Chapter Twelve: Teambuilding For Dummies ©
March 8, 2011
Dennis was walking up the steps to the hospital when he felt his phone buzz. He seriously considered ignoring it. He could tell Triumph that he'd thought the message was on his private phone, or that he'd left his PRT phone in his bag, or that his father was probably dying. Triumph would understand, and would give him the absolute minimum punishment, just some monitor duty and a lecture. But there was a chance that it was a call to action, and Dennis would never leave his team hanging.
He walked into the waiting room, took a seat, and pulled out his cell. He had to type his password in three times before he got it right, and when Dennis read that it was a simple meeting invite, he privately wished he'd gotten locked out of his phone instead. He could still refuse to go, just not show up, but the PRT system would know that the message had been read and when, and Triumph might be forced to pass it up the line. The Wards were under much closer scrutiny now that Contract was on the team.
After he admitted to himself that he was going to attend, he had to decide if he was going to let him mom know. Half of him wanted to. He wanted to go upstairs and see his mom and get a hug and squeeze his dad's hand tightly. But if he went up just to tell her that he was leaving, she would be upset and his dad would be understanding and Dennis would feel guilty and he might decide not to go.
So after five minutes in the waiting room, wishing he was upstairs, Dennis climbed to his feet and started walking toward the PRT headquarters.
It wasn't a long distance, but it was long enough for Dennis to get trapped in his own thoughts. The frustration always seemed to creep up on him, when he walked from the part of his life that he was helpless to affect to the part of his life where his potential was limitless and he was nearly an adult… the transition somehow made him angry.
Occasionally, if the timing worked out right, he ran into Sophia on his way to the base, and that helped. Sophia wasn't particularly kind, or thoughtful, or even feminine. But her no-nonsense, hard-core, self-pushing, relentlessness made her a valuable part of the Wards. He knew that she rubbed some of the team the wrong way — Missy in particular seemed to avoid her — but he also knew you didn't have to like a person to work with them effectively. Sophia was tough and good at her job, and that job didn't include group therapy.
Today, Sophia was nowhere to be found, and Dennis wearily hoped that she hadn't been out on unauthorized patrol again. Her enthusiasm was admirable, but if she ever got in trouble out there without back-up it would be an ugly business for everyone. The Wards were a good team, and there was no need to give their twitchy superiors any reason to break them up. Honestly, Clockblocker wasn't sure that he'd be able to be a part of any other team.
Missy was the heart of the team and their center. She'd been a cape longer than anyone else, but was surprisingly well adjusted for it. Nothing cape-related ever seemed to phase her.
Dean offered the emotional outlet and balance that the team needed. He joked that he was their psychiatrist, and though he really wasn't all that wise, the very nature of his power kept them honest with each other and prevented small disagreements and disappointments from festering into larger issues.
Chris was still finding his place, such that he was currently occupying a role somewhere between everyone's little brother and their crazy uncle. When he was on his game, he was brilliant, quick on his feet, spontaneously fun, and intuitive. When he wasn't, when his mental balance was off, it was hard not to want to just protect him from the world.
On the other hand, Rory was a strong tactician, but not the most natural or charismatic leader. Both Carlos and Dennis had stepped in to help cover his deficiencies.
Carlos was the quietest of the team, but in a way that made him their rock. Both his power and his personality lead him to fill a roll of heavy lifting for the rest of the team, and they depended on him.
Adding Sophia to the mix had been a change, but in many ways a change for the better. She was abrasive, but she was also decisive and ruthless. She wasn't anyone's best friend, but she brought level of detachment and professionalism to the team that Dennis appreciated.
When Dennis took the elevator from the garage up to the Wards' base, he found that he was the last to arrive, save Sophia. He took one of the only available seats, putting space between himself and Contract, or Fi rather, since she wasn't in costume. It wasn't that he didn't like her. Well, he didn't, and he could admit as much to himself, but he didn't particularly like Rory either and he didn't mind sitting by him. It was more that something about Fi set off his danger instinct, and he didn't trust that much power within arm's reach.
