Justice/Loneliness (Aspects Book 2)

by L. C. Mawson

  “Don’t tempt fate,” Vengeance warned her with a shake of his head.

  Love rolled her eyes at his superstitious nonsense.

  “As long as you keep coming back alive, I’m happy,” Hate chimed in.

  Love gave her a reassuring smile. “As long as you’re there with me, coming back alive is a guarantee.”

  Hate smiled back before Empathy spoke up again.

  “Speaking of people sickeningly in love,” she turned to Justice, “Loneliness is here. She said she would wait for you in your room, and then winked, and then remembered that I’m still only fourteen, despite the fact that I looked like her. I think she also forgot that I was in her head and was under no illusions as to what she intended her comment to mean.”

  Justice blushed a little, looking away awkwardly.

  None of them liked to think about the fact that Empathy also picked up thoughts like that when she was around them.

  As much as it wasn’t her fault, it still felt like one boundary too far.

  Justice’s embarrassment only lasted for a moment, however, before she hurried off with an excited grin.

  Love couldn’t help but smile, happy for her.

  Once she was gone, Jealousy turned to Vengeance. “Can we go to the practice room for a bit? I think I have the hang of that move you showed me with the spear. In fact, it might be my favourite weapon.”

  Vengeance nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Once they were gone, Love turned to her sister. “So, what were you doing while we were gone? You looked like Pain when you first came in here.”

  Empathy nodded. “He’s been helping me with my latest project. Rather than simply trying to find a nest every time someone spots a monster, I’m trying to come up with a map of them. It would be helpful for pinpointing exactly how many are close to the city, and I think it would tell us a lot about their nesting habits.”

  “More information about them can only be a good thing,” Love agreed.

  Before any of them could say anything else, Empathy’s hair turned sandy blonde once more.

  She spun around to look back at the door, seeing that Pain had entered.

  He moved so silently that Love could never catch him entering the room, but Empathy always seemed to tune into him as soon as he was near.

  “You should come upstairs and see the work we’ve done on the map so far,” Empathy said. “Later, I mean.”

  Love nodded, knowing that Empathy intended to head off with Pain.

  “See you then,” Empathy said before turning to meet Pain and leave the room.

  “So, are they dating or not?” Hate asked as she sidled up to Love, putting her arm through hers. “I’m never quite sure.”

  Love shrugged. “If they are, Empathy hasn’t told me. But then, they’ve been this close since before I arrived, so who knows...”

  “I suppose, when they’re together, Empathy looks just like him. It would be a little like dating yourself.” Hate shook her head. “Anyway, since we had such a successful mission, should we have something special for tea to celebrate?”

  Love smiled, rolling her eyes. “You always suggest that. With as many successes as we’ve been having lately, I’m going to get fat if we celebrate them all like this.”

  Hate groaned. “As if. You’re training in the gym every day we’re not on a mission. You’re fine. And anyway, I need the calories. Ever since I replaced snacking with fidget toys, I’ll be lucky if I don’t waste away.”

  Love’s smile turned to a grin as she shook her head. “Okay, we’ll have whatever you want.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Love couldn’t help but smile as she woke up to the familiar feeling of her girlfriend’s arm around her.

  As much as Hate worried, Love couldn’t conceive of her power failing her when she woke up like that every morning.

  She turned to see Hate still sound asleep, her jet black hair sticking to her face a little.

  Love’s smile widened at the sight, though it didn’t last long. Hate’s calm features quickly morphed into a frown, and she began to toss and turn.

  Love immediately grabbed her shoulders, trying to jolt her awake before her nightmares resulted in the use of her powers.

  That could get messy.

  Thankfully, Hate awoke with a gasp before her powers activated, her eyes welling with tears as she turned to Love and realised what had happened.

  “Are you okay?” Love asked after a moment.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Hate managed.

  Love knew that it was a lie, but she also knew that the lie meant that the nightmare had been nothing out of the ordinary.

  Ever since they had dealt with Geral – or, rather, Hate had dealt with Geral by frying him to a crisp – she'd struggled to sleep.

  “What time is it?” Hate asked as she rubbed her eyes, in a transparent attempt to change the subject.

  Love glanced over to the clock. “Just after eight.”

  “We’ve slept in.”

  Love shrugged. “After our success yesterday, I think it’s allowed.”

  Hate smiled as she finished rubbing her eyes, leaving the area more than a little red. “So you’re not interested in celebratory dinner, but you are interested in celebratory lie-ins?”

  Love shrugged again before stretching her arms above her head. “It’s not usually something we get to have. Speaking of, shouldn’t Justice have called us about being late for morning drills?”

  Hate smirked. “She’s probably pretty occupied herself.”

  Love couldn’t help but smirk back, shaking her head. “Perhaps this will mean that, in the future, she will be a little more lenient about us being occupied in the morning.”

  “Speaking of,” Hate said, her voice low and husky with sleep as she leaned in to capture her girlfriend’s lips in hers.

  Love was just about to move her hand up from Hate’s waist to her chest when they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

  They fell apart with a groan as Hate yelled, “What is it?”

