Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Eight
...
Wendy had another headache. Oddly enough, she only seemed to get headaches whenever Magenta neared her. She was sick of both the headache and incessant girl already, and they'd only been in the cafeteria for ten minutes.
"How'd you get so confident about dealing with people? I feel like I'm going to fail Communications for Hero Support if I don't get more confidence," Magenta said, following Wendy over to her table, plastic tray in hand.
"I just do. If you stop caring what people think about you, you won't be so frozen when you talk," Wendy said, sitting by Zach and giving him a 'please save me' expression.
Zach slipped his phone out of his pocket and pretended not to notice her look, so he was obviously choosing to be an ass today.
"Okay, but what if you do care? I have a lot of fans; I can't say the wrong thing!"
"What sort of wrong thing would you say?" Wendy asked, hoping that Zach was at least recording the conversation if he wasn't going to help her escape it.
Magenta took a large bite of her hero sandwich and shook her head. "I can't even think it, let alone say it!" she said around her mouthful.
"Wendy, your food," Pat said, Lorcan shifted and hiding on Maleah's shoulder.
"Thanks, Pat. If you can't think it or say it, then what's the problem?" Wendy asked, opening her thermos of warm pasta and bolognese sauce.
"I get so nervous I don't know what to say or do, and then that stuff just comes to the surface. It's awful and I don't believe it, of course, but it's like some part of me wants to say it!"
"What is it?" Wendy asked curiously. "Aw, c'mon, you can't leave me hanging like that!"
Magenta blushed and shook her head firmly. "No. I don't ever want to say it aloud, not even here."
Well, there went that idea, and Donny wasn't even in the room to get potential blackmail material, Wendy thought in disappointment, stabbing at a pasta shell viciously.
While Magenta continued to prattle on, Wendy ignored her as if she was nothing more than background noise.
Craig arrived a moment later, looking over his shoulder when he realised the other three still hadn't caught up to him. "We've invited Corvin; you may remember him from events such as Save the Citizen, and a certain apart... what're you doing here?" he asked, seeing Magenta sitting beside Wendy.
"I'm sitting with my friend," Magenta said, smiling at Wendy brightly and turning back to Craig.
With Magenta's attention not on her, Wendy signed frantically to Craig: SOS.
"Ah, right. And how have you been going with your sign language?" Craig asked, signing LOL back to Wendy when Magenta winced at his question. "That good, huh?"
"I keep meaning to practice and then I forget, or I get busy. Being a real life Hero Support is busy work."
"We saw the news; Will didn't take you to that fight, did he? You could have been squished," Craig said, eyes wide.
"That citizen is still in hospital; I think Sandsapien is trying to deal with her mental trauma before she's released," Wendy said.
"Why?" Magenta asked.
"A building crushed half of her body, I think the mental trauma is worth extra rest and counselling," Wendy said, utterly unimpressed and her headache turning to a migraine.
"No, not that. Why would the hospital work with a villain?!"
"Sandsapien has done a lot for the medical field in the last two months. Just as Royal Pain has changed the drones and AI weapons the Army uses to reduce citizen casualties," Ethan pointed out.
"But they're villains!"
"Yes, they are. Sandsapien's working at the hospital as community service, and Royal Pain is still in Maxville's Super Penitentiary and working on a lesser sentence by helping the government and Super Bureau."
Magenta frowned. "But Airborne fought against Sandsapien! And we defeated Royal Pain," she said, as if that explained everything.
"The whole reason Gwen Grayson went villain is because she was bored and underestimated as Sue Tenny; what do you think leaving her in prison with nothing to do would result in?" Zach said, rolling his eyes.
"But, but - " Magenta couldn't think of a way to argue her point besides the obvious fact that villains were bad and shouldn't be trusted.
"Maj? What are you doing sitting here?" Will asked in surprise.
Magenta looked between her boyfriend and her friends. She doubted Will would like the answer she'd given Craig, especially since he didn't consider the others his friends. The amount of time he'd spent complaining about Ryuu was enough to make Magenta wish she hadn't sat there at all.
"She's sitting with her friends. Isn't that right, Magenta?" Wendy asked sweetly, enjoying the way her eyes widened in a combination of fear and shock.
