but it was pure black. It was only voices, and it was clear who the voices belonged to:

“You can only have ‘em back if you do cartwheels!”

“DAMN AUSTRALIAN BASTARD GIVE THEM BACK RIGHT NOW!!!”

Just as the blackness cleared, Audrey heard the loud rustling of papers being whipped away, and she turned in time to see Nathanael sprinting away with the maps in hand. The table before her was bare…meaning he had taken all her work.

“NATHANAEL!” Audrey roared in outright fury as she gave chase.

“You can only have ‘em back if you do cartwheels!”

Audrey was so furious, she didn’t simply repeat the vision because that’s what she knew she was going to say. The words just exploded out in pure anger, “DAMN AUSTRALIAN BASTARD GIVE THEM BACK RIGHT NOW!!!”

She sprinted into the fancy living room of the house, and she saw Nathanael dangling from the chandelier; the maps clutched tightly against his chest while he hung like a monkey.

“You have two seconds to give those back before I rip you a new one.”

Nathanael switched positions so he hung from his legs alone, “Well then, good luck in getting up here.”

Audrey realized that she wouldn’t be able to get up the way he had. Undoubtedly, he had taken a flying leap from the coffee table to get up to the chandelier…which she couldn’t do because of the height she lacked on him. The goth couldn’t go get a ladder of sorts, because he would simply change hiding spots when she left.

He gave her a charming smile, but it was slightly ruined by the amount of blood rushing to his face. Inspiration hit Audrey like a bolt of Nathanael’s lightning, and she returned the smile. Nathanael’s own smile faded, because hers was one of the Cheshire Cat.

“I hope you like hanging there, Nate,” Audrey said pleasantly; using his nickname to accentuate the situation, “I hope you’re nice and comfy, because I’m going to wait right here.” She proved her words by plopping down on the cozy leather couch, grabbing the remote, and turning on the news.

Nathanael’s eyes widened at the predicament, for he knew he couldn’t stay up on the chandelier forever, “Shiela…I’m asking for a little negotiation here.” He said weakly, “One cartwheel for the maps.”

Audrey didn’t reply; making her intention to wait him out clear as she put her feet on the coffee table and crossed her ankles.

The Aussie sighed heavily, “I’m going to catch so much hell for this.” He thought bleakly.

“Can we keep him?” Nathanael asked hopefully; like a child begging his or her parents to adopt a poor, pitiful puppy. Actually, the being in question was an eight-year-old with adorable feline ears clinging to him.

The G3 in his arms clung to him even tighter, and buried his head into the bachelor’s shoulder. A whimper escaped, but it was only loud enough for Nathanael to hear.

Audrey stood a few feet away, and she pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke, “Nathanael…do I really even want to know?”

“He’s not mine!” Nathanael said indignantly, “Come on, he’s like, eight years old!”

“I meant about how you found him.”

Nathanael sobered up quickly, “His name is Keiko. Keiko 2501,” Audrey’s eyes widened, and he continued, “I was up on the rooftops, and I heard all this screaming and angry shouting. I saw a tiger running through the streets, and he came into an alley, which was when the tiger turned into him.” He gently ran a hand through the wet, tawny hair at his shoulder.

“Are you telling me…he’s a…”

Audrey at a loss for words. Nathanael thought he’d never see the day.

“An isotope.” He confirmed.

“But, his serial number…the G2 serial numbers only go to~”

“Exactly,” Nathanael risked interrupting, “And on the way over here, Keiko explained it. He says he’s a G3. That’s what the doctors told him. First of the third generation of isotopes.”

There was a small pause of silence, which Audrey broke with a whisper, “Helli0n has been busy since our rebellion.”

Nathanael nodded, “Yes. Anyways, this mob of blokes was ganging up on Keiko because he was different. They were going to hurt him, Audrey…if not kill.”

Keiko whimpered again, and somehow, impossibly, wrapped his arms tighter around Nathanael. This time Audrey heard it, and the Aussie was surprised to see a trace of sympathy on the goth’s face.

“You intervened.” She stated, her eyes flicking back up to him.

“Yeah, they scattered pretty fast after the lightning display.”

“And you covered your tracks? No Helli0n officers followed you?”

Nathanael shook his head, “Audrey, he came from the creation base up north. He’s nowhere near there…he just got lost, and he kept running.”

Audrey nodded slowly, “Alright, fair enough. The sooner we get back to Boston, the better. I don’t like being in New York…too many people. Let’s pack up now.”

“But can we keep him?”

Audrey didn’t turn around, but the annoyance in her tone told Nathanael what her expression was, “What do you think? OF COURSE, you dumb Aussie! We’re not going to throw one of our own back out on the streets!”

Nathanael ruffled Keiko’s tawny hair, “It’s a go! Come on, why don’t we raid the fridge for some snacks?”

Keiko loosened his grip and slid to the floor, but kept one of his tiny hands in Nathanael’s big ones, “Promise I’ll be safe with you?”

Nathanael felt a cold twist of pain in his heart. He didn’t tell Audrey that Keiko reminded him of Joshua. Hell, he’d never told any of the isotopes about his dead family. They could view him as the happy-go-lucky bachelor until the moon was blue, but the truth was that he had secrets of his own that he wasn’t going to share.

The bachelor knelt down so he could look Keiko right in his amber eyes. He had made a promise to Joshua, and he hadn’t kept it. He was going to make damn well sure he would keep this promise if it was his dying act.

“I promise.” Nathanael Willow vowed, gently taking one of Keiko’s pinkies with his own. After all, pinky promises couldn’t be broken.

“NATHANAEL! I SAID TO START PACKING!!!”