What?

The plan was still the same, but the players at the very least had stepped up from being the pawns in the game. Elle knew that was about as even as she could figure the odds to be at the moment. Despite all the reasons why Elle didn't trust Arthur, there was no point in not actually following through with his request to bring Claire back to him. The only thing that Elle knew for certain was that at the moment, you didn't go against the man without a cost.and for all she knew it was going to be for some higher purpose that they hadn't been told about yet. They'd all seen what he'd drawn, been there to hear the same creepy words uttered as if they had more than one meaning. Big deal if Claire lost her abilities, she was already complaining about how she couldn't feel pain anymore, maybe it'd be a blessing in disguise.

It didn't really matter whatever Arthur's reasons were for wanting the cheerleader hand delivered to his doorstep, all that mattered was that it get done. Elle had overheard how Flint and Knox had messed up so this really could be a chance to show that they could do something right, and now things were on their terms too. There wasn't any question on how far either of them would go to ensure their success or their survival if it came to that. Gabriel knew how Bennet worked which was going to prove an advantage to them, plus the eclipse was diminishing available light outside, it was going to be really easy to gain entrance to the building undetected.

Of course the door was the easiest route as well.

Part of her should have noticed it before she extended her arm out, but the rush of adrenaline upon climbing the stairs had masked any difference that could've been felt inside of her body. Still it was there evident as the chill that swept over her skin when nothing actually happened when she wanted it to. If she'd had more than a moment to think it over, more than a second to realize what was going on she might've stopped herself.

Gabriel was behind Bennet though, and the plan was still the same... but so much suddenly wasn't the same at all, and it was so very wrong. Gabriel had a single moment when he thought he had something, but in reality there was nothing to be had at all. Then it became so abundantly clear that they were both in way over their heads. Bennet had training, and more expertise at being just normal, and now for whatever reason the advantages that she had been raised to use were no longer there.

Bennet moved on Gabriel, and the unsure feeling that was settling in her was shifting more toward anger and frustration. The gun had slid across the hardwood floor, and a few steps meant she'd have the upper hand again, she'd have that unfair advantage. Gabriel went down so quickly, the sharp cry startling her as the grind of bones flooded her ears. The gun rested in her hand, the weight of it not exactly familiar, but not foreign either. All agents with or without abilities had been given proper field rating training and this was just another thing she'd been taught to do. She should've expected that Claire would move into the line of fire. Her ability, her love for her father would have no doubt been more than enough to send her into harms way. Still with what had just gone on, Elle's own electricity no where to be found, Gabriel powerless and arm pulled out of the socket... there was no telling how far this debilitation had gone.

The shot rang out and she didn't heal.

The shot rang out and Elle took a moment to let it sink in before the blow came across her head dropping her to the ground. The haze of not knowing what was coming next filled her head as she lay there on the floor hearing only the muted sounds of footsteps and the shuffle of a body being picked up.

Then it was too dark to notice anything.

Waking up had taken longer than she'd hoped, and the pain across her forehead was more than just simple pain. It was all she could focus on since there was now a definite lack of anything else to feel. No current felt beneath her skin, no hum of the voltage to echo in her mind. Just pain and a heartbeat that grew stronger the more alert she became.

Alert was one thing, aware felt like a completely different feeling as she allowed everything to sink in. Without her powers, without their powers they were just like everyone else. While Gabriel saw it as a relief Elle herself was unsure of how to really feel. The one thing she knew had been a part of her since she was a child and now she was without it. The one thing she drew upon, relied upon to put her above the rest of them and now it was just gone.

It was gone and it hurt. Her ability had been the constant in her life, the thing about her that didn't leave her, it didn't ask more of her or think that she wasn't good enough. It had been part of her for so long that to not have it now she wanted to make sure it didn't feel so empty inside of her, but all she felt was the sting of pain across her forehead still. She wanted to be reassured that she still had that power, but she knew that without her ability she couldn't do whatever she wanted anymore, she wasn't above everyone else... she was at their level, and that hurt as well.

So much pain from a lack of power and she thought all her life that her power had been what caused the most pain. Without it though... she was going to be insignificant... as useless as Angela had deemed her before. She wanted him to understand how it changed everything, how things weren't just going to be theirs for the taking, but instead he kept taking. He took from her, and she let herself fall into his arms and against his kiss. He pressed closer and she responded in kind because she had taught him something more than how to use her ability, she taught him exactly who he knew he wanted to be.