Miss Nebula and Origami Man

Begin at the end…or near it…

Caitlin flushed, her gaze dropping to somewhere on his chest, "We're going to have to spend a lot more time together."
Marcus’s right hand tilted her face upward to look at him. He looked at her in this frozen moment, his face moving infinitesimally closer to hers, his head tilting a fraction of a degree.
Caitlin drew in a silent breath of anticipation, her crystalline blue eyes seeking his for both reassurance and affirmation.
And Marcus’ eyes glazed over as he had another premonition.

"Hey, Marcus!"

He felt himself smiling at the voice. It was not an act of volition—he just did. Her tinkly voice reminded him of wind chimes.

"Hi, Cait!" He tried to hide his enthusiasm…the last thing he wanted was for her to think he was—

"You want to come with me somewhere? In Eastgate?"

"Sure!"

He strapped on the jetpack that Longbow operatives had seen fit to equip nearly every hero in the city with and flew out to meet her. Despite the quick travel, the minutes seemed to drag by and he spent the time wondering if she would make his heart pound in his chest like she always did.

"Cool, Marcus. She’s got some mission to do. And so do you. Get it done."
She greeted him with a hug, and was slow to let go from his neck when the hug ended. He didn’t mind…he found himself reacting to her honeysuckle nearness.
Cait asked him what he had been up to, and he told her about his music. She was interested, and asked if she would play her a Ray Charles tune someday.

"It’s great dancing music. I’d rather play it on the CD player, so you and I could…" his courage failed him. He silently cursed his jaw for speaking without his permission.

Caitlin blushed and bit the inside of her cheek for a moment before answering, "Yeah, I’d like that. The dancing, I mean."

Marcus smiled back, then remembered the bombs.

Trolls and Outcasts had planted bombs in the tunnels crisscrossing underneath Eastgate, and he had been assigned to disarm them. And here he was, talking to this stunningly pure young woman about dancing to Ray Charles.
"Uh…we have these bombs to disarm down here…"

Instantly, Cait went white.

Marcus was instantly near her, his hand reassuringly on her shoulder. This was not the time for a hug. Caitlin didn’t need to be protected, as much as Marcus wanted to do so. She needed to know she could do this.

Marcus’ eyes glazed over…

Caitlin was going to be sad. "I grew up in Eastgate. The day of the Hollowing…" she was going to trail off, and a haunted light was going to return to her eyes. Marcus was going to hold her hands in the leafy glade they had stopped at as she continued. "My brother, Daniel, was this really cool guy. He was always the nicest, sweetest person, to everyone. He was the kind of guy that everyone knew would do the right thing—no matter what. And he was generous and caring and…" Caitlin was going to start crying. "He died saving me and a bunch of other kids that day. The day the bombs went off and caused…well…you know." Caitlin was gong to be reminiscing.

He shook his head and the vision cleared. Caitlin was looking at him, as if she wanted to ask him something.

"Come on, Kitty Cait. Let’s go."

She smiled and the two proceeded through the troll tunnels.

Their first battle against some troll thugs loitering in the tunnels was difficult, and Caitlin called in some assistance. She also thought it would be politic to keep an eye on little Evan Bradley, the kid who could make toys become real.
Marcus tried to hide his disappointment that their private time would be interrupted, but reasoned to himself that the Trolls and Outcasts would have ruined it in any case. He was almost successful.

Evan brought with him Chris Matterly, one of the volunteers at a homeless shelter in King’s Row, Lysa, and a hero named Star Breaker whom Marcus had not met.

The group slogged through the caves, defeating resistance when they encountered it. More than once, Marcus noticed a stray thug moving in Cait’s direction, and he felt a peculiar tightening in his chest whenever he saw that. He unleashed kicks, punches, and elbows on whomever threatened her.

Once, after such a fight, he asked her, "Are you okay, Kitty Cait?"

Evan heard that and sang softly, "Marcus and Caitlin sitting in a tree…K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Caitlin shot Evan a look, and might even have grabbed him had he not activated his oversized Longbow jetpack and flown out of reach.

"Sorry, Cait." Marcus whispered to Caitlin. "The nickname. I won’t do it--"

"I like it. You can call me that out loud, in front of the others, if you want." She looked at him with a shy smile, and Marcus saw her biting the inside of her cheek again.

Marcus felt the smile forming on his lips once more. "Okay, Kitty Cait."

When they encountered the first bomb, Cait froze up. The rest of the team assured her all would be well…all except Evan, of course, who had slipped by unnoticed and had yanked wires out of the mechanism more or less at random. Marcus rushed over but blinked when he saw the inert explosive.

Evan twisted one of the bomb wires into a bracelet and handed it to Caitlin.

The rest of the mission was uneventful…at least, as much as a battle with gang members and mutated humans in underground tunnels could possibly be.
Time telescoped around Marcus, and he found himself outside the tunnels, the mission complete, the bombs disarmed, and Eastgate safe for now. Caitlin wanted to talk to him alone, and the two found a leafy glade that Marcus recognized.

