
29| No Control
Gemma wasn't a religious person but every time that her feet touched the ground after flying anywhere with Jaime she could almost thank a higher being from how grateful she was being able to stand on the ground again. But her relief was brief because the second her feet touched the sidewalk outside of the Ivo Tech building Gemma ran inside.
"Wow." Jaime muttered once they stepped inside, there was a second where Gemma froze at the scene in front of her. She had taken the time to get to know most of the security team, knew about some of their personal lives. On the nights where she worked all through the night she bought them all pizza and coffee to help them get through the night.
Gemma couldn't help but be grateful that Javier wasn't working tonight. He had hired all of the security personnel himself when he took control of the security of the building. Javier was undoubtedly on his way now if his alarm had woken him up.
"Get them to the hospital." Gemma told him quickly and luckily Jaime didn't waste anytime picking up the closest guard before flying off.
There was blood everywhere, it looked like a scene from a horror movie. But she masked her horror she looked at all the guards, there were at least ten of them most of them laying unconscious.
"Gemma."
The sound of her name caused her to turn and see Jim Harper kneeling on the ground in front of another guard pressing down on a wound on their stomach. Instinctively Gemma attempted to run over almost slipping on some blood in the process.
"Jim." Gemma said as she moved over to where he was pressing down on a stomach wound for a guard that she recognized as Alan. He was one of the oldest security guards, but he most kept to himself eve during company events. "Let me see."
Jim moved aside to slouching down against the desk in very obvious pain. From the way he was holding onto his side and from the sound of his breathing Gemma could only assume that he had some broken ribs. The wound was deep and all Gemma could do was press down on the wound to stop the blood flow, he would require obvious surgery and from the pool of blood surrounding him already he didn't have much time before his heart gave out.
"What happened?" Gemma questioned doing her best to sound as control of the situation as possible. But the truth was that she was responsible for them all, this should have never happened. Their lives should have never been put in danger this way.
"It was so fast." He muttered his eyes going wide like he was reliving it all again. Gemma couldn't even imagine what it would be like to see something so horrible. "There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry."
Gemma looked back up to meet his eyes in shock. "What could you possibly be apologizing for?"
"Failing you I suppose."
Shaking her head Gemma had to remind herself that she had no right to cry, but the guilt was too much that it was impossible not to ignore. "I'm so sorry."
"You should check on Sawyer. She ran off trying to look for that thing." Jim muttered as he pushed himself off the desk to move over to the spot her was occupying in that moment. But was he did Gemma suddenly realized that he was referring to their attacker as an 'it' and 'thing' which only brought up more questions. Because did that mean that the attacker wasn't human. Aliens in Metropolis were nothing new but what could they possibly be searching for at Ivo Tech? "I'll take over again."
Gemma nodded as she stood up really trying to push through the shock of it all. She was a doctor and had spent a lot of time in hospital during horrible traumas but it didn't really compare to this.
"The roof I think."
Running to the elevator Gemma couldn't believe that Maggie Sawyer had run after whatever did this on her own. She didn't know what it could have possibly been after but the answer to that question was the least of her worries. It had clearly taken what it wanted and left, leaving so much damage in the short time it had apparently been in the building. It had only taken her and Jaime a couple of minutes to arrive after the alarm had been set off.
"Maggie?" Gemma yelled as she stopped at the doorway hesitating stepping out fully onto the roof. She hated the idea of being so high up in the open, but she also had to make sure that Maggie was okay. When she didn't hear a response Gemma reluctantly stepped out onto the roof and when she turned around that was when she saw it.
The silhouette of a tall figure. Except that it proportions didn't look entirely human, but at its feet was an unconscious figure that Gemma knew had to be Maggie. Gemma immediately knew that she was out of her depth, but before she would even react there was a sudden flash of red and her feet were no longer touching solid ground.
