"What the hell is this?" Courtney asked, shoving her phone in Sawyer's face. A video was playing on it, someone's cell phone footage of the Legion-Chaos fight earlier that day.
Sawyer crumpled at her question and held his head in his hands.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "Odin made me do it. I...I didn't want to die."
Joey was at work, but Courtney, Cleo, Ned and Ida were all in the common area, with Darius preparing food in the kitchen. Ned was scribbling something on his tablet, with Ida sitting next to him and watching over his shoulder. Cleo sat on a cushion on the floor, her homework on the tablet in front of her. As soon as Sawyer had come in the door, Courtney had gone after him.
She stared at Sawyer for a good moment or two, then sighed and backed off.
"Sorry. I forgot you're unable to defy him. I'll take this up with Odin later."
"I didn't want to do it!" Sawyer yelled, slamming his hand onto the floor. "Dammit, did I kill someone? I didn't even stay to watch! I...I..." Tears streamed down his face.
"So what?" Ida asked, glancing their direction. "What if some bad guy died? Who cares? You're the one who survived."
"But I killed them!" Sawyer snapped, glaring at her.
"How?" Ida looked at him completely unruffled.
"I set the thing up! I knew Odin was going to use it to kill someone and I set it up anyway. If it weren't for me, they'd still be alive!"
"Calm down, Sawyer," Courtney said gently, kneeling down next to him. "They don't know for sure that anyone died yet. Cold Snap was hurt, but they don't know how badly."
"I hope she's dead," Ida muttered.
"Shut it! What do you know?" Sawyer grabbed a shoe and made to throw it at her, but Courtney grabbed his wrist before he could.
"Calm down. She's a child. You shouldn't be taking things out on her. She doesn't understand how the world works yet."
"Excuse me?" Ida asked, glaring at Courtney. "You know I can hear you, right?"
"It's true, though," Courtney said, glancing at Ida. "You're a kid. Everything looks simple to you, and you don't understand just how complicated this all is."
"The hell? You dismissing me because of my size, bitch?" Ida hopped off the couch and walked over to Courtney.
"Ida, I don't have time to deal with you right now. Sawyer needs help."
"He did nothing wrong. Someone's gotta get these Miracle bastards gone. And he's the one who made a deal with Odin."
"Ida." Courtney looked sharply at her. "Go back to watching Ned. The grown-ups need to have a discussion."
"Go to hell."
"Ida, you need to watch your language."
"I said go to hell!"
"Ida, that is not the sort of thing - "
"I say what I want, dammit! Now quit treating me like half a human."
"I can't take this!" Sawyer yelled, standing up abruptly and stomping off towards his room. Not long after, they heard a door slam.
"Now look what you've done," Courtney said tiredly. "Go back to your dad, Ida."
Ida didn't move, glaring at Courtney.
"Uh, Ida...?" Ned asked, putting his tablet aside.
"Ida, leave Courtney alone," Cleo said. "You probably don't understand what it's like when someone dies. All their future possibilities are cut off. The people they leave behind are hurt. It feels like your heart's being ripped apart. I hope it's a long time before someone you know dies, but it feels wretched and unfair. It..." She took a breath and looked back towards her homework.
"Future possibilities cut off. That also includes the possibility that they do anything stupid," Ida said coldly. "Dead people don't kill."
"And the possibility that they change," Courtney said, placing a hand on Ida's tiny shoulder. "You have to give people a chance to change. If you don't, they never will."
"How's that worked out for you so far?" Ida asked, slapping Courtney's hand away. "Any of your dirty bastard enemies turned around and become nice all of a sudden?"
"Ida, that's not the point."
"You'll let these bastards live because someday they might change. Meanwhile, people with nothing to do with this are dying. How you gonna explain that to their families? The people whose hearts are ripped apart because you're too much of a damn coward to kill."
"We're making sure no one dies," Courtney said. "That's our job as defenders of the peace. Nobody dies."
"Your ideals make me wanna puke."
"We're not letting everyone live because we think they'll change. We're letting them live because it's the right thing to do," Courtney said firmly, standing so she towered over Ida.
"Sometimes there is no right thing," Ida spat, then turned and stomped away. She slammed Odin's door behind her.
"Poor kid," Cleo said with a sigh. "Odin's really messed her up."
"What do you expect with him as a parent?" Courtney asked with a sigh.
Ned stared at the door she'd left through, deep in thought.
"I'm going to go check on Sawyer," Courtney said. "And I'll apologize for Ida's behaviour. Maybe with us around, she'll learn to be better. She could probably use some good adult influences in her life."
"You really think we can make a difference?" Cleo asked. "She seems pretty set in her ways."
"She's still a kid. She's got lots of time to grow and change," Courtney said, smiling gently.
"I hope so. I've tried looking into her past and future, but I can't see a thing," Cleo said softly. "She's a complete unknown."
"You don't have to use your clairvoyance to see someone," Courtney laughed. "I thought you hated using it to peep."
"Yeah, but...with Ida, I'm really worried."
Courtney glanced at the door the girl had left through. "I get that. With Odin as a primary influence, and nobody but him and Darius around, it'll be a wonder if she grows up at all well-adjusted. Then again, we'll do what we can and hope that that's enough."
With that, she left for Sawyer's room. Ned didn't say a word, just focusing on his drawings, while Cleo went back to her homework.
"Morons. Idiots. Imbeciles!"
Ida threw her fist at the wall and leaned her head against it.
"Why is this so hard?"
She turned so her back was to the wall and slid until she sat on the floor.
"Dammit. Dammit. Dammit."
