Who: Kitty, Diana and Chloe What: Kitty and Diana are going out on a date, but someone cut the brakes on Chloe's truck and a car accident happens instead. When: Today Where: Intersection, then a hospital Warnings: Car accident, some blood, broken limbs, references to a past character death
Diana was actually driving her old car that day. As much as she loved her Alfa Romeo, she didnât always like driving it. Unless she wanted to take Kitty for a ride or take her somewhere fancier for a date. Diana was feeling better, especially after their trip. Seeing her mother and aunt had helped with some of the emotional bleedover from her dreams. There was still some brooding happening, but Diana was more able to shake it off.
Besides, spending a week on a Greek adventure with Kitty had also gone a long way to helping as well.
She got to Kittyâs and waited for her. Their date today wouldnât be anywhere near as exciting or exotic as the trip to Greece, but it was still time they would spend together.
It had really been an amazing trip that had reenergized Kitty. Sheâd seen things sheâd never seen in person before, which had been an increasingly rare thing for Kitty to experience. And to experience them with Diana? It had been utterly amazing.
âHey sexy.â Kitty pulled the door open and slid into the car. âGuess weâre not going anywhere fancy huh?â
âNot today. I thought something more lowkey was better.â Diana waited until Kitty was in her seat before she leaned over and gave her a hello kiss. After all, they had just had quite the vacation, sometimes lowkey was better than a fancy restaurant or something of the sort.
âIâm good with that.â Kitty slid her hands into Dianaâs hair, making sure the hello kiss was a little longer than necessary. âSure we couldnât just stay in?â
Diana was happy with the hello kiss lasting a little longer than necessary. She chuckled a bit at Kittyâs question. âYou canât always have dessert before dinner,â she teased lightly.
âI know, but I like seeing the look on your face when the subject comes up.â Kitty was an unabashed hedonist, and sheâd be the first to admit that. Settling back in the seat, she tapped her fingers on her knee.
âThe kids loved the souvenirs.â
Diana just laughed and shook her head as she shifted back into her seat, then headed off. âOh good, Iâm glad to hear that. Hopefully they werenât disappointed that they were able to go this time?â Diana was certainly open to taking a vacation with Kitty and the twins.
âThey were okay with it, as long as they get to go next time.â Kitty hoped there was a next time. Would that make it a family vacation?
Fuck, was she ready for family vacations with Diana? Did that make her family?
She glanced at Diana, trying to imagine her in a wedding dress. It was simultaneously a terrifying and exhilarating thought.
âPerhaps that can be arranged,â she said with a smile. Diana wouldnât push it, however. It would happen when they were ready for it to happen. Besides, Kitty had just survived the gambit of meeting Dianaâs mother and aunt, which hadnât been exactly easy, but it had gone far better than Diana had anticipated. Her mother could be a bit overbearing sometimes, as could her aunt.
âWhat if we went some place neither of us has been,â Kitty suggested. âThat way we could all experience it for the first time together? Iâve never been to two entire continents. Three if you count Australia. Which is kind of funny considering my team in my dreams was stuck there for a year or three. Only I thought they were dead. Bastards.â
âConsidering Iâve only been to Europe and North America, thatâs easy for me. Where havenât you been to?â Diana asked. The place they were going to was across town. âThey didnât let you know they were still alive? That does sound rather terrible of them.â
âThey faked their deaths while saving the world. It was to protect the rest of us but we spent so long thinking they were dead that it hurt they never tried to send a message.â Kitty frowned, sitting back and folding her arms. âIâll do some research, find us a place to go.â
Diana frowned slightly, reaching over and setting a hand on Kittyâs knee. âI am certain that you will find us a great place to go visit.â She had a feeling that whatever Kitty chose would be both family-friendly and full of adventure at the same time.
