Tony, Maverick, Daisy, Lucy, and Bowser spent the better part of an hour trying to sort through the rubble of the destroyed living room, piling broken items in one corner and sweeping up broken glass and wood shards, and by the time they were done, Lucy was starving again. Now that she had tasted and enjoyed a proper meal, it seemed to have flipped a switch inside of her, giving her an insatiable appetite. Thankfully, she didn't have to voice her desire for more sandwiches because Bowser suggested pizza after they had finished cleaning, and everyone had agreed.
Lucy's mouth salivated when Bowser walked to the kitchen holding a stack of cardboard boxes in one hand and a case of Dr Pepper in the other and set them on the kitchen counter in front of them. Lucy wanted to try them all: the pepperoni, the meat lovers, the garlic chicken, and the vegetarian. She had piled her plate so high that Daisy nudged her and said, "Respect," making her blush, but Lucy didn't care; she was hungry.
"What are we going to do about Bali?" Daisy asked, once the pizzas were sufficiently devoured and the carbonated beverages consumed. Maverick spoke first, as Lucy had expected; she had noticed how the others always looked to him to make a plan or have an idea first.
"From what we can tell from Lucy's vision, she's being held somewhere near or in the police station. It won't be easy getting inside without the police getting involved, and since some of them may have sided with the witches, we might be in even more danger if we try," he said.
"But we're still going to try, right?" Daisy asked.
"We have to," Tony replied. "We can't leave Bali."
"Well, I could reach out to one of my connections inside. They aren't high-ranking, but they may be able to help us. Though honestly, even for the most loyal to the cause, letting us inside the police station itself might be asking too much," Maverick said.
"What if we get arrested? Some petty crime and your contact arrests us and we just happen to get lost in the system?" Daisy asked.
"That's not a bad idea," Tony said approvingly.
"Once you're in the system, it becomes significantly more difficult to get away unseen. You're watched and guarded from the moment you're in, especially when you have powers," Maverick said, deflating Daisy's idea.
Lucy had been quiet so far. She knew that she was not experienced enough and had not been a part of the group long enough to voice her opinions, but an idea had come to her while they had been sweeping the floor earlier, and she had been unable to shake it.
"I have an idea," she said in a quiet voice, much less confident than she had intended.
The others looked at her in surprise. Tony raised his eyebrows, and Daisy nudged her arm encouragingly and said, "Tell us."
"Well, the witches want me, right?" she said. "Tell them you will trade me for Bali."
"Are you crazy?" Daisy blurted at the same time Tony practically yelled, "Like hell!"
"Calm down. Let's hear her out," Maverick said over the ruckus, giving Lucy an encouraging nod of his own.
"I'm not saying we have to actually trade me for her, but we could tell the witches we're willing to trade and set up a time and place," she said.
"And then what?" Daisy asked.
"We make a plan to save Bali. At least then we would know where she was for sure," Lucy concluded.
"It's not a terrible idea," Daisy finally said, looking at Tony, who nodded somewhat begrudgingly and then said, "If we do this, you're staying here," to Lucy.
"What?" she exclaimed, completely taken aback. How were they going to pull this off without her? The witches would be expecting to see her, and she said as much to Tony, but Maverick cut her off.
"He's right, Lucy. It would be far too dangerous to let you go along. We can't risk the witches getting their hands on you."
"Besides," Tony added, "we were never going to trade you for Bali anyway, so you don't really have to be there."
Lucy didn't say anything in reply, feeling like she was outnumbered and reason was not on her side, even though something in her gut told her they couldn't do it without her. She could see Tony visibly relax when it was agreed that she wouldn't go, and she sat silently while Maverick made plans to have a message sent through one of his contacts to the order. It didn't take long before a reply was returned, and Maverick looked at his phone and nodded to the rest of them.
"They want to meet tonight at the old brewery that's right around the corner from the police station, tonight at midnight," he said.
"That makes sense, if she's at the police station," Daisy said.
"So we show up, create a distraction, and then one of us grabs Bali?" Tony asked.
"We can't forget that they have a temporal watch," Maverick added. "We need to make sure we can get Bali before the witch uses the watch once he realizes it's a trap."
"How exactly?" Daisy asked.
"Actually, I have an idea about that," Tony said. "Daisy, do you remember Dodge?"
Daisy thought for a moment and then her eyes went wide with excitement, and she nodded her head. "That's a great idea! Dodge could stand in for Lucy."
"Who's Dodge?" Lucy asked.
"A woman we met on a job recently. Works in a used bookstore. She can shapeshift—likes to turn into book characters and walk around town freaking people out," Tony said.
"Do you think she would do it?" Maverick asked.
