Thanks to Black’s recent decrease in workload and Blue’s natural skill in her duties; they both finished up their work early. Before the absurdity that had become Black’s like, Blue would often just continue to work until dinner. In the past week however, she had hauled Black to her room for “observation”. Today, Black lounged in his wheelchair munching on a few energy bars. All the while, Blue was hunched over her microscope, observing slides of his blood. Whatever she was doing to the samples clearly was peaking her interest. Black decided to pass the time by reading up on the new articles about an abandoned city discovered somewhere on the tangle. 

Black was startled out of his reading by Blue’s startled voice and a flutter of movement. He watched his friend quickly grab a few of the other samples she’d taken. She pressed her face to the microscope as her hands moved in a frantic rush. After about twenty minutes of her excited testing. She suddenly turned to face him, her piercing blue eyes practically glowed with excitement. 

“Do you consent to a small experiment?” Blue asked with a slightly unsettling grin. Black slowly set aside his seventh protean bar and his tablet before levelling her with an uncertain look. He took a deep breath, swallowed, and returned his gaze to her. She was practically bouncing in place. Oh that was bad…

“Will it hurt me?” He asked. 

“Based on these observations, I don’t think so. And considering how fast the puncture wound closed from taking your blood earlier, it will not leave any lasting effects.” She replied, her eyes shining. Black sighed, somehow getting the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to get out of this, and nodded. Blue opened up a small fridge under her desk, grabbed something with a cloth, launched herself across the room in her rolling chair, and slapped the object into Black’s hand. Black was mildly startled at the cold sensation in his palm. Before he could see what it was, Blue closed Black’s hand around it and clamped her own hands around it. Black blinked owlishly. 

“I’ve never seen you move that fast before.” Black mumbled, palm growing slightly colder. It felt like he was holding a chunk of ice, or possibly a frozen hunk of plastic. 

“No one will ever believe you.” Blue responded in a monotone, not taking her eyes off of Black’s closed fist. “How do you feel?” She asked, scribbling down notes on a new pad. Where she’d produced it from, Black couldn’t tell. Black shrugged at her question, muttering that he was fine. After about five minutes, the cold was starting to creep further into his hand. A thought struck him as he glanced back at blue, still hovering over the microscope.

“Where did you even get all this stuff?” Black asked. 

“Purple owed me a favor.” Blue deadpanned. 

“Can I open my hand yet?” Black asked. “I’m guessing it’s come kind of plastic or something, but it’s getting a little cold.” Blue looked very intrigued at this. 

“Well, it isn’t plastic. It’s actually ice.” Blue replied, watching as Black opened his hand to reveal a faintly smoking chunk of pure white ice. “Specifically, dry ice.” Blue said triumphantly, using the same cloth from earlier to pluck it from Black’s hand and return it to the fridge. Black stared at his hand in wonder. He ran his thumb over the slightly chilled palm. There was no pain, no signs of damage. In fact, the cold was rapidly fading now that the normally dangerous substance was gone. 

“Holy shit…” Black said numbly. “Holt shit! How the hell?” Black’s tangent was stopped short as Blue sent a few documents to Black’s tablet. Black took a deep breath, noticing a few of the lights flickering, before opening up his tablet and preparing to listen to Blue’s explanation. 

“Thanks to my experiment and your generous samples, I have compiled a few interesting results.” Blue said, directing Black’s attention to certain slides. “First, as we have just discovered, you have gained a very substantial resistance to cold temperatures. To the point that dry ice is no more harmful to you than a piece of ice from the cafeteria.” She explained, swiping her finger to show a brief clip of what looked like cells disintegrating. 

“I tested this because yesterday, when I subjected similar cells to extreme heat, they almost instantly began to degrade. So we’ll need to account for warmer climates.” she continued. Black thought of all the places he probably wouldn’t be able to go anymore. He wouldn't even be able to go home, not that he had any intention to. 

