Carpe Diem
Mark & Honey spin-off

Despite her name, Honey didn’t have a sweet life at all.

It’s not a sob story though, she just doesn’t like to tell it anybody. Her past is a carefully hidden closet deep in her heart with the key thrown away. Nobody knows exactly who she is, not even the nation since she has no social security number or ID. According to the government she doesn’t even exist, or at least shouldn’t. That’s why she uses her forged name and glares at everybody who asks about her real one. This one is as real as it could get.

Originally she had no intention of joining any group, she was more of a loner even with Johnny on her side. The elder definitely had some crazy brotherly instinct and that was why he stuck with her through the beginning even when she insisted on not needing anyone.

“We all need someone in our life. It doesn’t make you weaker that you do, too,” he said and reluctantly Honey agreed.

As time went by she learnt that Johnny actually had a sister on the other coast of the States but he left his family when he turned out to be dangerous in the government’s eyes, so that made him a threat to his own family and he wasn’t willing to risk their well-being. Maybe she reminded him of his own sister and Honey didn’t actually mind. A brother would have been nice to have in her life. So if she couldn’t have a real one, she was happy with what she got. Not to mention that the whole underground group started to feel a bit like family. As their number grew and they all took care of each other more their bond also strengthened.

They all shared two things besides being homo superiors, blessed with powers humans were incapable of such as telekinesis, teleportation and telepathy: they all hated Ultra, the organization ought to make their lives difficult by hunting them and the need for some friends, a family because most of them lost or left their owns behind so they wouldn’t put them in danger with their abilities. Honey would have never admitted it out loud but joining the so-called Avengers of Tomorrow - the recent name is the courtesy of Yukhei - was one of the best decisions they could have made. Before the team, the two of them, she and Johnny, wandered from city to city at the first chance of getting caught when they accidently used their powers or agents seemed to find them. However, living in fear and uncertainty wasn’t the ideal kind of life. But with a whole dysfunctional little family around them, living in a cool underground place where they could use their powers freely was almost living the life to the fullest. Especially because now they had a purpose.

It had been three weeks since their break-in to Ultra’s laboratories. They helped almost a dozen of superiors escape from those cages. Some left the city, maybe even the country, trying to find a safe, peaceful place but some stayed and joined them. The original team, Yukhei, (his almost but not really girlfriend) Ariadne, Ten, Johnny, Mark and Honey who helped them nurture their powers and taught them how to fight physically when they can’t use them. But now, weeks into their training watching them fight was somewhat satisfying because they all could see how much they improved and how they would be able to protect themselves next time when Ultra wants to cage them.

“You’re good with the new ones,” a guy with boyish features sits down next to her on the couch. Then they both watch the two newest addition to the team circling around watch other in their madeshaft ring. Winwin was a quick learner, he excelled in telekinesis while Jeffrey was more of a teleporting talent.

“We were new once, too. They will get better,” Honey sighed and fell back onto the couch to find a more comfortable position next to the boy. It wasn’t on purpose, the way she avoided contact. It was her nature to keep distance from everybody on instinct. Of course, she knew that nobody here would have hurt her but the memories faded too slowly for her liking, she couldn’t kill off those reflexes that saved her life once.

“I’m still pretty new to this,” the boy shrugged not mentioning her sudden movements and kept his eyes on the new trainees. It’s true that he was the last addition to the original team before attacking Ultra but he behaved pretty professionally back then even if he had no choice but to support the whole mission from behind a camera. Without him and the electricity shortage he created in the building, they all would have stuck there for sure. 

“You’re a veteran rookie, Mark, don’t kid me. That telekinetic shield you used against Yukhei last practice was really cool,” Honey smiled at him and she found it adorable when the boy’s cheeks gotten red after her comment.

“Thanks,” he mumbled and ruffled his hair not knowing what else to say.
They sat there side by side in silence just watching the practice from afar. The noises of the fight and Yukhei’s advice to both involved parties dissolved into nothingness as their thoughts seemed to be louder than words. Honey had a feeling they were both lost in their own mind deeply until Mark broke the silence.
“Don’t you ever miss the surface?”

The girl looked at him nonchalantly and shrugged. “What’s there to miss?”
She wasn’t used to moving out and she had not been allowed in the past. So maybe it was just old habits dying hard. She was rather familiar with the four walls and maybe that’s why she was so good at telepathy. She had been alone enough with her own thoughts to perfect that skill. Let’s just say she had experience about being experimented on. That was something Johnny knew too, the only thing she could let slip when he found her behind a garbage truck after she ran away.

“I don’t know. Everything. The sky. The fresh smell of spring. The breeze in your hair. The animals. I miss dogs,” the boy pouted and with his doe eyes and pouty lips he was like a kid at Christmas who didn’t get the gift he wanted.

“You are being melancholic,” Honey reminded him but her voice wasn’t cold or scolding. The way he felt was perfectly reasonable. Being locked into a place with no natural light could do funny things the person’s brain.

“Maybe I am. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really grateful that we have this place where we don’t have to hide who we are or we don’t have to fear but it’s like we locked ourselves in willingly,” Mark whispered, words falling from his lips so tentatively as if she was the first one he dared to tell all this. Maybe she was which was ridiculous considering how close they all were. Of course they all had their own secrets but they talked about this kind of stuff normally. “Maybe I’m just complaining because it’s been a while since I have been out. Yukhei said not to leave alone after what happened to Hendery.”

They both remembered the panic of the recent event clearly. They were so very close to lose this place, or at least being exclusive in knowing about it. Some agents had been following the young boy back to the place and it was only thanks to Ten’s special skills that they realized what was going on in time, so they could trick them without getting caught. But it was a warning sign that Ultra had new methods and they became smarter too, so they had to be even more careful. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so negative. I just… I feel like I’m going crazy stuck in here,” Mark sighed after the pang moment of silence and Honey didn’t know what came over her, it might have been the sadness or the longing in the guy’s voice that she could resonate with, but she blurted out:

“Then let’s go out.”

