Aryana moon walked into the living room wearing a formal suit. She wasn't exactly moon walking, she was floating just high enough to give the illusion that she was sliding her feet. She hummed as she entered the living room. "Pimp cane bitches!" Aryana rose up a cane with a disco ball at the end, and pointed at Emily. She tipped her fedora in her direction.
Emily was finishing her homework at the dining room table. Vivan was sitting across from her to help her study, which mostly involved him reading questions to her for her exam next week.
Robert stepped into the living room wearing his own black suit with cufflinks and tie. Instead of a hat, he combed back his blonde hair to give it a slight shine against the light. "Christ, it's been ages since I've worn a suit."
Aryana squinted at him, "where's that dress I picked out for you?"
"We're going to a nightclub. I don't wear dresses outside of costume."
"Quite being gay. The pink looked fine on you."
Robert wasn't going to budge this time. "You wear it."
Aryana gasped, "eww, dresses are gay."
"Do you ever listen to the things you say?"
"I tend to faze in and out while I'm talking"
Vivan took a sip of his herbal tea. He stuck his tongue out in disgust, "Emily, you said tea would taste good. It tastes like leafy water."
Emily replied, "that's how it's supposed to taste…"
Vivan took another sip. "Gross." He took another sip, "gross." And another sip, "gross."
"You don't have to drink it," Emily suggested.
"No, it's fine." He took another sip. "Gross."
Aryana took a step to Robert's side and they hooked arms with each other. Aryana asked, "wait, which one of us is the escort this time?"
"I am," Robert said kindly, "and no, you don't have to pay me at the end of the night."
"Oh my, such a gentleman." Aryana motioned to Emily, "look Emily, I am swooning. Look at me swoon!"
Emily tilted her head, "I guess so."
"And, we're off!" Aryana and Robert stepped out of the door together looking like a strange couple. "Wish us luck on our perilous mission!"
"Good luck," Vivan and Emily said casually.
When the door closed behind them. After staring out for a few seconds, Emily looked over to Vivan and asked, "Vivan, are Aryana and Robert… Close?"
"Sure they are, the whole team kind of is."
"I mean… Are they closer than friends?"
Vivan looked over to the door, "nah, of course not."
Emily raised an eyebrow, convinced that Vivan was missing some obvious signals.
XXX
Aryana and Robert walked together on the boardwalk to the nightclub. They could've taken a bus and arrived there within thirty minutes, but taking a walk at night together had become somewhat of a routine for them. Without the need to sleep, they enjoyed going outside in the dim streetlights whenever they could. They took the long route to the club, strictly for the sake of having more time to talk in the chill night atmosphere.
"I hate shoes." Aryana said, "have I ever told you that I hate shoes?"
"Only every time you wear shoes," Robert replied. As if to contradict herself, Aryana proceeded to tapdance on the sidewalk in rhythmic fashion. It obviously required some skill to perform. Regardless of her hate for shoes, Aryana had taught herself to tap dance for the sake of irony. "Your random talents are impeccable," Robert said.
"I still wish I had my crocs. Crocs are like clouds on my feet."
"No shoes no entry," Robert said. "Remember the last time you tried going to a club without shoes?"
"You should've beaten up that bouncer, win my heart. Get laid."
"You always want us to abuse our powers too much."
"Hell yeah, yet another perk to being a villain," Aryana smiled. "Don't tell New Wave this, but the whole concept of not having identities is cool to me. It means you get to use your powers without people freaking out. I hate how people will freak out if I fly. Even if it's for a minute."
Robert sighed, "I respect the concept of New Wave. But it sort of feels like… They're phonies."
"Phonies?"
"Like they're only doing it for publicity. Going unmasked so that they can reap the social benefits of being superpowered. Like icons who are icons out of pure luck and clever marketing tricks. Glory Girl, Panacea, Laserdream, and Shielder, all strike me as those celebrity kids who grew up with everything, and won't have to work for anything in their lives because their parents are famous."
"Meh," Aryana took off her dress shoes. "Even though they're celebrities, I think even celebrities have issues they keep away from camera. I'm a narcissist, I love the fame. But I wouldn't be surprised if some days one of those guys wished they could hide in a dark corner to be left alone."
"A dark corner? For some reason, I really doubt that. Whatever personal issues that come with fame, I'm sure the riches outweigh it. Besides, none of them give off that vibe."
Aryana tiptoed forward barefoot, "vibes are hard to read, I've found it's better to either not expect anything or to keep expectations low. Think of it like rotten onions. We only ever see the nice outer layers, but everyone has that nasty part on the inside that no one ever sees."
"You're a very cynical person."
"I am indeed. Carry me."
"What?"