They had no idea how her power worked, where she came from, or anything else about who she was and yet they were expected to act like teammates and play nice. It was unfair, impossible, and Fi didn't help the situation by attacking trusted teammates like Sophia, in front of Renick no less. They had been lucky that he didn't take the accusations more seriously, or they might have lost a valuable and versatile partner.
As soon as Dennis was seated, Triumph spoke. He was the only one in costume, but Dennis still felt himself slipping away into Clockblocker, as he always did when he was in this building.
"Thank you all for coming on short notice." Clockblocker wondered how Triumph would have started if he'd decided to skip out, but didn't say anything. "I found out that there's a press release scheduled for tonight at six and I thought we should talk before then. Fi, do you want to start or…"
"Go ahead and say your piece." Vista would probably credit Contract with being polite, but to Clockblocker it sounded more dismissive. She was sitting between Kid Win and Intrepid, and for once Intrepid seemed just as clueless as the rest of them. It was probably petty to be happy about that, but Clockblocker was. It would be nice to watch Intrepid get a taste of what it was like to be on the outside of the Contract-crazy zone looking in. See how he liked it here on planet Earth with the rest of the team.
Triumph cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable, so maybe he felt dismissed too, but he continued. "Okay, well, if you have anything to add, go ahead and jump in. Some of you know that there was a gang-related incident at Winslow on Friday."
Clockblocker had found out about the incident from PHO, which said everything that needed to be said about the intelligence sharing tendencies of Triumph, and of his new teammates for that matter. Clockblocker was determined not to repeat that mistake when he finally got to be team leader. Across the table, Vista shot him a glance and he knew that she was thinking the same thing. They had discussed information dissemination before and had a few ideas for new protocols, when the time came.
He looked forward to the private debrief he'd have with Missy in a few days when they could debate which of those protocols would have helped this situation the most. Sometimes he really couldn't wait until June when he would take over the team, and though it meant losing Triumph and Aegis to graduation first, he knew that Vista and Gallant were looking forward to it too. Kid Win just looked interested, un-phased by the team dynamics. It was one of his strengths, to roll with anything, but it meant that he didn't often take a stand, even when one was needed.
"In the aftermath of that incident, a number of facts came to light. First and foremost, Fi shared some of the mechanics behind her powers, which has implications for this whole team." In Clockblocker's honest and humble opinion, it was about damn time.
"Additionally, efforts were put into improving our team dynamics, starting with the issue of the rumors about Taylor Hebert. That discussion is directly related to why Sophia is not here now, but I want to start with the information that Contract volunteered on Friday." Clockblocker would really rather hear about the fate of his long-standing teammate, but he didn't feel like interrupting with his usual flippant commentary. He was just too tired to keep up the piercing smart-ass act today.
Triumph glanced at Contract, but she just looked back at him, so he kept talking. "Contract's power works by making trades. She makes a sacrifice, and that price allows her to cause an effect on the world. The effect is limited by how much she wants it, balanced against how much big the sacrifice is. To pay for the destruction of Behemoth and the restoration of New York, Contract chose to leave her family. In order for Behemoth to stay gone, she has to make that choice continually."
Clockblocker, along with every other Ward, found himself looking at Contract. She had chosen to leave her family? What did that mean? What did it say about her family? What did it say about her, that she was able to choose to leave them? Under their combined stares, Contract finally spoke. "That's not the entire sacrifice, but it is the part of the cost that is hardest to live with on a day to day basis."
When she didn't say anything more, Triumph continued. "When the Protectorate found out that Contract was under such significant pressure, they took immediate steps to relieve other sources of stress." It was a completely reasonable reaction to discovering that Behemoth was not completely gone and could reappear at any time, but it still put Clockblocker's back up. How far would the PRT bend to cater to this girl? Triumph was already listing some of the measures that had been taken.
