Spoliers for 2x23: Heroes
Sunday, October 31st, 10:00
“Aiden!” Maddy yelled, loudly, disturbing Aiden from her moment of peace.
Aiden took one last look at the Sydney Opera House – funny how she had to be dead to be able to get to travel the world. Seriously, being dead had its bonuses: no laundry, being able to go wherever she wanted… although, The Powers That Be had reprimanded both her and Maddy when they decided to pay a visit to Johnny Depp. Was it their fault he happened to be in the shower? “What’s up?”
“The guys in charge want to see us.”
“Us?” Aiden repeated, a grin spreading across her face. “Does that mean it’s time to kick some ass?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be telling you we need to go see the bosses, would I?” Maddy told her impatiently.
Aiden stuck her tongue out. She gave the Sydney harbour one last look and vanished, following after Maddy
“Aiden!” Maddy yelled, loudly, disturbing Aiden from her moment of peace.
Aiden took one last look at the Sydney Opera House – funny how she had to be dead to be able to get to travel the world. Seriously, being dead had its bonuses: no laundry, being able to go wherever she wanted… although, The Powers That Be had reprimanded both her and Maddy when they decided to pay a visit to Johnny Depp. Was it their fault he happened to be in the shower? “What’s up?”
“The guys in charge want to see us.”
“Us?” Aiden repeated, a grin spreading across her face. “Does that mean it’s time to kick some ass?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be telling you we need to go see the bosses, would I?” Maddy told her impatiently.
Aiden stuck her tongue out. She gave the Sydney harbour one last look and vanished, following after Maddy
Sunday, October 31st, 10:03
It still amused Aiden that the afterlife was as much of a corporate system as life was. There was the elusive ‘Big Guy’, the CEO, who Aiden had yet to meet. That being said, she’d been dead for a week, and Maddy, who had been dead for months still had to see Him. Below Him were the executives, The Powers That Be, and they really weren’t what Aiden had imagined them to be. Well, she hadn’t envisioned the corporate system, but these guys?
One of them was Bartholomew. He was the one who seemed to do most of the talking. He looked like a walrus. A walrus dressed in an upper-class Victorian period suit, daft hat and big moustache included. “Aiden, Madeline.” Aiden could feel Maddy grimace – for some reason she hated that name. “Next job for you,” Bartholomew continued. “There’s going to be an explosion – a bomb, in the building Taylor works in. Aiden, your job is to make sure she doesn’t get killed.”
“What about mine, B?” Maddy asked, making Aiden smile. Maddy, as she had come to realise, was just like her.
Bartholomew was, despite the appearance, much like Mac. A stickler for the rules, but could occasionally have a laugh. And that was how both Maddy and Aiden could get away with them calling him ‘B’, with only a rolling of eyes at them. “Your job, Madeline, is to meet the spirit of someone who is going to die in the explosion, from Exam 3 at Trinity Hospital at 12:51.”
“Coolios,” said both Maddy and Aiden.
Sunday, October 31st, 11:15
Aiden had been lurking around Taylor’s office for a while now. According to B, the bomb was going to detonate at 11:17. Looking at the clock, Aiden could tell that Taylor wasn’t going to make her first assignment a particularly easy one. The fire alarm had been going off for several minutes now, and Taylor was taking her time saving her article. Fat lot of good that was going to do!
Finally, Taylor got to her feet and gathered her belongings together. Aiden stepped back, not that it made much difference: she had had strict instruction not to let Taylor see her. B had mentioned something about a final test. So she had been watching her, knowing that Taylor was unable to see her. She followed her out of the room.
Had she been alive, her heart would have stopped as two familiar voices caught her attention. Her fears were confirmed as she saw Mac and Flack. She knew that Flack was going to die. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to be a shock. Aiden pushed the thought from her mind. She would worry about that later. She had a job to do.
She stuck close to Taylor, watching as she tried to go back further into the building – she really was going to make her work – but she stopped when her colleague appeared. The four living people turned to leave, Aiden close to Taylor, when the explosion happened.
And everything slowed down. It was like life was happening in slow motion – the big ball of fire heading towards them, the building shaking, glass, wood, metal flying in all directions. As well as people. Aiden turned, knocking a huge metal shard which was heading towards Taylor, on a different path, and grabbed onto Taylor’s arm as both she, Taylor, and Flack – who was still holding on – went flying backwards, still in slow motion. As they flew backwards, so did the shrapnel. Aiden manoeuvred herself through the air, so that she was covering Taylor, and deflected the shrapnel away – well, all but one piece that managed to lodge itself in Taylor’s thigh.
Taylor and Flack landed on their back, next to each other. Aiden landed on her knees on the other side of Taylor, and flipped over, seeing the huge chunk of ceiling that was about to rain down on them. She stood up and pushed it out of the way – not far enough. It landed on Taylor’s right arm. Aiden winced, thankful that Taylor had been knocked unconscious and couldn’t feel it. And then the building began to settle.
When Aiden was sure nothing else was heading towards Taylor, short of a hell of a lot of dust, she stood to one side and looked around.
She was the only thing that wasn’t grey. Her white and gold suit still looked like it was brand new. In fact, her hair also still looked like she had just stepped out of a salon. Next to Taylor was Flack. And in Flack was a hole. A great bloody hole that shouldn’t be there. Aiden’s mouth dropped open as she dropped to the floor next to him.