Will glared at Wendy. "I was talking to my girlfriend, not you!"
He was still smarting over Pad that morning, the invoice for the car repairs he'd already received, the shock from his mother via text after receiving that same invoice in person, and then everything with Mr. Medulla and Larry. Even though he'd managed to tell the truth to a bunch of people at recess, Larry had left English before him and was corralling them with his lying version of what had happened now. Will had been waiting at his and Magenta's table alone this whole time, and then he'd looked over to see his girlfriend at Ry's table. It was the last damn straw.
"Well? Aren't you going to sit with me? I'm your boyfriend!"
Wendy didn't like Magenta, but she hated dickbag boyfriends who told their girlfriends what to do and who they could sit with even more. It was the reason she and Donny worked so well because he loved being told what to do more than any other boyfriend she'd had before. Will, however, reminded her of her first boyfriend who'd kept her away from her friends, who'd belittled her and made her feel like she was lucky to have him since no one else would have her. She stood up with ice and lightning flashing in her eyes.
Will didn't recognise her posture as the threat it was, though Craig swore softly and slipped under the table, Ethan melting himself and Zach a second later. The frogs shifted, jumping onto Pat, who crawled under the table with Craig and the melted puddle.
Will sneered at their ridiculous response; Wendy was just a weather super. What was the worst she could do: make it rain? He could handle her easily.
Across the cafeteria, water vaporised and started to form clouds overhead. Most of the students were focused on their own conversations or food and didn't notice their water bottles emptying. Ritchie glanced from Will to his empty bottle in his hand to Wendy, and realised the others were hiding under their table. Swallowing hard, he watched carefully and held onto the bench beneath him tightly.
Magenta could feel the tension in the air like it was a thick liquid slowly choking her and making it difficult to breathe. Her heart racing, Magenta stood up with her tray. "You're right, Will. Let's go."
"No, Magenta. Don't let this little prick tell you what to do. You're stronger than that," Wendy said, each word like ice against Magenta's spine.
She didn't feel strong, not like she used to feel, and Magenta looked at Will.
She could see the scared boy beneath his bravado; he was lonely and afraid of being alone, just like she was. His posturing was to hide how alone he felt and how overshadowed he was by his parents in nearly every facet of his life. He needed someone to help and support him, and Magenta was his Hero Support, after all. It was her job to support him.
"Are you coming or not?" Will demanded, angry and pissed and Ry wasn't even there so it wasn't like he could even sit with Magenta and try to talk to Ry as well.
Each word from Will was a grating and whining sound that only enraged Wendy further with each syllable. The clouds that had gathered overhead had darkened the cafeteria, covering the lights with dense ice crystals, the temperature around them dropping several degrees. As more and more students realised what was happening, they either stared at the ceiling, or across the cafeteria to Will and Wendy's standoff.
One more whining piece of bullshit from Will, and Wendy was going to lose her shit.
"Maj, I miss you. I didn't even get to see you at recess," Will said, pouting with a boyish expression. "We don't get to see each other outside of school with your detention and family stuff, so this is the only time I get to see you."
Magenta softened at his words. She'd finished her detention, but her mother was another force to be reckoned with, and she'd been volunteering at church every other day. Magenta had only managed to sneak away to patrol with Will once in the past week and she'd been in so much trouble when she'd got back that the priest's dressing down had looked tame next to her mother's.
"Why won't you sit with me? Are you embarrassed to sit with me? I thought I was your friend, not just your boyfriend," Will added.
His manipulative behaviour and guilt tripping was so obvious from the outside of their relationship, it was any wonder that Stronghold didn't have an "I'm a manipulative asshole" neon sign flashing above his head, Wendy thought, even as her control over the cloud snapped.
A few students gasped in obvious excitement at the few snowflakes that started to fall. Ritchie closed his jacket, his fingers practically white from holding the bench, and hoped it would be enough to ward off frostbite.
From then, snowflakes fell hard and fast, a flurry of wind blowing the icy crystals around the cafeteria in a gust of wind that blew away the wonder and excitement. Snow began to pile up in thick layer upon thick layer, blanketing everything in a matter of seconds. It wasn't the first snow of winter, or even the third or fourth. This snow was the mid-winter blizzard that closed cities and recreated landscapes in its own image. Snow froze lunches, limbs, and lights in seconds.