"I hate shoes. Now I'm stepping on rocks. People will freak out if I fly. So carry me, because you're the one who didn't let me bring my fluffy crocs."
Robert scrunched his mouth, but didn't complain when she jumped on his back. "Mwahahaha," Aryana pointed her cane forward, "slavery has finally reversed."
"Goddamnit, do you ever give it a rest?"
"Vivan thinks its funny."
"Vivan is a kid, act your age."
Aryana frowned, and fell quiet. They walked a few more blocks with her on his back in silence. It was late, and it was reaching the point where people were now leaving the nightclubs instead of visiting them. The lights kept things calm, and the streets were becoming clearer by the hour. Silence in the city was as low as it could be. "So…" Aryana's said in a plain tone, "You were a Ward?"
Robert sighed, "yeah. It's like I said before, I was kind of forced into it."
"Forced into it? How? Like a probationary member?"
"No, no…. My 'parents' forced me into it." He stretched the word 'parents', like it was only a technical term.
"Parents? Do you mean your biological parents, or foster parents?"
"Foster parents. Remember how I said I triggered in a car crash with my parents?... I lied."
"Shit," Aryana turned her head to the side. She wasn't angry that he'd lied, she was just disappointed in herself for not realizing it sooner. Robert had realized a long time ago that Aryana didn't get mad at people, she only got mad at situations she was caught into. "Are me and Vivan the only ones who told the truth in our origin videos?"
"I guess so," Robert said. "Edwin's trigger was kind of tame, so he tried overplaying it to seem more tragic. It's kind of the same with me. I thought no one could relate to my real trigger event, so I just used my parent's car crash for the origin video."
Robert's voice was somewhat casual. Aryana and the whole team knew that he'd lost his parents in a road accident. It should've been something difficult to talk about, but Robert had grown far past feeling uncomfortable talking about it.
"But this Ward thing," Aryana repeated, "how long were you in it for?"
"Four years."
"Woah," Aryana whistled, "did you go to any Endbringer attacks?"
"A few. I went to as many attacks they wanted me to, minus the Simurgh attacks. I couldn't do much beyond medical work. What they really needed me for was to help train Wards and Protectorate members to improve their sparring techniques."
"Why'd you leave? I thought the Protectorate looked out for their members."
"They do. But it's like I said before, I was forced into it."
Aryana scrunched her lip, "you keep saying that like someone held a gun to your head and made you do it."
Robert swallowed, and forced a smile. The body language was obvious. Aryana had always been good at cold reading, and Leet's limitless pills had refined that skill into perfection. If anything, she was a level 1 thinker that could interpret body language perfectly. She asked, "was… There some truth to that joke?"
Before he could answer, the sound of gunshots were heard from the distance. Aryana jumped of Robert's back. She flew for a mere five seconds to put her shoes back on, and sprinted to the direction of the sound. Robert paced after her.
They came to an alleyway and found a young women, blonde and slightly older than Robert, pointing a gun at a man in a skii mask. The man was bleeding out from his chest, and he had a knife in his hand from what was obviously an attempted mugging.
Aryana looked over at the women, she was trembling. The gun was still freshly shot but she looked down at the man wide eyed in fear. "Robert," Aryana said, "help him."
Robert walked over to the mugger. He laid back choking. Robert knew he was supposed to stop the bleeding, but it was plainly obvious he was shot into a vital organ. There was nothing he could do to save him.
Aryana placed a hand on the women's gun barrel. She had the gun tightly gripped before Aryana began speaking. "You're safe now," she said calmly. The women's hands were shaking. She was mortified. It was plainly obvious she had never expected to truly use that gun.
"He… Had a knife… I thought…" She swallowed.
"It's over now. He won't hurt you, you were only trying to stay safe." Aryana noticed the E88 tattoo at the side of her neck with an X crossed over it. The women looked at Aryana in confusion but Aryana didn't change her attitude in any way. "We'll call the paramedics. We can walk you home when they get here."
Gallent and Glory Girl came flying in. They came in from the sky flying calmly to the situation at hand. Looking across the four people, Gallent asked, "what happened?"
"I think," Aryana explained, "she was attacked, and she defended herself. Is that right ma'am?"
The woman swallowed, and nodded her head slowly.
Robert checked the pulse of the mugger long after his breathing stopped. He noticed the tattoos running across the mugger's arm. Looking back at the woman's 'x' marked tattoo, Robert could better understand the confrontation. The 'X' symbolized betrayal or treason against the E88. Supposedly, the only way to officially leave the E88 was to brand yourself as a traitor. These marked people were often victims of E88 harassment just as minorities were.
It was obvious to Robert that the mugger had some sort of personal vendetta against the woman.