What would you do if he died before next week even started?
She had tried to tell Taylor –she’d gotten into enough trouble on that one – but she couldn’t just let him die without him being happy. He deserved more than that. Hell, he didn’t deserve to be dead. He was young, and he was just doing his job.
Sunday, October 31st, 12:51
Aiden met Maddy and Flack outside of the ER.
“Aiden?” said Flack. He was clearly in shock. Well, he had just died – it was hardly surprising.
Aiden managed a weak smile, “Taylor?” she asked Maddy.
Maddy nodded. It was time.
Sunday, October 31st, 12:54
Every expletive Taylor could think of was running through her head – in English, Spanish and Italian – she would be able to make any sailor wince if he could hear her. Vocally, she was repeating the same word over and over. “No, no, no, no…”
“I’m sorry, Taylor,” Maddy apologised.
“No.”
“It had to be done,” Aiden told her.
“NO!” Taylor roared. “No it does not.”
“Taylor-”
“Madeline Sophia Almeda,” Taylor said firmly. “No.”
“The Powers That Be-”
“You know what, The Powers Can Be can go and stick their heads so far up their own a-”
The room went white.
Taylor had to blink a few times to get the light out of her eyes before she realised that someone else had joined the room. “Who the hell is that?” she demanded. “Because I told you, The Powers That-”
“Uh, Tay,” Maddy interrupted. “This is one of the guys you wanted to tell they can, uh-”
“My name is Matthew,” said the new guy.
Taylor eyed him suspiciously. He looked more like a farmer than any form of God or Demi-God, or Power That Be. Having said that, Maddy and Aiden’s behaviour was certainly different towards him. “Good,” she said surprisingly calmly. Instead of saying anything, Matthew merely observed her. “You can put his spirit back in his body,” Taylor continued.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Yeah, you can,” Taylor corrected him. And you will. Right now.”
Matthew shook his head, “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he repeated.
“Then you go back up there, and you find someone who can. And you do it.”
“You can’t raise the dead.”
“You can do anything you want. It’s not too late – the doctors in there are fighting for his life right now!” Taylor was in tears, but she kept her voice calm and even. “So, you pack his spirit up and you put it back in his body.”
“And why would we do that?” Matthew asked her, equally as calmly as he cocked his head to observe her reaction.
Taylor’s mouth dropped open, “Forget for one minute about what this is doing to me, alright, put that aside and think of everybody else. Think about Danny. You guys are about to send him into some void that will take him ages to get out of, if he does. He’s lost one of his best friends, you’ve made the stupid decision to get rid of his other best friend, and don’t let me get started on Louie.” Barely pausing, she decided that maybe she should get started on Louie. “He’s in a hospital on the other side of town, after the crap was beaten out of him, lying in a coma, which he keeps slipping in and out of because you guys can’t make up your mind whether or not he’s supposed to be alive or not. Getting past Danny, Don has four other friends who are searching high and low over the city to find the guy who took his life. He has a mother, a father, and siblings who are going to be devastated. And then there’s the fact the city is going to lose one of its best homicide detectives!” Taylor lost all control then. “And for what? Some stupid plan? Well, you know what? Screw this plan. You’re going to put his spirit back in his body, where it belongs. Or else.”
“Or else what?” Matthew asked.
Taylor folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at the man in front of her. “Or else you guys are going to lose me.”
Matthew just remained staring at her, calmly. “We would lose you?”
“Yeah, because the one thing you can’t factor over is human behaviour. God knows that you making me see dead people has allowed me to learn that one,” Taylor pointed out. “And if you lose me, that’s going to put some damper on your plan whilst you find yourself a replacement for me, which, I might add, is going to take another eight months before they’re at the same level as me.”
“You sound pretty confident. How do you know that you’re the only one who can see ghosts?”
“I don’t give a damn if I’m one of a million, or one in three,” Taylor snapped, finally losing her temper. “In eight months I have lost my best friend. I have lost sleep, lost weight, lost my appetite. You have shown me children, teenagers, adults, old people. People who have been shot, strangled, poisoned. Hell, you even showed me Aiden’s very graphic death. I have had to make the entire team believe me – something which I’m still working on. And on top of all of that, I have been thrown around, bruised, hit, had cans launched at my head – and half of the time, the ones causing the pain were dead!” Matthew continued to stare at her. “SO, YOU PUT HIS SPIRIT BACK IN HIS BODY, AND YOU DO IT NOW!” she roared.
Matthew looked at her – she was crying, trembling, and breathing heavily, but there was something in her eyes. He nodded.
Taylor, quite prepared to continue her rant, faltered. “Uh, what?”
“Very well,” Matthew told her. “But, be warned: we won’t forget this.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The room was bathed in bright white light, again blinding Taylor.
Sunday, October 31st, 12:54
When her eyes finally readjusted, she was alone. Taylor raced out of the room, down the corridor and burst into the ER.
“He’s back!” one of the doctors yelled.
Taylor sank to the floor, tears of relief streaming down her face, as she looked at the clock. 12:54. Despite the conversation that had just taken place, no time had passed. Flack had been dead, and she had saved him. The tears fell harder as she began sobbing.
Originally posted 25/07/2006