She was hanging off the edge of the building a strong hand wrapped tightly around her neck being the only thing keeping her from falling almost two thousand feet. Only they weren't actually hands, they were cold and made out of a hard metal. And she wasn't looking in to human eyes, but the face of a machine.
There was something about the design of the face that almost reminded her of AMAZO. But that couldn't be possible she had destroyed all the blueprints and design models for AMAZO almost two years ago when her father had been convicted.
There were no words to describe fear that was almost paralyzing as Gemma truly began to process the situation that she was in.
"Jaime!" Gemma yelled not daring to look down, the knowledge that she was thousands of feet above the city made her feel sick. The Ivo Technologies building was one of the tallest in the city and if that thing decided to let go of her she would be dead for sure. And even if it didn't release her it was starting to become more difficult to breath from how tightly it was gripping her throat. She felt as all of a sudden it grip on her loosened and then she was falling. "Jaime!"
Instinctively Gemma closed her eyes as she fell herself fall down quickly, gravity completely taking over. She was so paralyzed in fear that she couldn't even scream as she felt like all the air left her lungs while her heart was about to burst in her chest. She sometimes had nightmares that she was falling thousands of feet and Gemma hoped that this was one of them. That this was all a nightmare that she would be waking up from soon.
"I got you." Jaime said and Gemma released a breath that she didn't realize that she had been holding before wrapping her arms around his neck and hiding her face there. In that moment she didn't care how pathetic she must have looked all she wanted was to feel safe.
Although she was no longer falling she refused to open her eyes until she was on solid ground again, and even when she felt that Jaime had landed somewhere she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. He stood there for a moment that felt like forever before she felt him walk a couple of steps as he sat her down.
Gemma finally opened her eyes grateful that Jaime's face was that first thing that she saw and that it wasn't covered by the Scarab's armor. He kneeled in front of her and she was hit by a sudden thought. It was the last thing that she wanted to think about but looking at him now it was impossible to ignore.
Because oh my God she was still in love with him.
She thought that she had locked away all those feelings, but just because they were locked away didn't mean that they had stopped existing. It felt almost unfair that she couldn't escape them.
She knew that she would never be able to love anyone the way she loved him.
Or maybe it was because he just saved her life and that he made her safe that was causing a tangle of emotions that she had to detangle and sort through later.
"Are you okay?" He asked her and she hadn't even realized that her hands had been shaking until he placed one hand on top of hers. Jaime touched her and it had the same effect as before. It was like a thousand butterflies woke up in her stomach after having been asleep for so long. It was overwhelming.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Gemma replied trying to control the shakiness in her words and trying to push past the pain that she felt in her throat. Jaime reached out and tilted her head back to get a closer look at her neck that was undoubtedly red and would begin to bruise in a couple of hours. "Did you get them all to the hospital?"
"Yes. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine really."
Jaime nodded though he didn't seem entirely convinced as stood up placing a quick kiss on the top of her head as he did. "Okay wait here."
"Where are you going?" Gemma said as she stood up surprised by how her legs were shaking. If her fear of heights had been bad before, she highly doubted she would be able to get on a plane again for a very long time.
"They're not going to throw my girl off a building and get away with it."
"It wasn't human." Gemma said quickly knowing that he was not prepared in anyway to go up against that thing. It had come at her in a fraction of a second. There was no way to know what else it could do.
Jaime looked confused and considering that she had fallen hundreds of feet and probably looked and sounded crazy. "What?"
"It was an android."
"Well, someone's controlling it." He countered and that was just another of many unanswered questions that made this all dangerous. "Wait here."
"No." She said quickly reaching and grabbing his arm before he could fly away. Jaime wasn't thinking any of it through and they didn't have enough information. He would probably get himself killed. "It was fast."
"I'm fast."
Gemma shook her head desperately because it was clear that Jaime didn't see the danger, because he hadn't seen that thing. "No like The Flash fast. You're not that fast."
"You care?"