Will regretted his thoughts about handling Wendy. He couldn't feel his hands and snow had built up to his knees. The wet snow seeped in through his jeans, making him shiver.
The cafeteria doors opened, Ry walking in and stopping, Adam and Corvin behind him. "What the fuck happened here?" Ry asked incredulously, eyes wide.
The question echoed through the silent cafeteria. It seemed to startle Wendy, as a gust of wind blew the cafeteria windows open, warmth flooding the room. The cafeteria was free of snow in a matter of minutes, limbs warming and thawing slowly and carefully with direct sunshine from a gap in the clouds outside.
Magenta moved to sit with Will while everyone was preoccupied. At her friends' table, Craig had shifted to Warren's form and offered to thaw or reheat everyone's lunches free of charge this one time. A line was curving around the cafeteria almost instantly, conversations starting to return slowly. Wendy defrosted the block of ice that Ethan and Zach had become, apologising when they were reformed. Neither teen had enjoyed the experience in the slightest, and left the cafeteria to warm their limbs in the sunshine outside.
By the end of lunch, all of the students had come to the same conclusion: don't piss off Wendy Walker.
...
Decima watched as her husband paced back and forth, Barney slipping into Spanish as he talked about his concerns and worries.
"Enzo, dear, how much coffee was in that coffee?" she asked, sipping at her tea as her husband continued to pace.
"I swear it was the weakest coffee the machine can make," Enzo replied, looking amused at Barney's fast-paced words and faster pacing.
"Barney, darling, I'm sure Freya is all right. She thought Miguel was dead, so give the girl a few more days with him."
"We all thought he was dead; they killed his parents and left enough of a massacre that it looked like the whole prowl was dead. The fact that Miguel is alive is a super miracle."
Decima stood and stopped her husband, wrapping her arms around Barney to hug him warmly. "We know he's alive, and Freya's all right - "
"Their containers came down empty," Enzo supplied helpfully.
"See, they're eating and they're together again. When they're ready, they'll come down and you can give Miguel a hug, okay?"
Barney muttered something against his wife's neck, hugging her warmly.
"How do you know them, anyway? Frogs and jaguars aren't exactly what I'd call neighbourly," Enzo said as he rolled dough out on his bench.
Decima snickered. "They actually were our neighbours. Miguel was born a year after Freya's clutch. She was devastated when his family was killed. We all were, of course, but her grieving was deeper. We didn't know they were dating; Freya said we would've teased her. She's probably right," she murmured with a wry smile, stroking her husband's hair gently.
"Shit. No wonder she threatened to... how did she phrase it? Disembowel everyone and poison the remains if they were disturbed?" Enzo queried.
"Yeah. That's my girl," Barney said with a sniff, pulling away from Decima and kissing her briefly. "I'm going to go sit outside their apartment again and shove notes under the door."
"You're the reason they shut the emergency hatch," Decima said, rolling her eyes.
"They will feel my love," Barney said firmly.
Enzo tried not to laugh and returned his attention to the dough, shaping out pizza rounds. If the same thing had happened to his Milo, he'd probably do the same. Though maybe he'd try to shove food through the emergency hatch instead of notes.
"We'll leave you to your cooking. Thanks for letting Barney discuss recipes. And fall apart in your restaurant, Enzo," Decima said, gently guiding her husband to the door.
"Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep a table aside for you on opening night," Enzo promised.
"The whole family?" Barney asked.
"That's the whole restaurant, Barney," Decima said.
Enzo watched as Barney and Decima left, arguing about how many notes was too many, and returned his attention to the pizzas and menu he was making for the children who still didn't want to leave their apartments. Some of them were still terrified, others needed time to regroup, and some just wanted to sleep and relax, finally free. Enzo made sure all of them had food, setting containers in front of the various doors so they could eat when they were hungry. Security had helped set out containers for the nocturnal shifters, and once Milo left for the bus, Enzo spent a few minutes each morning picking up the empty containers again. It was the least he could do, especially since he hadn't even opened the building's main restaurant yet.