Caitlin sat down on the verdant carpet, and Marcus let his eyes linger on her. She patted the ground next to her. "Come and sit down, please, Marcus. I want to talk to you, if that’s okay." Her voice was soft, reverent…and sad. "I need to tall you a story. I’m hoping it’ll make some things kinda easier to understand?" Her voice tailed upwards and she converted the statement into a question.

"I’ll listen to whatever you tell me, Caitlin."

Caitlin took a deep breath, and began. "I grew up in Eastgate…"

Marcus did not need to listen again. He spent the time searching her face, trying to memorize every feature. When Caitlin started saying words he had not yet heard, he brought his attention back to her.

"Evan said this is for friendship. He said I should give it to you." She untwisted the wire bracelet the youngster had made and fastened it around Marcus’ wrist. "He has no idea how appropriate it is. It’s made from the bomb wires."
She looked at the bracelet as she continued. "Every time I see a bomb, I can see it all happening…in my mind. I get…" she took a shuddering breath… "And then, you. You get me through it each time."

Marcus looked at the suddenly invaluable bit of wire wrapped around his wrist. "Cait…I…I don’t do anything. You are doing it. You."

The sat in silence for a while, Caitlin alone in her thoughts, Marcus trying to force a premonition that wouldn’t come.

"Cait…something’s happening. I think you know it, too."

"I—um. I’m not sure…"

Marcus stood up suddenly, and looked out to the horizon. "Neither am I. I want another vision. I want to see our…the future."

"Why?"

"I don’t want to hurt you."

Caitlin looked up at him in confusion as though the thought was a foreign concept. "Hurt me?"

Marcus turned back to her and held out his hand for her to take. She placed her porcelain-white hand in his ebony one. "Look at us, Cait."

"I don’t see that," she said softly, then looked at his face. "I just see this incredible person who makes me feel…well, like I want to be with you all the time."

Marcus felt his face grow hot. "You…you mean that?" His internal pessimist told him that he sounded like a stammering idiot, saying something like that.

Caitlin smiled at his reaction. It was a guileless smile, utterly devoid of malice. As was everything she did with him. "I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it."

"No, I guess not."

"Is--is that okay?"

Marcus blinked. "Okay?" And in a sudden loosening of inhibitions, because he could not for another moment allow her to stand even a few feet away from him, he swept her up in a great embrace and lifted her off the ground.
Caitlin squealed with surprised laughter and held on to his neck as she was lifted, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

Marcus looked at her nestled in his arms. "I love…being with you." He set her down gently.

Caitlin’s wind-chime voice said, "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I try to hide it, you know, like some kind of cool cat." Marcus shook his head, enjoying the fact that Caitlin had not let go of his neck. Her bright, shining eyes looked up at him.

Marcus continued in a lower voice. "That’s why I didn’t call you Kitty Cait right away in front of the others."

"But I like it when you call me that. It’s like…special attention just for me." She laughed at herself. "Okay, that sounded lame."

Marcus gently chided her. "No, it didn’t. That is what your nickname is for. Special attention."

And she flushed, her gaze dropping to somewhere on his chest. "Then, we’re going to have to spend a lot more time together."

Marcus could feel the future pressing on him, even as he tilted her head upwards to his. He knew he had only a moment before…

His eyes glazed.

In the space between two instants, he saw the possibilities. Future time lines emanated from this spot in a dizzying array. He could only focus on one: the one where he told her he wanted to be friends, that she needed to find someone else, the one where he ate his heart and pushed it deep inside himself to protect her. In that line, he continued to live his life unfettered by complications. He wouldn’t have periods of darkness or fear for what would happen next. He would live a grey life, but it would be a predictable one.

But he wanted to kiss her.

The lines faded as the vision ended, and he knew that he would pay any price for this timeless moment.

"I’ll pay that," he mumbled as his vision cleared.

Caitlin waited in his arms, unmoving, holding her breath as she waited for him to decide the moment’s fate.

Marcus continued to advance, the distance between them closing. His musky body odor, still potent from the day’s exertions and this moment’s promise, filled the decreasing space between them. His breath warmed her face as he inexorably drew closer. Caitlin smiled as Marcus brought his lips closer to hers…her eyes dipped closed and she breathed in his scent, the moment…everything.

They kissed.

Some indeterminate time later, when they parted and gravity returned, Marcus whispered, "You have witchcraft in your lips, Cait."

Caitlin giggled and blushed. "What did you see, Marcus?"

"I saw…future lines. All of them coming out of this moment. I could lead a simple, uncomplicated life for a while. No major emotional problems, no real huge ups…or downs."

Caitlin furrowed her brow in thought. "You mean…if…if you…"

Marcus smiled down at her. "But I kissed you instead."

Caitlin smiled, her confusion gone.

"I…I don’t know what’s going to happen, Cait." He moved close to her again,
less than an inch away. He whispered a feather touch into her ear. "Let’s find out together."

Caitlin trembled against him, her smile growing happier, breathing in his presence as tiny goosebumps spread down along her neck from her ear, and she whispered, "I’d like that, Marcus."

He held her close, breathing in the fragrance of her hair. There was no rush.

There was time.