Gemma rolled her eyes the fear that she was feeling quickly replaced with annoyance. Not so much because he was teasing her but because obviously she cared. Even after everything that happened between the two of them she did care and of course she never wanted anything bad to happen to him. Jaime overall was a good person even if her hadn't been good to her or for her. "Well, I don't want you to die."
There was a slightly hopeful look in his eyes that Gemma knew they would have to dress later. As angry as she was with him she also didn't want to hurt him. "You can word it however you want."
"You should go the police will be here soon." Gemma said instead not in the mood for any kind of back and forth or teasing. She knew that the night would only get longer because she still had to wait for the police and give statements about what had happened.
Jaime nodded realizing that he probably should be around when the police arrived. "Okay I'll change and be right back."
"No wait." Gemma said quickly as she suddenly remembered how Maggie Sawyer was still on the roof unconscious, or at the very least she hoped that she was still on the roof. "Maggie was still unconscious on the roof."
In an instant Jaime was gone as he flew into the sky, the quickly approaching police sirens causing Gemma to immediately become nervous. She didn't know what to tell the police, it was all so odd and she still didn't know that reason for the attack.
There could be so many reason for the attack and there were plenty of people who still hated Ivo Tech. But there were very few people that would be able to come in possession or control of an android who had done what she had seen.
"Gemma!"
Gemma couldn't help but relax a little at the sound of Javier's voice as he rushed over to her. The worry and fear on his face was clear as he took in the sight of her covered in blood. Blood that she was just realizing strained her hands and clothing.
"It's not my blood." She assured him as he pulled her into a tight hug. She held onto him tightly still feeling shaken and slightly relieved that she wouldn't have to talk to the police on her own. Not that being interrogated by the police was new to her, but it brought up bad memories that she would rather have buried in the back of her mind.
"What happened?" Javier asked when she finally let go of him the moment that the first police car parked in front of the building.
"There was an attack. The entire security team was injured." Gemma told him softly realizing that she didn't have much time to explain it all. Javier would just have to hear it from here as she gave her statement to the police. "Jaime already took them all to the hospital."
"What are you going to tell the police?"
She knew that there was nothing for her to hide or to lie about when giving her statement. She had nothing to hide and she had no doubt in her mind that all she had to do was sit back and let the police do what they needed to do. Ivo Tech wasn't;t working on anything that could be weaponized so if something had been sole she wasn't worried that it would be used to cause anyone any harm. "The truth."
The moment the police arrived most of them rushed to block off the entire building to begin the investigation. Gemma couldn't explain it but she had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to find the identity of whoever did this.
As she gave her statement to the police she did her best not to become too emotional having to relive everything that happened. Knowing that she wouldn't even be able to enter the building until they finished their investigation, it was officially a crime scene meaning that even if she wanted to try to find out who did this on her own she wouldn't be able to.
As she finished giving her statement she noticed a tall man in glasses a couple of feet away taking some notes. She didn't even know what he was writing down considering how far away he was it wasn't possible for him to hear what she was saying. She was so distracted by the reporter that she wasn't entirely listening to what the police were telling her and she hadn't noticed that Jaime had returned.
It wasn't until he police had walked away that Jaime approached her wearing the suit that he had worn last night during the gala. It made him look out of place with everything that was going on around them. He looked like he was coming from a party gone wrong from how disheveled he looked.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Gemma questioned.
Jaime looked down at his clothes like it wasn't odd that he was dressed in a suit. "I didn't bring extra clothes okay."
"Maggie?" Gemma said hoping to get some good news out of all of this. They guilt would kill her if one of her employees died. She knew that Javier was also eager to know that everyone in the security had made it, he undoubtedly felt just as responsible for them as she did.
"There wasn't anyone on that roof." Jaime said softly once he realized that the reporter from the Daily Planet was only a couple of feet away. "But I stopped by the hospital to check in on all the guards and she was checked in at the hospital.