Hearing the restaurant door open, Enzo looked over to the entrance, smiling broadly as he saw his wife walking over, an assortment of empty containers in her hands. Pressing down the pizza dough into the greased pan, Enzo washed and dried his hands before walking over to take the containers from Angelina, kissing her cheek.
"Good morning to you, too," Angelina said.
"Good morning, Angel. Thank you for the containers. Oh, good, room 962 ate theirs. I worried they weren't eating enough."
"They added a note with their demands. I think they've taken the stuffed animals hostage, or possibly those white pillows from the white room. There's a drawing," Angelina said in amusement, opening her folder and passing the piece of paper over to Enzo.
Turning the paper a few times, Enzo shook his head. "It might be a pillow. Still, I can make more bug-stuffed rolls. I'll see if Barney has a way of using them without destroying the bug's structure. Maybe I can use the nitrogen machine?" he mused, looking back to his kitchen.
"No, Enzo, you promised. I refuse to pay for staff defrosting again when we all know you shouldn't handle that machine. You shouldn't have even brought the thing with us," Angelina muttered.
"I didn't. It's a new one. It even has a safety switch," Enzo said brightly, his expression falling when he saw his wife's face. "Ahem. Right. The machine is off limits until someone translates the user manual."
"And?"
"And I get proper training. And no one else is in the kitchen."
"Thank you, Enzo. The sous chef needed therapy after all that."
"He needed therapy before it, he was just too cheap to pay for it."
"Enzo."
"Right. How are you going with the front of house?" Enzo asked quickly, nodding to the book in her hands.
Angelina frowned, knowing her husband was distracting her, but it was a distraction that worked well and they both knew it. "I think I've got everyone rostered on. Depending how busy we are, we might need to hire a new bartender. And one or two front of house. The wait staff we have at the moment are barely enough to cover the four areas."
"I thought it was meant to be five?"
"It was, until one of them quit. They got an acting job," Angelina said, setting the book down and opening to the revised floor plan.
"Oh, Jolene? That's good, she's been waiting to hear back... what?" Enzo asked, seeing Angelina's expression.
"Not Jolene. Denny did."
"But... Denny is the worst actor I've ever seen. And we saw Milo in that elementary school play where that kid couldn't even stand still as a tree for a full Act."
"They were six, Enzo, you need to let it go. But you're right about Denny; I don't know how long he'll have that job. Or even how he got it in the first place," Angelina admitted, more annoyed that Denny had left them in the lurch two days before opening night.
"Remember that play where Denny had to say three lines and mixed them up?"
Angelina's mouth twitched at the memory.
"And that other one where Denny came in too early for Macbeth and saw Lady Macbeth cleaning her hands and was just standing there awkwardly during her solo rant?"
Angelina grinned outright, and emboldened by her response, Enzo kept going.
"Then, after that disaster, the Alice in Wonderland musical where - "
"No! Don't, Enzo. You promised not to bring that one up again. The secondhand embarrassment is too much," Angelina said, wincing.
Enzo laughed and kissed her. "You're too much, Angel. Come on, I'll finish the pizzas and you can look over the menu I've been working on for opening night. And the kids."
"Don't get them mixed up; no citizens want to eat bug pizza," Angelina said, wrinkling her nose.
"Ooh, bug pizza could work! Crickets or larvae? Hmm, larvae is better with spaghetti."
"Enzo, stop talking, please," Angelina said, still queasy from the memory of the play to handle the idea of bugs as food.
"Right." Enzo kissed her again and curled an arm around her shoulders as he led her through to the kitchen.
Angelina focused on her husband and the task of running a brand new restaurant, as well as feeding a number of kids with varying tastes.
...
"Give it back! I wasn't done!"
"You already know your name, you don't need it anyway!"
"You looked at it for three hours and thirty-eight minutes already! You should have chosen by now!"
There was a snarl, then a responding growl, and one launching at the other to try to steal the book.
"Hey! What are you two doing?"
The rest of the gathered children looked over to the doorway to see a blonde woman hurrying into the room, two dog leads in either hand. The two fighting children stopped quickly, shrinking in on themselves at the unknown woman's presence and her unexpected shout.