“But…” Mark’s doe eyes went even wider as he seemed absolutely taken aback.

“No buts. Nobody needs to know. We just come and go. A bit change of atmosphere,” she turned to the other with her body, eyes fierce and confident. She might have not wanted to leave before but seeing how the guy missed whatever he missed up there, it made her curious: maybe there were things up there worth of missing after all.

“Look, we need you to be in your right state of mind when we demolish Ultra,” she reminded  Mark firmly because she believed that if he had these internal turmoils, all these vulnerable thoughts, he needed to get rid of those before Ultra could get them and mess with his or anyone’s head.

“You say that like it’s so sure it happens,” Mark gaped at her, eyes wide and curious like he admired her but what for?

“If enough people believe in it, it will,” Honey answered confidently and flashed a smile at the boy, one of her rare, genuine ones, the ones of the girl behind the fighter. Mark had to blink as he caught himself staring but then he tried not to stumble with his words as he nodded.

“Okay, let’s do it,” he agreed with a hint of smile on his face.

They didn’t talk about details, they didn’t plan anything further, they just got their wallets and phones and met up at the hallway. Honey merely left a note for Johnny that they have gone out because she knew the guy would have worried more if he didn’t know where she was rather than if he knew for sure that she willingly went outside and not alone on the top of that.

As soon as they teleported outside, the chilliness of the late evening caught Honey by surprise. One thing about living in a place with no windows that you couldn’t tell the time nor the weather just by looking out. A swear word slipped from as goosebumps dressed her skin.

“You curse like a pirate,” Mark laughed and she rolled her eyes. But the boy was too cute for his own good to be mad at especially with his explanation. “My mom used to tell me this whenever I cursed even if it wast something trivial, she scolded me like this jokingly.”

“She sounds like the typical loving mom.”

“She was better,” Mark smiled fondly nostalgic and Honey knew she wasn’t supposed to ask more because they had all lost something. Probably it wouldn’t have been the best to rub salt into the wounds of the past, so she stayed silent looking around for any suspicious movement around them but the dark alley seemed empty.

“Speaking of which I guess it wasn’t your mom who named you like this so why Honey?” the boy blurted out the obvious question most people asked right after she introduced herself. As long as they didn’t insist on knowing her birth name, she let them be but didn’t bother with a detailed answer. Though, with Mark it was a bit different. He was so open-minded and kind to anyone that she felt like he would have understood anything she told him. So she shrugged before telling him the truth.

“Johnny gave me the name. He said I was sweet and sticky, at least with him,” she rolled her eyes in disapprovement but didn’t comment on it. She remembered that day all too clearly, when she had met the brother-figure of her life and he had asked about her name, all she could think about was not wanting to be a bunch of numbers anymore. It took a few days of getting used to each other when Johnny decided to call her Honey because it seemed fitting. And it stuck with her.

“You are pretty sweet with me, too,” Mark’s thoughts echoed barely audible in the air but Honey heard him anyway, telepathic superior powers and stuff. She wasn’t sure Mark knew he failed to hide his thoughts but since she couldn’t really handle compliments, she didn’t say anything to that. Instead clearing she went straight to the point.

“Don’t make me regret I came out with you,” she shook her head instead of downright objecting the fact. “Instead show me something you love up here, so that I know it’s worth the risk.”

Mark’s eyes sparkled as soon as an idea came to his mind and watching the smile spread on his mouth was like watching the sun rise.

“There’s this adorable dog café I used to go. You will love it!” he exclaimed and they dived into the city looking for that special place.

In the meantime Mark couldn’t shut up, he kept talking about what he liked up here and what he missed down there. He kept telling stories of him tripping by that corner, having his first, super-awkward date at that cinema, going to high school on the other side of that bridge and so on. Honey was used to the quietness, so all this was a bit fuzzy and a lot for her but listening to Mark was easy, it eased her nerves.

The boy was also right about the dog café. Both the food and drinks were good, not to mention the adorable dogs all around. They must have seen pretty comfy around each other because the waitress commenting on them looking cute together and neither of them could handle the situation accordingly. Honey just shook her head while Mark blushed, a good look on him, definitely.

Then they visited a PC room where Mark showed her his favourite game - in which she quickly beated him - and then they went for the walk on the riverbank. By that point even Honey started doubting it was merely friends hanging out and not a date but she was sure Mark didn’t do this on purpose. He wasn’t that sneaky.

But all good things had to come to an end eventually. They noticed they were being followed by some time and in such a crowded area teleporting would have been too risky. They kept talking through telepathy trying to get rid of the stalker, most likely an Ultra agent but in vain, he was like a leech.

“What if we make a run for it?” Mark suggested as they were already walking in ridiculous speed, so Honey quickly agreed.

“Yeah, let’s show them,” she thought and without counting, they started running.

Adrenaline pumped the blood in their veins faster and the breeze in their face gave the full experience. Even though being chased wasn’t part of the original plan, they handled it with care. They only teleported when they got to a secluded area but in the rush or the thrill of the moment, they stumbled right after getting back to the couch where it all started. Falling brought painful yelps and tangled limbs but surprisingly genuine laughter.

“This was…” Mark laughed, still panting, out of breath as he pulled away, tentatively looking in Honey’s eyes as if he could find the answer there.

“Fun. We should do it again,” she finished it instead of him. Still laughing while looking at each other she knew they had the very same thought. 

From then on they started living for the day too and not only for the tomorrow.