âSome place a little old, with some newer things. Maybe close to a beach.â They couldnât really beat a beach, and she knew the twins enjoyed swimming. âA little educational too. Theyâd love and hate that.â
âWell, when you find the place, let me know so I can read up on the history and I can have stories prepared to entertain them.â Because Diana knew they rather liked her stories. So perhaps she could keep them occupied at times and have them learn something at the same time.
Meanwhile, Chloe had jumped in her truck, intent on heading for the caboose she and Rachel shared. She was actually in a decent mood and had the radio cranked on one of the heavy metal stations. Chloe was also going a little over the speed limit, but not too much over it.
âThatâs the plan,â Kitty assured her. âIâd like to do that myself but I think Iâd rather just let you do the talking. Youâve got a good voice for that. My storytelling is the more fantastical kind. Fairy tales.â
Sometime, a few days ago, someone had carefully worn down the brake line until it was fraying and ready to break at anytime.
âThere is always room for fairy tales, you know,â Diana reminded Kitty. She herself was fond of fairy tales. But she also knew when to tell more historically accurate stories as well. Historically accurate stories dashed with a bit of mythology where applicable, of course.
Chloe was moving her head to the beat of the music, not quite headbanging because she was driving, but she just couldnât sit still when a good song was playing. She saw the light ahead turn red, and she went to brake...and she missed the sound her truck made because her music was a little too loud for her to hear it, but she definitely felt that she wasnât stopping.
âThe fuck?â Chloe asked as she glanced down and tried the brake again. But nothing was happening. Panic started running through her, along with a crippling fear that she was going to die just like her dad. Because she could see cars crossing the intersection in front of her. She couldnât steer out of it because there were cars stopped in the lanes on either side of the lane she was in. All she could do was pray to whoever was listening as she couldnât stop.
Her truck entered the intersection, crossing the first lanes of traffic without incident. However, Diana was the unlucky one. She saw the truck at the last second and didnât have time to react before her car got t-boned and everything went momentarily black.
One moment, Kitty was laughing and starting to tell Diana about her favorite stories, the next there was nothing but screaming metal and the world spinning. Kitty reacted on instinct, her powers kicking in to save her life and phasing her out of the car.
And Kitty was back in the airplane 5 years ago, Xiâanâs face speeding away from her as she fell towards the back of the airplane and into the sky. Only this time it was Diana, and when Kitty snapped back to the present, she could see the wreck. The smashed truck and Dianaâs car turned into a ball of steel and broken glass.
For a moment, she forgot who Diana was and her world crumbled around her. Like Dianaâs car.
Diana regained consciousness somewhat quickly. She groaned a little, shaking her head a bit. She was in pain, but she could feel all of her limbs, which was a good thing. She glanced to her right, and felt initial panic at not seeing Kitty in the passenger seat. But then she noticed there was no sign that Kitty had been thrown out of the car by the impact, and she remembered her phasing power.
Glancing to her left, she saw the mangled truck that had become enveloped in her car. She didnât immediately see anyone in the truck and she got worried. Unable to get out of her side of the car, she needed to crawl out of the passenger side. She started to crawl over to the passenger side. There was a little trickle of blood dribbling down the side of her face from having hit her head in the impact. She thought she mightâve broken something, but she was ignoring that for the time being.
Chloe, on the other hand, was a crumpled mess on the seat of her truck. There was a sizeable gash across her forehead that was bleeding. Her right leg was at an angle that a leg should not be at. Her arm was also bent in a way that it shouldnât be. She may have had other injuries as well, but they werenât nearly as visible.
Her phone lay on the floor of the passenger seat, buzzing from an incoming call.
"No.." Kitty scrambled to her feet. "No, no no no."
She rushed to the scene, and seeing Diana moving set most of her fears to rest. Pulling the door open, she reached in and helped Diana out. She was bleeding a little, but an impact like that would have killed most people. Except an Amazon Goddess. "...oh thank god I forgot who you were for a second there."