"As a part of that effort, PRT thinkers identified capes which Contract had connected with positively, and updated them on the situation. A few of us also got emails that boiled down to 'don't irritate her, and try to mend fences or you will be moved to a new team.' None of you got those emails for two reasons. First, thinker bullshit didn't dictate that it was necessary. And second, the Protectorate didn't want to taint the natural team dynamic."
Any possible team dynamic had just been shredded completely, with the knowledge that the PRT was determined to keep Contract happy. Clockblocker was a little surprised that he hadn't received a warning, but maybe he was doing a better job of hiding his displeasure than he'd thought. Then Clockblocker met Gallant's eyes across the table, and knew that there was at least one team member to whom he was transparent. He took a deep breath and let it out.
There was no need to stress out Gallant because he was in a bad mood. He knew that he and Gallant would have a debrief of their own in a few days where Dean would sympathetically ask about his dad and listen to his ranting and eventually remind him that his stress about his dad was affecting everything else in his life. Dennis would swear, again, to do better, and he did try, but it was hard.
"They left it up to my judgment for how and when to tell you. I spent Saturday with Fi, gauging the situation for myself. I was alerted to the investigation into Shadow Stalker, but I made the call to wait to see how it played out." Finally, Triumph got to the details that had Clockblocker most concerned. "There was nothing we could have done anyways, because until yesterday afternoon, the investigation was entirely focused on her civilian identity. The police determined that Sophia was responsible for a sustained, 18 month campaign of bullying against Taylor Hebert." Triumph was dancing around the point still, and Clockblocker took another deep breath as subtly as he could.
"A number of other girls were also involved and all are being prosecuted. Sophia was involved in both the planning and execution of a criminal prank that took place on January 3rd. Sophia pushed Taylor into her school locker which had been filled with trash three weeks earlier. Taylor remained locked in there for several hours and had to be taken to the hospital."
Triumph took a deep breath, and Clockblocker wondered if it was possible that Contract had framed Sophia for the bullying, just to prove herself right. Sophia had been, if anything, too zealous in bringing in criminals and those who preyed on the weak. He couldn't reconcile that with bullying. He glanced around the table, gauging reactions, and saw that both Kid Win and Vista looked resigned, rather than surprised. Gallant was shocked, while Aegis was almost bored. Intrepid looked smug, but Contract was too difficult to read. He felt his stomach drop at the idea that he might be Sophia's only defender, even against her own teammates. Had they seen something in her that he hadn't? Or was it the other way around?
"Additionally, in the course of that investigation, the PRT discovered that Sophia had broken her probation in a number of ways, including continuing to carry lethal ammunition and performing a number of solo, unsupervised patrols. There is circumstantial evidence that she is responsible for as many as three murders." That stopped Clockblocker cold, as he whipped his gaze from Contract to Triumph. As much as he wanted to believe that it was all fake, the accusation seemed too outlandish to be false. It was too much for Contract to have framed her, and too much for the PRT make up to pacify her. Surely, another part of him wanted to protest, it was also too much for them to have missed? She'd been their teammate for six months.
"I know this is a lot to process, so feel free to ask questions now or later. I want to be very transparent about all of this."
"How did she get away with it?" Vista now seemed more angry than hurt. Clockblocker wanted to think poorly of her for turning on a teammate so quickly, but he could already feel himself second-guessing what he knew of Sophia, and Missy had never liked her to begin with. In the two years that Clockblocker had known Vista, he'd always thought of her as loyal. He wondered if there were things between the two girls that he hadn't seen, and more importantly he wondered why Missy hadn't shared her concerns with him if there were.
