Work Text:
This was her second failure. She never failed twice.
The first time she was in Turing Town, it was a success. She planted the seed of doubt in that rat’s mind, and even got to see that little planeswalker again. But she failed after that, failed to take Novae back and failed to uphold her bargain with the robot and failed to kill that rat. She planned, planned so carefully, made the same plans she always did so that this would never happen again.
But it happened again. That rat had used himself as bait, knowing that she wanted to kill him, and distracted her while he messed up all of her hard work.
Now her best assassin and her assistant were both dead, and her spy was nowhere to be found.
Ariadne she had found in the hall sliced in half, her wounds cauterized by the looks of it. The only being she could think of that could do that was the planeswalker, Evaris if she recalled correctly. Marie didn’t much care that Ariadne was dead, seeing as the Spider had a habit of making enemies very quickly. But she would miss how useful the Spider could be whenever she got over her fawning reaction to her superiors.
Diana had hurt more. She should have never been in the crossfire, she was merely an assistant. The worst that should have happened is getting kidnapped for what she knew. But Diana was always unfortunate, in life and in luck. When that blind woman had sent electricity through the building, Diana had been working late and gotten electrocuted. Bolts of electricity flew through her body, leaving electrical scars on her body even in death. Marie had found her slumped over at her desk, eyes still open in that neutral expression she always wore. The lights in her eyes had dimmed, and Marie held her body for awhile. She hadn’t loved Diana like she loved Da-eun or Novae, but she had been the closest thing she’d had to a friend in a long time.
After finding Diana, she had locked herself in her office. She hardly left her office anyway, so her house wouldn’t miss her. Her work wasn’t important, the meetings could go on without her. Right now, she needed to think.
She sits at her desk staring at the cracked mirror in her palm. It had been a reminder of everything she had ever lost, but now looking at it, she thinks it’s a reminder of everything she refused to let go of.
A flash, and her mother’s face appeared in one of the shards.
“Marie Fontaine, what are you doing sitting around? You have work to be doing, lazing about is a waste of your time.” Her mother’s voice was as clear and sharp as the day she died, no matter what attempts she made to muffle the sound.
“I’m planning, Mother. As you always tell me to,” she responds quietly. No matter how powerful she was, she was always cowed by her mother’s disapproval.
“Planning for what? To try and find that worthless ex of yours?”
“Do not insult Novae!” She didn’t often yell at her mother, but nobody insulted Novae, not even her mother.
“Do not raise your voice at me, Marie Antoinette! I am your mother, not some idiot you can boss around.”
She sighed. Mother is unchanging, which also means that she is forever exhausting. “Is there a reason you’ve decided to show up, or is it just to yell at me?”
“You are throwing away your life for one person, Marie. One person who doesn’t even love you, one who’s happy with someone else. Let them go and continue your work, be more successful than anyone in that rotten world. You have put too much work into this for you to throw it away for someone replaceable.”
“Novae isn’t replaceable or ordinary, Mother. They are my soulmate.”
Mother scoffed at the notion. “Soulmates are for children and fools. You have no results from this little escapade, and you have failed twice. You are not a fool, so do not act like one.”
“I’m not! Not only is Novae my soulmate, they’re also an Aether. Do you know how rare those are? If I don’t go after them, I’m letting this opportunity slip through my fingertips, which you have said-“
“I know what I’ve said! But you’re also marching into that demon town and coming out worse for wear each time. You need to let go, Marie.”
Her fingers tightened around the mirror. She hated that her mother was always right. No matter how old she got, no matter how powerful, Mother was always better.
Another flash, and Da-eun appeared in another shard. Her breath caught. Da-eun hadn’t shown her face in years, while Mother was a daily annoyance.
“Novae shouldn’t become another face in the mirror, Marie. You need to let them go.” Her voice was as soft as the day she met her.
“I don’t know how. I can’t just…”
“Yes you can. One more trip, get some closure. Find out what you need from them, and let them go. Move on with your life, just like you did when we died.” Logical as ever. Fuck, she loved her so much.
“Then, once you’ve done that, get back to work,” her mother chimed in.
“Single minded as ever, Mother. But I suppose you both are right. Thank you.” She put the mirror back in her pocket as the two faded from the shards.
Yes, closure. That’s the only way she’s going to be able to move forward and continue her work. Unfortunately, there was only one way she had ever been able to get closure.
A mad glint came to her eyes as she smiled, wide and dangerous as someone with nothing to lose. The only way she’d ever been able to get closure is when the other party is dead. And if she wants to work again, she needed to do the deed herself.
She might as well get rid of the rat too, while she was in town.