Satisfied that Diana was little more than dazed, Kitty buried the freak out she'd had a moment ago deep in a vault beneath her heart where it could fester and grow and be a problem for future her.
Still, she clung a little before turning her head towards the vehicle that had hit them. "..we better check on that driver."
Diana was more than aware that most people mightâve been killed, or at least critically injured, by the accident. She definitely felt like she was woozy, perhaps a concussion or whiplash, or possibly even both given the violence of the accident. When Kitty helped her out, she was relieved to see she was okay.
She enveloped Kitty in a hug. âI am okay,â she said, gently rubbing Kittyâs back. The injuries she felt would heal soon enough. Diana glanced over at the truck, and she worried when she didnât actually see the other driver from where she was.
âYes,â she said, giving Kitty a little squeeze before she pulled away and moved over to the truck. When she got closer, she noticed the driver crumpled on the seat of the truck, and all she needed to do was see the blood from head wound and the obvious broken leg and arm. âOh gods, Kitty call an ambulance.â
Diana opened the door on the passenger side. The girl was definitely out cold. Knowing that she shouldnât move her for fear of causing her more injury, Diana only touched her enough to take a pulse, and there was on. âSheâs still alive.â Thatâs when she noticed the buzzing phone.
Normally, Diana didnât answer other peopleâs phones, but she felt that she should actually answer this call. So she picked it up and answered. âHello?â She didnât know this girlâs name so she couldnât answer for her. She just hoped that this person was a friend of this girl.
Kitty stowed some of the smart comments sheâd otherwise make. She was still pretty shaken, her mind kept flashing back to the accident, and the airplane, to wandering through fiery wreckage and back again. She didnât even have it in her to make a morbid joke just yet, even though that kind of thing helped her deal with traumatic events.
âOn it.â She pulled her phone out and dialed.
That wasnât Chloeâs voice on the other end, and Rachel frowned. âWho is this? Whereâs Chloe?â
Clearly their date was not going to happen. Or at least not in the way originally planned. No doubt both her and Kitty would also have to be examined by the paramedics, especially with Diana bleeding from a cut on the side of her head. But right now, she was more concerned about the girl in the truck.
âMy name is Diana. Thereâs been an accident.â The girl on the phone had said the name Chloe? âMy car got hit by her truck, but sheâs...not okay.â
And the fact that it was a car accident should probably throw a red flag up for Rachel. Chloe might not be conscious at the moment, but whenever she woke up and learned she was in a car accident? She would probably be very not okay given how her dad had died.
Kitty would have to attribute her lack of injury to being lucky (and not Domino lucky). And probably go back later and edt the traffic camera footage. Maybe when her hands stopped shaking. She did manage to sound mostly calm on the line with emergency services.
For a long moment, Rachel was silent, a wave of nausea and worry washing over her. Finally, she asked, âWhere?â
She kept thinking of Chloeâs dad, and how much Chloe still made comments about the accident and his death. Sheâd never been there for that, but she knew Chloe enough to know she shouldnât wake up alone.
Diana gave the intersection. âMy girlfriend is calling an ambulance right now, so I cannot say what hospital she will be taken to.â Theyâd only know that once the paramedics showed up. She also didnât know how much detail this girl wanted about Chloeâs current condition, so she didnât offer them up unless they were asked for. Some people wanted to know, others didnât.
âIs there anyone that I could contact that should know about this? Family? Friends?â Diana asked, offering that much at least. Diana was actually feeling terrible that sheâd come out of this largely unscathed and yet Chloe clearly had some devastating injuries. She just hoped that Chloe wouldnât wake up before the paramedics got there. It wouldnât be easy to keep her still considering sheâd be in a lot of pain.