"Did you hurt yourselves? Why are you fighting?" Sarah asked firmly, looking at each of them in turn to determine if there was any blood or bruises. Thankfully, they both seemed fine - she'd stopped them in time.
One child swallowed hard, then glared at the other, and looked at Sarah. "He stole the book from me."
"You were taking forever with it! Someone else should have a turn!"
"Stop. This is over a book?" Sarah asked incredulously.
Damning themselves, both children blushed at her question and were silent.
"Right. Okay, that's fine. There have been worse arguments over stupider things, I suppose. Toby, sit," she said firmly when she saw Toby's tail wagging. Snowball whined softly, a few of the children inching closer. "Hey, you ask before you can approach someone's dog, okay? Snowball looks like a pushover, but she could be aggressive, so always ask first," Sarah said.
The children stopped creeping forward. One straightened up bravely. "Can we pat Snowball and Toby, please, Miss?"
"You can. Thank you for asking," Sarah said. "Snowball, behave. Toby, roll over."
Toby immediately rolled over to show his stomach, and Snowball laid down with a wagging tail. They were both being petted carefully by the children, the kids' eyes bright and eager.
"You two calmer now?" Sarah asked the two children.
They nodded, cheeks still faintly pink. "Yes, Miss."
"Good. Would you like to pat the dogs, too?"
"Yes, please."
"Go on, then."
Sarah watched the kids and dogs carefully for a few moments, making sure Toby and Snowball wouldn't be irritated or their fur or tails pulled. Thankfully, the children didn't seem sticky or inclined to hurt the dogs, and Sarah slowly relaxed. She looked around the room to see pillows and blankets strewn everywhere, a bucket full of whiteboard markers but no whiteboard that she could see. Frowning, Sarah looked around to try to see where the whiteboard was, but nothing stood out. A light went on overhead and the walls had a familiar gleam to them that made her smile.
"You found the whiteboard markers, but not the whiteboard, hey?"
One child looked over to the bucket and pouted. "They wouldn't let me eat them, in case we got into trouble," 503 groused.
"Well, they might be toxic, so I wouldn't eat them either way. But the walls are whiteboards. See the shine to them?" Sarah said, her hand tightening on Toby's lead as he rolled back onto his feet.
A few children looked at the walls closer on hearing her words.
"Can we check, Miss?"
"Sure, I'll take the responsibility if I'm wrong. I don't think Curtis will mind, anyway. Oh, and my name's Sarah," she said, trying to smile kindly and not come across as a scary adult.
She'd heard enough about the building's newcomers from Honey on the weekend that she'd been worried about running into these poor kids and traumatising them further. Her day off today was meant to be a day of unpacking the rest of her and Jared's boxes, and to help the dogs get settled in. She supposed this still counted, since the dogs needed to get used to the kids in the building, too.
Some of the kids ran over to the markers, starting to draw on the wall in small amounts. One erased the marker, relief running through them as the whiteboard was clean once more. Sarah grinned at the sight, and movement from one of the pillow piles caught her attention, making her realise that a child was under the pillows.
"Who's under the pillows? Are they all right?" Sarah asked.
"That's 081. He has a headache."
"That's 'cause you were fighting over the book. It's a migraine now," 081 muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
"Sorry, 081."
"Do you want me to get ibuprofen for you? I only have adult strength with me, but I'm sure Frank's got child-strength in the corner store downstairs," Sarah offered.
She actually had no idea if he did or not, but figured if Honey had assisted with getting his stock, then Frank would have something suitable.
"Yes, please, Miss Sarah."
"All right. Now, who's the most responsible out of you all?" she asked, looking at the gathered kids and trying to determine the answer.
Surprisingly, the two children who'd been arguing before were nominated by the group at large. She looked at them for a moment, trying to determine whether Toby and Snowball were tired enough from their running around on the Sanctuary's roof to be trusted alone with a group of children. Toby's tongue was lolling out as one of the kids rubbed his stomach, making soft and happy noises. Snowball was obviously adoring the attention and nudging her nose under the kids' hands when they stopped paying her attention.
"Okay, I'll trust you both. Can I give you a big responsibility?"
They both nodded, firm and eager to prove themselves.
"I'd like you to look after Toby and Snowball while I run down to the corner store. Can you do that for me? Are you comfortable looking after dogs?"