“In addition to your new temperature sensitivity, I subjected some samples to incoming trauma, electricity, and a few mild irritants.” Blue continued. “In all cases, your skin cells seemed to tense up and become more resistant to damage. The skin cells began repairing themselves before the samples expired. In conclusion, it seems that your cells have become ever so slightly mutative in nature.” She finishes. Black tried to take this information in stride, but couldn’t help the creep of anxiety. 

“Ok,” Black began shakily, “So what exactly does that mean?” He asked, becoming slightly distressed. Blue turned to face him, taking a seat on the bed beside him. 

“I won’t sugar coat things,” Blue said, as if she ever did, "according to some recent studies and autopsy reports MIRA released on them, there is evidence that you somehow have taken on some traits of an Imposter.” She said, Her hand came up to awkwardly pat his shoulder. “The most likely case is that during either your infusion or the accident, you managed to get some Imposter DNA in your system, and it mutated.” She concluded. Black looked at her in genuine worry, thoughts of revolt, murder, and needless ejections happening left and right. 

“That would mean that either there was an imposter hiding in the cargo, or…” Black began, before Blue cut him off. 

“Or one of your donors is an Imposter.” She said, matter of factly. “However, considering the circumstances, I am hesitant to accuse one of them of being an Imposter, as open declarations will cause panic, and if I am right a private confrontation could be potentially deadly. Unless my theory that not all of the species are outright hostile.” She concluded, beginning to pack up the equipment. A thought occurs to Black, one that made his stomach drop.

“Remember those flashes I’ve been getting?” He asked. Blue gave him a nod. “Well, I’ve started having dreams too. Of somewhere covered in snow. I feel uncertain and scared in the dream. I’m looking for something, and in the distance I see a ship and a bunch of cabins.” Black explains. Blue turned to her computer and pulls up a few pictures, before letting Black see. There are snow covered cabins and buildings, surrounding a large glowing pit. Recognition hits Black like a train. “That’s the place!” Black exclaimed, nearly falling out of his chair. 

“This is Polus.” Blue told him. 

“Polus?” Black questioned, “But I’ve never been to Polus.” Both stared at the image for a long while. Eventually, the screen switched off as the computer entered rest mode. 

“This just becomes stranger and stranger.” Blue muttered. “I’ll look more into this, but for today why don’t we work on some of your other abilities?” She asked. Black shrugged, nodding his agreement. In no time, Blue had attached little sensors to Black’s brown and hands. She places his Tablet across the room, a cable to monitor its systems plugged into one of its usb ports. “Alright, you can begin” She said, pulling out her own tablet to monitor. 

Black took a deep, calming, breath before allowing his power to flow through him. The lights in the room flickered slightly as his eyes began to glow. After a moment, the tablet powered on. Black began focusing on opening and closing applications. He squinted his eyes, straining to see the screen from so far away. He wished that he could move a little closer to it. Just as the thought entered his head, the lights in the room began to flicker wildly. Blue’s tablet emitted loud beeping as a feeling of static crept into Black’s head. To his shock, the tablet lifted from the table for just a moment. There was a loud pop, and the lights suddenly powered off. 

The tablet thudded against the table as both Blue and Black let out a little yelp. The light of Blue’s tablet was the only thing illuminating the space. Their comms crackle to life as Orange quickly announces a partial power failure in habitation, and that the lights would be back on as soon as he can fix it. 

“Nothing for it.” Blue says, beginning to walk around the room to light a few candles. Once the room was bathed in flickering amber light, she settled on the bed and began tapping away at her tablet. Black wheeled himself over to his own tablet to find that the back was blown out, and charred black. 

“Well, shit…” He said, “Remind me not to try that again any time soon.” Black said, turning to show Blue the damage. Her eyes widened comically as she looked at it, hurriedly adding it to her notes. They’d just begun to settle in when they were startled by a loud banging in the hall. Followed shortly by light knocking on the door. 