Rachel was still sitting on her bed, trying to come to grips with what was happening. Chloe wasnât awake, or else sheâd be on the phone, and the woman wasnât being forthcoming with details. âUhm. Her room mate. Jaina. Sheâll be in her contacts.â
There was also that other girl. Ilia, Rachel had gotten her name from snooping on Chloeâs phone, but she was jealous petty enough to not call her until after sheâd seen Chloe first. But at least she wasnât so petty as to let her find out another way.
âShe doesnât have any family here.â She might call Joyce herself. Maybe. Joyce had never liked her.
âAmbulance on the way,â Kitty said. She circled the car, knowing better than to try to move Chloe. This wasnât like the dreams, and there was no clear and present danger to risk it.
She didnât see any skid marks. The girl hadnât tried to break? There was oil and other fluids leaking from underneath both vehicles, so sheâd have to leave it to a professional to figure out what happened.
âOkay, I can let Jaina know.â Diana was looking at Chloe. She wished that she could heal her, but Diana was a warrior, not a healer. She wasnât certain what exact injuries Chloe had suffered aside from the broken leg and broken arm. The gash on her forehead suggested sheâd have a concussion as well.
And who knew if there were any internal injuries. She glanced at Kitty and nodded. âThe ambulance is on its way now. It should not be long before it gets here.â Diana glanced over at where the truck and her car were mangled together. A crash like that shouldâve killed someone. The fact that Chloe was still breathing was a miracle.
Kitty was thinking the same thing, and looking at Diana like she was imagining what would have happened if she wasnât a human tank. She swallowed, then walked over to Diana, then leaned in and whispered in her ear. âGrab my shoulder hard enough to dislocate it but make it look like youâre just comforting me. I donât want any questions about why Iâm not hurt.â
She felt kind of bad asking that, but sheâd had to do the same thing after the plane crash.
âJust text me the hospital,â Rachel said, her voice shaking. She really just needed to keep it together until she got to the hospital, at least. Chloe couldnât die. She wouldnât allow it. Chloe was too strong, too badass, and sheâd been through too much to just go out like this. AndâŚ
Chloe was supposed to be the one to save her.
Diana glanced at Kitty, not liking doing that, but she also knew that her girlfriend was right. She needed to look like sheâd been injured as well. She gave a little nod, setting her hand on Kittyâs shoulder, but she didnât move to dislocate it just yet.
âAlright, I will as soon as I know it.â She then let the girl go so she could turn her attention onto Kitty. âIâll do it on the count of three.â She wanted Kitty to be ready for it instead of just doing it. So she counted to three, then shifted her hand, using enough force to dislocate Kittyâs shoulder, but not enough movement to draw attention to the fact she was dislocating the shoulder.
Kitty couldnât quite bit back the sounds she made, wincing and pulling away. âShit! .. guess the adrenaline is wearing off.â
To anybody watching, it just looked like the touch had hit something tender from the accident, and Kitty hadnât noticed she was hurt until then. Which was pretty believable.
The sound of sirens down the street gave her a sense of relief. She and Diana would be fine, but the girlâŚ? Maybe not. âI hope thereâs some willing healer on the ValarnetâŚâ
âSorry,â she said, mostly out of habit and not liking causing Kitty pain. But of course Diana knew it would be better this way. Hearing the sirens did give her some relief as well. She was...very worried about this girl. âWe can always ask. Though at least she is breathing on her own. Her airway doesnât seem to be blocked.â The girl also didnât have blood coming out of her mouth.
But that didnât account for other potentially dangerous and life-threatening internal injuries that she could have. Even though the crash wasnât her fault, Diana would feel terrible if the girl didnât make it and she did.
âThere are tricks I could do, if we were some place without close help, but I hate just⌠standing around and not doing anything.â Kitty sat on the rear of Dianaâs car as the ambulances pulled up. She pointed the EMTs towards Chloe in the car, and suffered through one of them checking her over.
There was nothing else to do but let them treat her, and watch as they pulled Chloe from the wreck.