Glory Girl put a hand on the woman's shoulder. In an instance, the fear she had was melted away by Glory Girl's presence. It was calming, hopeful. The trembling stopped in an instance and she felt pang of peace on her shoulder.
Aryana noticed it too. She could almost smell it. She never felt Glory Girl's power on the positive side before. It was delightfully intoxicating. It added a sense of hope, relaxation, and confidence. Aryana couldn't help but want more, but she reminded herself to act natural.
Glory Girl said, "you're safe now, ma'am. The police will be here soon, when they come-" She stopped mid sentence. The neck tattoo finally passed by her eyes. "Hold on, you're an E88 member."
No she's not, Aryana wanted to say. But an explanation wouldn't have mattered, because the moment Glory Girl said it, terror went across the woman's body.
The complete shift from safety to horror came in an instance. Whether it was conscious or subconscious, Glory Girl's aura registered her as a threat. And her power made her from being something admired, into something to be fearful of.
The woman muttered, "I-I-I-I swear I left." She was backing away from Glory Girl now, holding the gun more tightly out of pure panic. "I regret everything, but they wouldn't let m-m-me leave."
She was now ready to point the gun to Glory Girl. Not out of fear, but out of irrational panic. Aryana thought of a quick solution. She rolled a block of wood beneath her feet as she stepped back. Slightly, in an undetectable fashion, she yanked the wood to cause the woman to fall back on a trash bin. The gun was then yanked out by Aryana's power, causing the woman's movements to seem more clumsy than threatening. Better she look like a fool, than to attack someone out of a foolish panic.
"I never wanted to join," the woman yelled crying. "My boyfriend made me do it! I didn't think he'd try to..." She looked over at the mugger, shameful for what she'd done.
"Your boyfriend made you do it," Glory Girl scoffed, "like that should fucking matter."
It wasn't a threat. Victoria wasn't going to take her in jail for what was clearly self defense, but she did feel the need to be angry at someone. After what the Loser's had done to her and Amy, Victoria's temperament had become like boiling water. She avoided being angry at herself, so she found solace in venting out at criminals instead.
Aryana's mouth twitched. The idea of kicking someone while they're down, for something they clearly regretted, didn't run well for her. "You know Glory Girl," Aryana took a deep breathe, "you're a shitty hero."
Glory Girl's eyes widened, "Rush?" She took a step back. Glory Girl's aura immediately turned hostile. The feeling of hope and sanctity were replaced with insecurity and self-doubt. Aryana loved the shift. That immediate peak and fall within her body made her feel a high within her mind.
Aryana smiled. She took off her fedora and covered the top half of her face the same way her mask would do. She gave an iconic grin. "Oh, because I'm tan skinned, I have to be associated with the sexiest tan skinned villain in town? So racist, my lovely Poster Girl."
"You bitch," Glory Girl yelled, "it is you! I ought to-"
"Ought to what? Arrest me for being brown? I'm terribly offended, I ought to go to the press for such bigotry." Glory Girl stepped back, remembering the footage of they still had. Aryana walked backwards. "C'mon Robert, I'd rather not associate myself with these Protectorate scum."
"Fuck the Protectorate," Robert stood up and put his hands into his pockets, Gallant realized it was Uber.
"Stop," Gallant ordered. "We know who you are, you're under-"
"Stop, Gallant," Glory Girl swallowed. "Please, just ignore them this one time."
Gallent went silent. Aryana and Robert hooked hands again and marched out of the alleyway in a comedic fashion. Looking over at them, Gallent noticed the vibrant colors encompassing Uber. It was a mixture of passion and happiness towards his friend, like a blind love that only long-time lovers could have.
His partner was contrasted. Within her, he saw nothing. The emotions she emitted were fake. There was neither happiness nor ego in what she had just gotten away with. Something rare for people with such exaggerated displays of emotions. She was a psychopath.
When they walked off, the blonde victim stared off at the two Losers leaving, wide eyed in surprise. Without saying another word, she backed away trying to forget the spectacle she'd just gone through.
Gallent and Glory Girl didn't bother stopping her leave, she wouldn't have been cooperative with the police, and they couldn't arrest her for having a tattoo. The emotions Gallant saw in the blonde woman was remorse, coupled with a small sense in pride that she was willing to defend herself. And, with a passing smile, admiration for someone she'd just met.
Gallent turned to his girlfriend, "Victoria… What's going on?"
Glory Girl swallowed, "There's…. something I need to tell you."
XXX
Faultline's nightclub was packed, even though it was a weekday night. The bouncer let them in the moment they let him know their names.
"Rush," the bouncer nodded with a smile.
She smiled back to him, "Aye, hombre essay, broly."
The bouncer chuckled, and spoke Spanish to her. "Keep giving those gringo bastards what they deserve."