  The door opened to reveal Empathy. She looked mostly like Justice, but she had Loneliness’ golden blonde hair and full figure.

  Her skin lightened to match Hate’s as she entered, her hair darkening to match Love’s.

  Her cheeks quickly turned pink as she stepped into the room, the door closing behind her as she averted her gaze.

  Love realised that she must have picked up on what they had been doing before she entered.

  She cleared her throat before asking, “So, what do you need, Em?”

  “I just... I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you would be... I just thought you could help.”

  Love frowned. “Help with what?”

  Empathy sighed. “I’m not sure. I scratched my hand during morning drills with Pain, but the medkit was out of plasters. I went to the infirmary to get more, but Justice and Loneliness were already in there. They were arguing.” Empathy looked down at her hand. “I didn’t even need the plaster, it turns out. As soon as I changed to look like someone else, it healed up.”

  “Do you know what they were fighting about?” Hate asked. “It’s not like them to fight. At least, not in a public place.”

  Empathy shrugged. “It was hard to make out. I think Loneliness passed out? But for some reason, Justice was mad at her. Or at least, Loneliness thought she was. I was mostly in Loneliness’ head, which was why I came here. She was close to a meltdown, and I don’t think Justice realised. I would have said something, but I couldn’t talk while I was around them.” She nodded to Love. “I thought you might be the best person to go and see what was happening. Loneliness might just need another autistic person with her.”

  Love nodded as she got out of bed, quickly pulling on a hoodie over her pyjamas. “Okay, I’ll go see what’s happening.”

  Hate frowned. “They might not want anyone intruding on this argument.”

  Love shrugged. “Then they shouldn’t have had it in a public place. Empathy has already he
ard half of it, so better that I listen to the rest than leave it be. Especially if Empathy is right about Loneliness being on the verge of meltdown.”

  Hate nodded with a sigh. “You need me to come with you?”

  Love shook her head. “I shouldn’t be long. And while one of us should definitely go and see what’s happening, more than one person would probably be too much.”

  “Then I’ll be here when you get back.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Love entered the infirmary and quickly came to the conclusion that Empathy’s assessment was correct.

  Justice was pacing up and down the room, clearly agitated, while Loneliness was sitting silent and still, except for the hand that she was hitting against the corner of the metal frame of the examination table she was sitting on.

  The meat of her palm made next to no noise as the metal cut into it, leaving blood trailing down out of Justice’s sight.

  Love sighed, recognising that Loneliness was doing her best to hide her distress, but the question was why...

  “So, are we finally past this madness? Can we just get on with it?” Justice demanded as she finally stopped pacing, facing her girlfriend.

  Loneliness shook her head, and Love suspected that she wouldn’t have been able to speak even if she wanted to.

  Justice let out a frustrated sigh before shaking her head. “Fine,” she said quickly. “We’ll do it tonight. You know that Bennett won’t give us any more time than that. Hell, we’ll be lucky if she gives us even a few hours. But fine, it doesn’t have to be now. Just... Familiarise yourself with the procedure or whatever else is bothering you and then we can just get this over with.”

  She turned towards the door, hesitating for just a moment as she saw Love, though she quickly got over her surprise and stormed right past her.

  As soon as she was out of the room, tears began to stream down Loneliness’ face.

  “Are you okay?” Love asked as she approached.

  Loneliness shook her head.

  “Can you talk?”

  Another shake.

  “Can you sign?”

  Another shake.

  “Okay, that’s fine. Empathy overheard some of your argument before, but your emotions were running so high that she couldn’t really make sense of what was going on. She said that you passed out?”

  Loneliness nodded.

  “Why would you passing out make Justice angry with you?”

  Loneliness pointed over to the terminal next to her.

  Love frowned a little before realising that there was some kind of scan on the display. She wished for Empathy’s ability to absorb the medical knowledge for a few moments, before realising that even she recognised what was in front of her.

  “That’s a baby, right?” Love asked as she turned back to Loneliness. “I mean, not yet, but that’s an early scan of one before it’s born, right?”

  Loneliness nodded, her hand going to her lower abdomen.

  “Oh,” Love managed as the pieces clicked into place. “That’s your scan?”

  Another nod.

  “You’re pregnant?”

  Another nod.

  “And Justice is the... Other mother?”

  Another nod.

  “So, what’s the problem? Why was Justice mad?”

  “Because it’s against the rules,” Loneliness eventually managed, her voice hoarse. “And Jay always has to follow the damn rules.”

  “But you’re already pregnant. I mean, are they really going to punish you for that?”

  “They don’t consider it a punishment. And apparently, neither does Jay. As far as they’re concerned, they would just be correcting my mistake...”

  Love fell silent as she realised what Loneliness meant.

  “But they can’t force you into that, can they?”

  Loneliness gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry to say that they can. Once we become Aspects, everything about our lives becomes theirs to control. We don’t have rights or autonomy anymore. We don’t even keep our names. Having a baby would jeopardise my ability to be in the fight, not to mention my ability to draw my power. Jay isn’t wrong in saying that Bennett will force the issue. I just thought she would be on my side, not theirs.”