"I do," Tony replied.
"Wait, what if she gets captured by the witches in my place?" Lucy asked, feeling uneasy.
"We won't let that happen," Tony said confidently.
"Of course not! It's not like we're going in blind. We will be prepared this time," Daisy said.
"OK, see if you can contact her, Tony. It's…" Maverick looked at his watch, "six o'clock now. We have a couple of hours before we have to leave. I suggest everyone try and get a few hours of sleep if you can."
They all nodded and went their separate ways, Lucy to the small room with the small bed she had been in before and the others to the other bedrooms in the bunker. She lay down on the bed, trying to resist the intense itching sensation that was spreading up her arm and trying not to think about the doubts in her mind about the mission. She failed at both, getting up and searching the room for something to scratch her arm with while muttering to herself how stupid the plan was. Finally, she found an old pencil that had fallen under the small bed, and she picked it up, slipping it down her cast with a grateful sigh.
Lucy couldn't say exactly what was bothering her as she sat back down on the bed and tried to relax. Some part of her had started to see Daisy and Tony as her friends; even though she had never had a proper friend before, she felt certain they looked something like this—people that wanted to keep you safe and help you, and she had the strong desire to keep them safe and to help them however she could. She lay back against the pillow, realizing suddenly that this was the first time in a long time that she had been able to lie down with her own thoughts in her head—not muddled and fuzzy, but clear and fully her own. It felt weird, but it felt good.
There was a knock at the door, and she sat up as Daisy poked her head in with a sheepish smile and two mugs in her hands.
"I thought you might still be up. I couldn't sleep either. I don't know why Maverick thinks any of us could sleep right before a mission like this. Then again, I think I heard Tony snoring a few doors down," she said with a giggle as she came into the room.
"Do you mind?" Daisy asked her, suddenly looking unsure.
Lucy realized that she hadn't reacted at all to what Daisy had said but had just sat staring at her awkwardly.
"Oh! Yes," she said and then, "I mean, no! I don't mind."
"Good," Daisy said, smiling as she handed Lucy one of the mugs and said, "I thought I'd get my influence in early while you're still unbiased about flavors."
Lucy looked inside the mug and saw that it looked like coffee but thicker, and it smelled milkier.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Mexican hot chocolate," Daisy replied, as though that explained to Lucy what she was about to drink, but then Lucy hesitated, and Daisy added, "It's melted chocolate in milk with chili and cinnamon and a hint of vanilla."
Lucy took a sip and smiled. It was warm and sweet and just a little spicy, making the chocolate flavor stand out so boldly it almost had a coffee kind of flavor to her.
"It's amazing," she said to Daisy, who looked pleased and took a sip herself.
"My dad taught me how to make it. I'm part Chinese and part Mexican—basically I have the best taste in food and drinks, so don't just listen to Tony, OK?"
Lucy smiled, feeling good, and took another sip. She liked Daisy; she was enjoying just sitting in the room together drinking a cup of something delicious. They sat in companionable silence for a while until Daisy put her mug down and said quite suddenly,
"Can I braid your hair?"
"What?" Lucy asked, taken aback.
"Can I braid your hair? It's so pretty and thick, and I love braiding hair. Besides, it will keep it out of your face for a while. Since you only have the one hand, I imagine doing your hair isn't easy," she said, practically bouncing on the edge of her seat.
"Umm, OK?" Lucy replied, which made Daisy squeal and jump to her feet. She ran to the bathroom and came back with a brush and a hair tie and made Lucy scoot forward on the bed so she could sit behind her.
"Before I start, is your head sore anymore? I wouldn't want to hurt your bruises," Daisy said.
"No, I don't feel any bruises anymore," Lucy replied.
"Good," Daisy said.
Lucy wasn't sure how normal this interaction was. She wasn't sure how women usually interacted with each other, and for all she knew this was really weird, but something in her told her it didn't matter either way. She wasn't alone, and she wasn't being compelled to do anything she didn't want to do, and she was enjoying Daisy's attention.
Daisy finished twenty minutes later, and Lucy got up and went to the bathroom to see the finished product. Daisy had done a loose-fitting French braid—or so she had told Lucy—that started on the top of her head and went all the way down the left side, ending in a braid that hung over her shoulder. It was similar to the hairstyle she had managed for herself one-handed but neater, and there were fewer loose strands sticking out.
"Do you like it?" Daisy asked her.
"Yeah, it's great. Thanks, Daisy," she replied.
"I know we fight crime and kill shadows and other really important stuff, but I've learned over the years that there's always time to just do something that makes you feel good. It can't all be blood and war, you know," she said, smiling at Lucy, who nodded.