âI know, I hate it, too.â Diana didnât like just standing around when someone was hurt, but she knew better than to try and move someone who could have internal injuries or a spinal injury. She was also quickly set upon by paramedics. They had her sit down while one examined the head injury and did an exam while asking her questions.
Chloe, on the other hand, had to be carefully extracted from her truck. Her broken limbs were stabilized as best as possible, as well as her neck, before they managed to get her on a board and strapped to it.
âYou will need to come to the hospital. I think you have a concussion, but a doctor should take a look at you,â the paramedic treating Diana said. She simply nodded a bit. She still had Chloeâs phone in her hand and would get a message off to Jaina once she was in transit to the hospital, as well as letting Rachel know which hospital they were being taken to.
Kitty was already being walked to one of the ambulances, and gave a tiny prayer of thanks for a really good insurance policy with the Agency. She took a seat while an EMT set her shoulder, barely noticing the pain as she watched Diana approach.
âDo you think the girl will be okay?â
Diana climbed into the ambulance, and sat down. Moments later another EMT was tending to the cut on the side of her head. She looked over at Kitty. âI hope so, but I donât know what internal trauma she might have.â Though it was worrying to Diana that Chloe was still unconscious. That suggested to her that there was some severe head or brain injury that the gash on her forehead only hinted at.
âIâll message the agency, you can ask any magic users?â Kitty felt somehow responsible. It was stupid, it had been an accident, but she still did feel responsible. If sheâd reacted faster, maybe she could have phased the entire car.
But if that had happened, Chloe probably would have hit that telephone pole over there, and she probably wouldnât have survived that impact.
âThat sounds good. Though first, I need to tell her roommate what happened.â Diana also asked what hospital they were all being taken to. She then sent off a text to Rachel with the hospital information, then sent a text to Jaina explaining, concisely, that thereâd been an accident and that Chloe was hurt, and she gave the hospital information.
Diana tried to tell herself to not feel guilty, but she couldnât help it. It had been an accident, and she wasnât sure if the girl had been a distracted driver or not. But even so, the fact that she and Kitty had come out of it relatively uninjured, and Chloe had gotten the worst of it? Yeah, she definitely felt guilty about that.
âSorry about your car,â Kitty murmured. Again, it was a stupid thing, but better than thinking about other things. She could smell it. Maybe it was the scent of the wreck reminding her of burning jet fuel and burning flesh, but she could smell it.
She squeezed her eyes shut and brushed at tears.
âDonât worry about the car, itâs not my concern right now,â Diana responded. She looked over at Kitty, taking in the expression on her face and her body language. She wanted to move closer and talk it out with her, but now wasnât the time for that. They couldnât discuss powers or anything like while non-dreamers were around them and tending to them. Theyâd have to wait until later.
Kitty just shook her head, but didnât respond. She wasnât sure how to - sheâd survived worse, this shouldnât shake her up anywhere near as bad, but it reminded her of other times and that one time in particular. Finally, she managed, âIâm just glad youâre okay.â
Diana did have another car, after all. So it wasnât a complete loss. She gave a little smile to Kitty. âSo am I. And Iâm glad youâre okay as well.â She meant it physically, not emotionally because she could tell that Kitty was upset. Something theyâd talk about later.
Insurance would help too, Kitty knew. But she was worried about far too many other things. It just seemed like a good thing to focus on. The car. And Diana being okay.
Especially Diana being okay. âIâve got⌠very good survival instincts.â
âYes, you do.â Diana knew it was more than that, but they didnât need to get into that here and now. Diana just hoped that her own healing didnât completely heal herself before she got looked at by a doctor. She was internally trying to force her head injury to not heal yet.
The ambulance ride was a short one, thankfully. Kitty could feel her body protesting. She wasnât all that banged up, but her shoulder was killing her. Diana had done a very good job and sheâd be feeling that one for a week.
