**
“Hugo, are you alright?” Crysta set the box she’d carried into the room on a counter, walking over to him.
He tried to wave her off, “I’m fine, I just have a bit of a headache.”
The doctor’s frown deepened further, “You’ve had a headache for the past week, let me look at you.” Hugo submitted, turning towards her. He’d been setting up the computer for the lab they were in at the Phoenix Foundation. In fact, they’d been moving things in all week. Had he really had the headache that entire time? No, it would go away for a while, and then it would come back stronger than before. Hugo blinked a few times. “Where exactly does it hurt?”
“There’s a pressure, on my nose, like maybe I’m getting a sinus infection. Kinda,” Hugo frowned.
She nodded touching his forehead lightly with her fingertips. The contact felt warm for several seconds, but nothing else happened. “How is that?”
“It’s fine.”
The doctor frowned, shaking her head, “Don’t lie. If it still hurts just say so. I’m not offended, but I am a little worried now.”
Hugo waved his hand dismissively, “Don’t worry about it, it’ll be fine. Maybe I just need some fresh air or water, or something.”
Crysta looked skeptical, “Maybe you should lay down. Why don’t you take a break, I’ll finish up in here?”
“I can-”
“Go on,” her voice wasn’t commanding, but he found himself complying none-the-less. He left the room, but instead of lying down, he went up to the roof of the building. There was a light drizzle, but the air was cool and there was a strong breeze that helped alleviate the pressure in his head.
The Phoenix Foundation wasn’t nearly as big as Gideon Enterprises, but Clem had somehow managed to make the most of the space. Hugo didn’t know where Clem had gotten the money necessary to set it all up, and even though he was curious, he thought it would probably be a good idea not to ask. Most of the building consisted of labs catering to a variety of fields; there were only four actual offices, a security room and the front desk. Crysta was the company’s only doctor at the moment, but they had general staff, none of whom had abilities, so they were unaware of the intensive psych evaluation Clem had submitted them to during their interviews.
The roof brightened and then CJ was standing there, hands on her hips, “Aren’t you supposed to be lying down or something?” She raised her eyebrows, shaking her head a little.
“Yeah...I just wanted to be outside first. I’m feeling a lot better, so I think I can get back to work. Did you need something?”
CJ shrugged, “Nope, I was just taking a break. I was getting kinda tired of moving stuff.”
“Well, don’t push yourself, we have plenty of time.”
CJ grinned, “Oh don’t worry, I won’t!”
Hugo smiled back, “Ok, well, I’m going to head back down. Want a hot chocolate?”
The girl bounced, “Ohhhhh, good plan, I’ll come with.”
As they headed towards the cafeteria, that currently only contained some carafes of coffee and hot chocolate, Hugo’s head started to hurt again. He almost turned around to go back outside, but he really had work to do, and it would go away eventually on its own. Maybe he could take some more aspirin. Were the lights in the hallway really bright? The pressure was building, worse than before, till his whole face ached and his eyes started to water.
“H-hugo? Are you alright?” CJ’s voice sounded incredibly muffled. He turned to look at her and he ran into something. The wall. His stomach was churning and the pressure was getting so bad he couldn’t think past the sharp spikes driving into his brain. “Hey Hugo!” He tried to take a few steps forward, let CJ know he’d be fine as soon as he got a chance to lie down and die, but the wall was gone and the world started tilting.