Gemma nodded finding it odd, but if she was at the hospital already that had to have been that it was Superman. Though if it had been the Man of Steel why hadn't he shown up sooner to help? Though he was a global hero and he was probably somewhere else in the world helping with a bigger threat. "It must have been Superman then."
"You're tell me we missed Superman?" Jaime questioned looking genuinely disappointed. He had always said that he wanted to meet Superman but generally crime in Metropolis was low so Superman wasn't seen around the city as much as before. Superman was now a global figure and always working alongside the rest of the Justice League now.
"Dr. Ivo!" Someone called out causing Gemma to freeze, she couldn't help but sigh as she turned around as the reporter from the Daily Planet rushed to meet them. He tripped over his feet a little causing his glasses to go crooked on his nose. It wasn't until he was in front of them that he shyly smiled as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet."
Gemma shook his extended hand and forced a slight smile not in the mood to talk with reporters after just haven given her statement to the police. "Hello Mr.Kent."
"I just had a couple of questions for you about the break in if you don't mind." He said nervously and looking at him Gemma couldn't really understand how he was married to Irene Miranda. She was confident and fierce which were terms that could not be used to describe the man in front of her. "You said the Blue Beetle helped with all the injured guards. I was wondering what the Blue Beetle was doing in Metropolis considering his base of operations has been Palmera City up until this point."
"I think that's a question for Blue Beetle and not me."
"Does he happen to be around?" He questioned and Gemma wasn't sure if her was being sarcastic or if he was meaning to imply something. But he didn't seem like the type to be sarcastic and he also hadn't glanced once at Jaime who was standing behind her. Maybe he was just oblivious or she was the one that was paranoid and was trying to make some kind of connection that wasn't there.
Gemma was in no mood to talk to reporters and she definitely needed some rest before she said something terrible that she would regret. "Off the record, maybe you could get more answers from your wife."
"Goodnight Dr. Ivo." Clark Kent said with a slight smile on his lips and Gemma couldn't exactly explain what happened but there was a slight change in his demeanor. It was small but enough for Gemma to feel like there was something wrong. "I'm sure we'll be speaking again soon."
Gemma couldn't help but watch as he walked away not entirely liking how it felt like he had some kind of secret that he was teasing her with. She also didn't like that implication that they would be meeting again soon.
"Gemma you're staring." Jaime said as he pulled on the sleeve of her sweater, but she was too deep in thought trying to make sense of something that simply felt weird. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something going on. It was two in the morning how did he know what had happened this late a night arriving at the same time the police? It didn't make any sense. "Why are you staring at him?"
Gemma finally turned back to Jaime but her mind was still trying to put pieces of a puzzle together that didn't;t fit. "That's Clark Kent. He's married to Irene Miranda the reporter that was asking about you a week ago."
Jaime nodded as he looked back in the direction that Clark Kent had walked toward, but the reporter was long gone. "What do you think they want?"
"I'm not sure." Gemma said before finally stepping into the van as Javier quickly closed the door. Although she was eager to get home and get some sleep she was also very aware that there was still so much that she needed to get done before she could even think about getting rest.
"Jaime there should be a laptop under the seat."
"What are you doing?" Jaime questioned as he looked over her shoulder from the backseat.
"Erasing the footage of us outside before the MPD finds out Jaime Reyes is the Blue Beetle." Gemma said knowing that they didn't have much time before the police went through all of the security footage.
They had enough problems and the last thing that they needed was for the headline on the morning paper being the uncovered identity of Palmera City's Blue Beetle. Whatever happened it was only related to her and although she was grateful for Jaime's help she didn't want him involved any further. Gemma would figure it all out on her own and hopefully nobody else would get hurt in the process.
A/N: Now we're getting to the actual conflict of the last couple of chapters. My girlies that read comic books probably know what's up. But I'm very excited to finish this story, with all the stories that I currently have ongoing its going to be a relief to get some of that pressure to finish my stories lifted. But I hope you are all still enjoying Gemma and Jaime.
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