Aryana replied in Spanish, "Of course. Does that include my gringo bitch I brought with me?"
Robert included himself to the conversation, "bitches like her always give guys like me what they deserve."
"Hey," the bouncer said in crystal clear English. "Don't call her a puta."
Robert cocked his head back. Aryana yelled at Robert, "yeah, I'm a lady, how dare you call me a bitch, you filthy fuck."
Robert muttered quietly to himself, 'why do people always take her side?'
They entered the nightclub and made their way to the stairway. The top floor was where Faultline's crew stayed. Passing by the balcony, Aryana noticed Labyrinth and Newter sitting next to Gregor the Snail on a nearby sofa. She walked over to them for a greeting, "hello strangers."
"Hello… Rush…" Labyrinth said softly.
"Did the medication help?" Aryana asked. She was referring to some tinker made medicine she'd offered for Labyrinth's mental disorder. Faultline gave approval for her to try it, and Aryana said they'd sell more to them if the first sample went well.
Labyrinth shook her head furiously, Gregor answered. "Under normal circumstances, it did help things become more vivid for her. But it also halted the intricacies of her powers. She couldn't create exactly what she wanted while on the medication. She stopped taking them after a day."
"Sorry it couldn't help," Aryana's voice sounded sympathetic.
"It's… okay," Labyrinth spoke softly. It made the headaches go away. But it stopped me from helping my friends. "You tried."
Aryana passed a glance over to Newter. With a grin, she lifted her chin up and said, "sup Newter. High five."
Newter smiled back at her, "I charge forty dollars a hit."
"Robert, lend me eighty."
Robert replied, "After the meeting."
"Yes," Gregor mentioned. "I believe Faultline is waiting for you in her office upstairs."
Robert and Aryana left to the office. Before leaving, Aryana pointed a finger at Newter and gestured a finger telephone over her left ear. She mouthed the words 'call me' to him before heading upstairs. Newter pointed back at her with a grin, implying he'd take her up on the offer.
"Are you acquainted with her?" Gregor asked him with genuine curiosity.
"Nah," Newter answered, "but I know the type. If she's anything like she is in the show, she just pretends she's already on everyone's good side."
"She's… good." Labyrinth said, trying to imply something else.
"Funny you say that," Newter remembered some banter from one of their earlier episodes. "She'd get really offended if you ever called her that."
XXX
Faultline's office was clean. As expected for the curator of a nightclub. Robert and Aryana took the two seats that in front of her. Faultline sat behind her desk in her riot-gear like armor.
"You could've brought your masks," she said in the form of a question.
Aryana shrugged. Robert replied, "it's a gesture of good faith. None of us have family in Brockton Bay. Speaking face to face offers more genuinity when speaking."
Faultine nodded, she disagreed, but she wasn't going to start an argument. "I was hired to give you a note, and a present, at a safe place and at a specific time. When we found out you getting arrested by the Protectorate yesterday, we called our client, and he was willing to pay extra for us to free your team."
"Sounds like a good deal," Robert said.
"And ominous," Rush commented in an eager tone. "I wonder if it's like s secret illuminati message. Maybe I'm a sleeper agent, and the note will trigger me!"
Faultline smirked. She felt the need to ask. "This illuminati you always talk about… Is there any truth to it?"
Aryana snorted, "I dunno, maybe the letter will reveal the answers."
"But…" Faultline leaned closer, and in a whispered tone she asked, "these Illuminati conspiracies you talk about… is there a hidden message there?"
Aryana tilted her head, she thought to herself, 'wait, is Faultline crazy?' Robert coughed and answered, "it's more of a thought experiment. We like making people ask questions, so we came up with a fake conspiracy idea to keep people guessing about things they wouldn't normally think deeply about."
"I see," Faultline said. She decided to drop the subject. "Keep asking questions then."
Faultline gave the note to Robert. She handed the small present to Aryana. Aryana recognized the box instantly and didn't even bother opening it. Instead, she stroked the bright ribbon that was finely tied to the side, letting her eyes half wander as she became mesmerized by its perfectly symmetrical wrappings.
Robert read the note aloud; "there's a porcelain doll inside.'" Robert checked the other side of the note, "that's all it says."
Aryana's gaze fell lower. She looked disappointed.
Robert noticed her change in attitude. "Do…. You know where this came from?"
She shook her head, "nope, but whoever gave me this has a terrible taste in gifts."
XXX
That night, Aryana stepped into Vivan's bedroom. "Yo," she said, poking him awake. "Get up kid."
"What? It's three AM." He let out a yawn. He shook his head to try and get a better sight of his sister in the dark. "Why'd you wake me?"
"We gotta go."
"Why?"
"Accord found us."