  “I... I knew that we handed over nearly every aspect of our lives to them but forcing you to have an abortion if you want to keep the baby... I mean, I’m assuming you want to keep it, and that’s the problem.”

  Loneliness looked away with a sigh. “Did you know that Justice and I used to know each other before we became Aspects? I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t have a crush on her. As soon as I knew what that meant, I knew that I had those feelings for her. Not that I would have ever done anything about it. I didn’t exactly have a lot of friends as a kid, and past experiences put me off wanting to approach anyone new. But Vengeance was playing with his friends one day and accidentally kicked the ball over to me, hitting me in the head.

  “He apologised, and Justice decided to take me to the nurse to get patched up. She stayed with me the whole time and asked if I wanted to play with them afterwards. I was never very good at team sports, so she sat with me instead and talked with me about the book I had been reading.

  “The next time there was a school dance, she asked me to go with her. Or rather, she asked Vengeance to ask me for her.” Loneliness smiled, but it had a bittersweet edge to it. “We were together from then onwards. We were going to go to university together and then move in together and get married and have kids... There was this whole intricate plan...”

  Loneliness trailed off, and it didn’t take long for Love to realise what had happened next.

  “Then one of you became an Aspect.”

  Loneliness nodded. “Justice and Vengeance just disappeared one day. I went to their house, and their mother was crying... She said that they had been taken away and assured me that if Justice had been given a choice, she would have said goodbye. I remember not being sure if I actually would have preferred that or not. I mean, how do you say goodbye to someone you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with?”

  “So when did you become an Aspect?”

  “About a year later. Without the twins... I loved Justice with everything I had, but Vengeance was my best friend outside of her. I didn’t really have anyone else. All of my other friends were really their friends who just kind of put up with me. And I lost contact with most of them when I went to university anyway. Let’s just say it wasn’t a surprise when they told me that I was the next Aspect of Loneliness.

  “I asked if I could live at this Tower with the twins, but I was told that being near them would weaken my power. So I could finally see the only two people I had ever been close to again but only when the job dictated.

  “To be honest, I wasn’t sure that Justice would still even care about me. I mean, it had been a year, and she’s pretty amazing. I just assumed that she would have found someone else. But then I saw her again and...”

  A hand went to a locket under her shirt.

  “Justice gave me this when we were still in school. It was supposed to be a promise that we would stay together. When she saw that I still had it... Well, I guess things just went from there.

  “I knew that we couldn’t have what we had before. I knew that we couldn’t live together or get married or have kids... I always thought that it was unfair, but I understood before. The monsters were actively trying to get into the cities and hurt people. But now?

  “This wasn’t intentional. I’m just kind of bad about remembering to take contraception... But yeah, I’ve known this was a possibility for a while now, and I have avoided getting any medical tests done. Not that that’s difficult anymore, given that we Aspects barely have a job... I swear, if this had happened a year ago, I would have just dealt with it. But it doesn’t seem fair now. Not when the monsters are no longer threatening the cities. Why can’t Justice and I just have this.” Tears welled up in her eyes again. “Not that she actually appears
to want it anymore...”

  “Justice seemed more than a little riled up before,” Love reasoned. “Maybe she wasn’t thinking straight in the heat of the moment.”

  Loneliness sighed. “No, I know her too well. This is against the rules, and she has always been someone who follows the rules.”

  “That doesn’t sound much like justice to me.”

  Loneliness gave a sad smile. “Well, no, I suppose she has broken the occasional rule, when she deemed that rule unjust. I thought she would this time, but evidently not...”

  “I’ll go talk to her. Maybe she just needs someone else to go over this with.”

  Loneliness nodded. “I guess I’ll just wait here until Bennett comes to force things.”

  “I’ll be back before then, I promise.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Love checked Justice’s room first but found it empty.

  Luckily, she headed straight for the training room after that and found both of the twins in the middle of a heated discussion.

  She decided to hang back, waiting to see what Vengeance was saying before she interrupted.

  “You’re an idiot,” he told his sister plainly, and Love was glad she decided not to cut in.

  Maybe she wouldn’t have to convince Justice at all. Maybe her brother would do it before they even spoke.

  “It’s not that simple,” Justice defended.

  “Yeah, it is,” Vengeance said, folding his arms. “You know what this means for Loneliness. You can’t not. You spent years planning your future together, you know how much having kids means to her.”

  “Meant to her,” Justice corrected. “Before we became Aspects. Before... Well, before everything.”

  “And you really think she’s changed her mind?”

  “She told me that she was more than happy to leave all that behind. That she didn’t care what she had to give up to become an Aspect – what our lives looked like now – as long as we were together.”

  “That doesn’t mean that she wanted to give up on the idea of having kids, that just means that it was something she was willing to trade to be with you. But now she’s actually pregnant, and the possibility is staring her in the face, and you just told her to hurry up and get on with the abortion.”