“Yes?” Blue responded, only looking slightly nervous. Her voice gave no indication. Black was surprised to hear Maroon’s muffled voice on the other side. 

“Hello Blue, is Black in there with you?” He asked. Blue shot a knowing look at Black before walking over to manually open the door. It was dark in the hall, and as the door opened the sudden rush of air immediately blew out most of the candles. Which left the room in an eerie twilight. “Oh good, are you both alright?” Maroon asked, sounding concerned. A sudden rush of emotion flooded Black’s senses. 

Panic, concern, fear, affection, concern, suspicion

Protect him.

“Yeah, we’re okay.” Black stuttered out around his surprise and confusion. Those last two weren’t a feeling, they were words, clear as day. Yet the only noises he’d heard were the groaning of the ship. Black could faintly see Blue moving back to the bed.

“Come in, the elevators are probably out anyway.” She said as she continued to look over her notes. She made no move to relight the many candles, though did spare a huff of annoyance at their sudden lack of helpfulness. Other than Blue's tablet, the room was almost completely dark. Black could make out Maroon’s outline as the large man quickly made his way to Black’s side. The rolling chair creaked ominously as the man sat. Black realized that Maroon’s form seemed slightly bigger than normal. Black, almost on instinct, placed his smaller hand on Maroon’s. Offering what little comfort he could. He was surprised by the feeling of rough skin. Maroon wasn’t wearing his gloves. 

“So,” Black awkwardly cleared his throat, “What were you doing down in navigation?” He asked. More emotions filtered through to him. 

Embarrassment, regret, nervous

Shit…

“I was… about to head to the showers.” Maroon replied, voice stoic as ever. Blue cleared her throat, her glare illuminated by her tablet screen.

“I’m not turning my screen to you just in case, but if you are naked in my chair, I will be making a complaint to Red.” She deadpanned. Black could feel his face heating up, and was immensely glad that no one could see his blush. 

“I promise I’m not naked.” Maroon ground out in annoyance. Black was taken aback as Maroon’s hand closed around his. Suddenly, brief flashes of metal tunnels and a grate flying open ran through his head. A mild ache settled in behind his eyes as he returned to himself. Maroon made a concerned noise, more echoing emotions accompanying it. Black blinked away the pain before looking around the room. He found he could see the outlines of things far more clearly. He was able to make out the rough shapes of nearly everything in the room. 

He glanced in the direction of Maroon, and found that the darkness seemed to be far less here. Maroon’s outline was now far more defined. He was somehow taller than normal. What looked like casual clothes and long strands of hair obscured much of his appearance. His face was obscured by darkness, except for his eyes. They were luminous, somewhat yellow, and there were three of them. Black wasn’t sure how long he stared, the pair's mismatched eyes locked. Maroon’s hand had tensed around his own, but Black didn’t pull away. 

After a while, black felt a wave of energy surging around him. Maroon startled at the same moment, a sense of panic rushing through black through their hands.. His silhouette seemed to shrink slightly, and bulk up. The skin of his hand shifted around Black’s as it smoothed out. His two normal eyes widened and his central eye closed. Before either could say anything, the lights suddenly jolted to life. There sat Maroon, who Black had never seen outside of his suit. He was tan, with dark red hair that hung down his back. His eyes were a warm honey color, and he was unbearably handsome. He wore gray and red boxers and a pinkish shirt. He stood, clearing his throat awkwardly as he released Black’s hand. 

“Right, I guess I’ll leave you two be.” He said, stopping to ruffle Black’s fluffy hair. He gives a nod to Blue and leaves. 

Relief, affection, care

Fuck he’s so cute.

“That was odd,” Blue said distractedly, “I thought he’d stay to flirt a little longer.” Black could only stare at the open doorway, Maroon was an Imposter. Maroon was an imposter and he thought Black was cute. Maroon thought Black was CUTE. 

“Fuck…”