Anyway, she was totally going to wave off any more help. âHer first.â
Before Diana could even try to protest, she was ushered inside and over to a doctor. The EMT that had been patching up the cut on the side of her head told the doctor they were concerned about a concussion. At which point, the doctor began a more thorough examination, asking questions and checking Dianaâs pupils, among other things.
All in all, Diana came out of it with a diagnosis of a mild concussion and to rest. If her symptoms got worse, then she was to come back. But other than that, she was to wait until a police officer was able to interview her about the accident.
Kitty ended up with exactly as expected, a dislocated shoulder and prescription strength ibuprofen. Which was kind of laughable considering. âMight as well double up on regular stuff.â
She sat down with the police as well, giving her statement, and then waited for Diana in the waiting room.
Diana gave her statement to the police. With that done, she headed into the waiting room and went over to Kitty. âDid you talk to the police?â She was also curious about how the other girl was doing. Though she anticipated that she was in surgery and would possibly be there for a while yet. âAnd have you heard anything about the other girl yet?â
Kitty nodded. âTold them what I remembered. Didnât even have to lie, I canât tell you how I ended up outside the car, to be honest. That entire part remains fuzzy. I did tell her I didnât see any skid marks, and there was a lot of brake fluid.â
She leaned into Diana. âI overheard the doctor talking to her friends. Itâs pretty bad, but she should live.â
Nodding a bit, Diana slid an arm around Kitty, though instead of wrapping it around her shoulders, which she knew one was sore, she placed her hand on Kittyâs side and held her. âThere were no skid marks?â Diana was surprised by that. She hadnât noticed, but then again, she hadnât actually looked. Sheâd been too focused on Chloe.
âI am glad to hear that.â Though Diana still didnât like that sheâd ended up so badly injured, but that was better than the girl being dead.
âNo, either she didnât brake or couldnât brake.â Kitty could imagine the reasons for the first, and come up with reasons for the second. Part of her couldnât help it, she just analyzed things. It helped her deal.
âBut are you okay?â
âI am not certain which scenario would be better, though I think couldnât brake would be it.â Both were bad, but enough people were distracted drivers, Diana wanted to think that maybe this girl just couldnât brake.
âI have a minor concussion, and am supposed to rest.â Diana felt that sheâd be perfectly fine in a couple hours, so she wasnât concerned at all. There were definitely times when she loved her demigoddess physiology.
âIâll call a cab.â Kitty took Dianaâs hand with her arm that wasnât in a sling. âI donât think Iâm very hungry right now and⌠I need to confirm youâre not actually dead.â
Squeezing Kittyâs hand, she nodded a bit. âI understand. I think I would rather spend the day on the couch or in bed snuggled with you anyways.â Diana gently leaned her head against Kittyâs.
Kitty would call that cab, at least once she was done absorbing all the comfort she could out of Diana. Right now, she was just reassuring herself she was still there, and Kitty wasnât a walking ghost. âDonât ever do this to me again.â
Diana was more than happy to sit there and give Kitty comfort for the time being. She closed her eyes and gently rubbed Kittyâs side. âIâll do my best not to.â Diana knew better than to make promises that she wasnât sure she could actually keep. After all, she knew she could still die, just under very specific conditions.
That would always be a possibility, and Kitty understood that. But she needed to hear Diana say that. â..Sorry. I just...keep thinking aboutâŚâ
This wasnât a situation Diana was used to being in, but she pulled Kitty a bit closer to her and gently kissed the side of her head. âYou do not need to apologize. Iâm here for you,â she murmured, letting Kitty know sheâd listen if she needed to talk or rant.
âThatâs not the first time IâŚâ Kitty waved her hand, then shook her head. âI canât talk about that here. Iâm sorry. Can we go home?â
Home being subjective, but right now she meant Dianaâs.
âOf course.â Diana had a feeling that some sort of alcohol would be needed to help take the edge off of the nerves from the accident. âWeâll go home and relax, and we can talk there.â It was definitely a conversation meant for being in private.