"I can do it, Miss Sarah," the girl replied with a firm nod.
"So can I," the boy said determinedly.
"Okay, thank you. Toby, Snowball, stay, behave. I'll be right back," Sarah promised.
Toby and Snowball watched Sarah carefully as their leads were handed to the two children. Sarah tried not to hesitate as she left; she didn't want to make the kids think they wouldn't be trusted by an adult. Hurrying down the hallway to the elevator, she pressed the button and waited impatiently. She sent a text to Honey to check what the child's deal was with eating the markers, and then the elevator opened. Two Security members were inside, arguing and comfortable enough to apparently continue their argument even as Sarah stepped in beside them.
" - just saying we need to give her more time, Bud."
"Three days felt like forever already; I'm going to die if it's another three months."
"You'll live, you drama queen."
There was a brief pause. "Do you think it'll be another three months?"
"I fucking hope not."
"That's not comforting, Kid."
"I've never lied to you, Bud, not gonna start now. She'll come to us when she's ready, okay? We need to be patient."
"I've never been patient, Kid, not gonna start now."
Kid snorted at his response and Sarah had to bite her tongue to stop from laughing as well.
Sarah had obviously been working at Labyrinth for too long, because the tabloid-esque gossip she was listening to almost made her forget why she'd come downstairs in the first place. Forcing herself to step out of the elevator, she headed straight over to Frank's corner store. Thankfully, he did have child-strength medication, and Sarah was able to pay with her apartment's access card, which was somehow linked to the building's administrative fund itself. There was a whole thing about how the cards worked in the 'welcome to the Sanctuary' pack, but Sarah hadn't read it in great detail. She just knew she could buy things from Frank's store and Ammie's bakery and it wouldn't be charged to her bank account.
Heading back upstairs to the room with the kids and her dogs, Sarah was relieved that Toby and Snowball were both behaving and hadn't destroyed every pillow in the room. On realising that she was back in the room, Toby's ears perked up and he ran over to her, circling around her legs.
"Careful, Tobes. 081? I've got water and medicine for you."
A thin and trembling hand reached out from under the pillow mountain. "Thank you, Miss Sarah."
Somewhat concerned about whether he could breathe under there, let alone drink water and swallow a tablet or two, Sarah watched and waited until 081 had finished and returned the medicine packet and glass. Looking over to the other kids - and to check on Snowball - she blinked in surprise on seeing the large calendar that they were creating.
"What are you doing?" Sarah asked curiously, taking up Toby's leash and going to get Snowball where she was being adored by several children.
"Roster for the book. We won't argue over it, then," the girl said with a firm nod.
"Oh, good idea. I'm glad you thought of a resolution," Sarah said, somewhat distracted as her phone went off with a text message. Glancing at her phone, her eyes widened at Honey's text. "503, put the black marker back. Please," she added quickly.
503 dropped the marker quickly, her eyes wide and her lip trembling.
"It's all right, you can eat the others. The black one will make you sick, that's all. You're not in trouble," Sarah promised.
"Stay away from the red, though. That one always makes you hyper," the boy muttered, ruffling her bald head.
"Okay," 503 said, reaching for the yellow whiteboard marker instead. Her clothes weren't white anymore, but she was wearing polka dots that soon filled in yellow as she munched through the marker happily.
Sarah tried not to stare as she saw the young girl's power at work, but she mustn't have achieved it since the girl giggled beside her.
"Miss Sarah? Can we visit Toby and Snowball later?" one of the children asked shyly.
"It would be better for you to visit with me or Jared there; Snowball can get excitable and try to bite. She's being trained out of it, but it's - " Sarah cut off as one of the kids turned to Snowball and started barking. Snowball barked back, but soon ducked her head and covered her ears with her paws. "Uh... what just happened?"
"I asked Snowball to be good and stop biting at people."
"And... what did Snowball say?"
"She agreed, but she's pouting about it."
A laugh burst from Sarah. "I expect nothing less from her. I'd still like myself or Jared to be there when you visit, at least until I know Snowball will do as you've asked."
"Thank you, Miss Sarah."
...
End of the hundred and fifty-eighth chapter.