Page 21 of Ruin (Villains for Hire)

T he medbay was a large, sterile space, dominated by five stim-pods —cellular repair beds—lined up in the middle of the room. Top of the line models, too, from the looks of them. One was occupied, but the person in it wasn’t who drew her attention. On the far side, behind the beds, stood a male Quicksilk.

With what appeared to be full-sized, fully functional wings.

She’d never seen a fully winged male. He was incredibly tall, standing at what had to be over seven feet. Like Beep, he had four arthropod wings, transparent and intricately veined. A set of antenna topped his head, and another set extended from his back, beneath his wings, long enough to drag the floor if he let them.

He was alien, his facial features only vaguely humanoid, but still handsome for all that.

Those big, black eyes scanned the guys, lingered on their injuries, focused on her for a moment, then caught on Beep.

She didn’t have a lot of experience with Quicksilks, but she knew they didn’t have the same capacity for facial expressions as humans. Even so, the male’s surprise at seeing the bot was still obvious. To her, anyway.

His antennae twitched as he approached, movements fluid and graceful in the way all digitigrades seemed to have. Up close, Lira could see the iridescent sheen to his white and black metallic skin and chitinous plating.

“Ruin, Hush. I see you’ve both been shot, per usual.” He ignored Hush’s indignant scoff and Ruin’s low grumble, and held out a long-fingered, claw-tipped hand to her.

She took it with a smile, warmed and heartened that, so far, everyone had treated her with kindness and not at all like a slave.

“I am named Helix. May I know your name?”

“I’m Lira. It’s nice to meet you, Helix. You’re very shiny.”

His large, multifaceted eyes glinted a pale pink and his antennae fluttered. “I’m flattered you think so. You’re very short.”

“Thank you?” she replied.

It was a strange compliment, but sounded genuine. Maybe being that tall was just as difficult as being short.

He tilted his head and glanced at Beep again. “May I ask where you found a cV-81 mech? I haven't seen one in years.”

“This is Beep.” She smiled over at it. “I found it on Skeldra.”

“An’ repaired it herself,” Ruin added. “In the dark, with no tools besides what she could scavenge.”

Her cheeks heated, but Ruin looked so proud of her she couldn’t bring herself to argue that it wasn’t all that impressive.

Helix’s wings twitched and his antennae stood up straight. “Remarkable. Are you an engineer, Lira?”

“I… I actually don’t know.”

Ruin slid a hand down the length of her hair. “The Mogovian who was holding her captive wiped her memories seven years ago.”

“I see. Dead now, I hope?”

“Very,” Ruin assured.

“Most excellent. Well. If you would like, Lira, I can try to restore those memories.”

Her heart kicked hard against her chest. “W-what?” Lira stared at Helix in shock. “You… you can restore my memories? I thought they were erased permanently.”

He dipped his head in a nod. “In most cases, yes, I can. Memory-wipes cannot actually erase the memories, they just suppress them, making them inaccessible to the conscious mind. With the right techniques, those buried memories can often be unearthed and reintegrated.”

She swallowed hard, pulse thundering in her ears. The possibility of reclaiming her lost past, of finally knowing who she really was… it was overwhelming. Exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure.

Reaching out for Ruin blindly, she gripped his hand, letting his touch steady her. “You really think you can get them back?”

“I’ll know more from the scans, but I believe so, yes.”

Lira pulled in a deep, shaky breath. As frightening as the prospect was, as much as part of her quailed at the thought of what terrible truths might be lurking in her stolen memories, she had to know. She needed to uncover who she'd been before Vargot, before being a slave.

She needed to reclaim the identity that’d been ripped away from her.

“I want to remember.”

“Then let’s begin, hmm?”

Still holding Ruin’s hand tightly, she started forward, impatient now.

“Ahem,” Helix voiced pointedly.

Hush, who’d sprawled in what she was pretty sure was Helix’s chair, waved a hand. “Go ahead. I’ll wait for Sugar to finish up in pod one.”

Lira hadn’t known a being could roll their eyes without actually rolling their eyes, but that’s exactly what Helix did.

“As I have assured you, many times, all the stim-pods are the same. I have checked their functionality, repeatedly . They are no different from one another.”

“So you say. But I’m tellin’ you, they’re different. I’m always itchy when I come outta the second one, and I swear, that fifth one eats one of my tattoos every time I go in it.” Arms crossed, Hush used his tail to point at the pods in question, then stubbornly slouched farther in the seat. “One never does me wrong. So, I’ma wait for Sugar to finish.”

Helix’s wings gave a sharp flick, and a shimmer rippled over his metallic skin like he was shaking off Hush’s oddness.

Ruin lifted her up and sat her on the edge of the pod. Lying back, she tried to relax. As Helix’s long, clawed fingers flew over the holo display, Ruin leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers.

“I'm right here, bird.” Cupping her cheek, he kissed her softly, then pulled back just far enough to meet her eyes. “No matter what, you have me.”

She nodded a little too quickly and exhaled. Her gaze slid to the bandage she’d wrapped around his gunshot wound.

“You should get in one, too. Your arm has to be hurting you.”

He didn’t even look at his arm. “I’m fine. It’s not even bleedin’ anymore.”

Gods, she loved when he stared at her like she was the only thing that existed, but still. She narrowed her eyes at him in silent insistence.

His lips twitched. “As soon as you’re sealed in, I’ll get in mine, ‘kay?”

“Okay.”

“Speaking of,” Helix broke in. “It’s ready to seal.”

Ruin gave her another quick kiss, then straightened as the lid closed, sealing her in with a pressurized hiss.

Focusing on her breathing, she listened to the faint hum of the pod, felt the tickling tingle as it began repairing her injuries, both new and old.

The twinge in her shoulder that’d been her constant companion since it was broken a couple years back gradually disappeared. Same for the aches in her ribs and knee.

Lira was so focused on the cessation of pain, she didn’t notice the sedative creeping in until it had her.

Ruin paced restlessly from one end of the medbay to the other, impatiently waiting and almost dreading for the pod to finish healing Lira.

Restoring memories was tricky work. It took time. But he’d gotten out of his own pod what felt like hours ago.

He pivoted on his heel and started back in the other direction, baring his fangs in a snarl. He’d climbed out of his pod in time to see hers list every instance of trauma she’d suffered in her life.

Gods, he wanted to fucking kill something at the thought of how much torment she’d endured.

He needed an outlet for some of this seething rage and guilt he felt that he hadn’t been there to prevent her from experiencing a single moment of pain.

Maybe he could. Whisper owed him one. He could ask the second in command to bring him someone who needed to be questioned. Mm, yes, questioning someone would make him feel much…

The hiss of her pod finally opening had him jolting and spinning around.

He started to lunge toward her, but held back at the last second. Instead, he stood rigidly, not blinking, not even sure he was breathing.

Her lashes fluttered open, revealing those beautiful, pale green eyes.

Fuck, but this was torturous. More so than any battle or near-death situation he’d been in.

“Ruin?” she called hoarsely, scanning the room for him.

The breath exploded out of him as he darted forward.

“I’m here,” he rasped. “I’m right here, my love.”

She focused on him, then reached for his hand, gripping it tightly. “I remember.”