Triumph sounded weary when he answered. "Very few flags were raised at the school level. One of the other students who worked with Sophia has a father who's a lawyer, and all the girls were popular, so Taylor didn't report much of the bullying. When Sophia's name came up in January, her social worker decided to handle the issue herself and used her PRT credentials to get the police investigation shut down. Director Renick never knew about it. Additionally, she managed to hide her extra patrols and such from us. It's not hard to imagine that she fooled the other authorities."
"That's bullshit," Clockblocker said, then he remembered himself and glanced at Missy. "Sorry." Sophia had been on probation, surely an accusation of bullying would have been given very serious consideration. Perhaps he was biased because he wanted it to be false, but the whole story seemed too weird to be real. In real life, bullies didn't maintain long campaigns and get away with it just because they were pretty and well-connected, only to be exposed by the new kid that nobody really likes.
"I've heard the word before. And it is bullshit. The whole thing is bullshit." Vista leaned back. Somehow, Clockblocker didn't think they were protesting the same thing. "I can't believe she got away with this." It seemed that Vista was suffering no moral quandary in hanging Sophia out to dry, and he resolved to talk to her about her view of the situation as soon as he could.
"I'm just glad it came out now, and before it got worse." Gallant obviously didn't believe his own words, but he was trying to find a silver lining. It was a good gesture, but a little too soon. Gallant was so accustomed to smoothing feathers that he sometimes didn't realize when a wound was too raw.
"There's worse than a criminal assault on an innocent girl and three possible murders?" Missy bit back at him. Mentally, Clockblocker caught himself and tried to think of her as Vista, but it was hard when she wasn't in her costume, and was so young, and was acting like a teenager instead of a hero. Knowing her for so long also made it difficult to distinguish between the two. She was honest and basically the same girl regardless of the circumstances.
No one answered her for a long time. Clockblocker seriously considered pointing out that they had only a few days of investigation to support that theory, but didn't feel like fighting the whole table to do it when he was starting to doubt his own protests. He'd wait and corner Triumph separately. He was going to read that investigation report very closely, that was for sure.
"Isn't there?" It was Contract, and Clockblocker felt even angrier at her that she chose now to speak up and have an opinion. She had obviously never considered Sophia a teammate. They'd never been in the field together, and Sophia had never saved her life. What could she possibly understand about this? "Isn't there always a way in which it could be worse?"
"How did you know?" Clockblocker shot back, recognizing that he was spoiling for a fight and for once not needing humor or teasing to disguise his point and not caring about trying to act like a mature, soon-to-be team leader. "What made you think that Sophia was guilty?"
Contract shrugged, casual. "I just watched. Sophia was the most popular girl in school, and Taylor was being picked on by a lot of people. The only way that dynamic could have developed was if Sophia had a hand in it. I didn't know about the probation violations." Surprisingly, the calm answer actually did make him feel a little better about the situation.
"So what happens to her now?" Kid Win asked, and Clockblocker almost breathed a sigh of relief that the kid genius was on his game today. Having Kid Win focused on the situation and it's repercussions was always better than having to explain it to him after the fact.
"The official press release later tonight will say that Shadow Stalker's civilian identity was in a major car accident, and that she has chosen to withdraw from cape life for the foreseeable future. The truth is that her parole has already been revoked. She has more than two years in prison already coming to her, due to the criminal assault which lead her into the Wards in the first place. Additional time will be added at a court hearing later this month. Because of her previous crimes and her status as a Ward, she will be tried as an adult. For obvious reasons, the case will not be open to the public."
To Clockblocker, it sounded like she was being railroaded. After he saw the file and examined the evidence against her, he would likely need to go up the chain to Armsmaster if he still had concerns.
"And the other girls?" Intrepid asked. Considering the role he'd played a week ago in getting Sophia in trouble, he was surprisingly quiet now.
"It's not clear yet. Technically, they're not a PRT case. But given how much of the case is affected by Sophia's status as a Ward, the PRT will be watching closely. Taylor has also previously requested to be moved to Arcadia, and the school is considering moving her to the top of the wait list. She'll most likely transfer within the next few weeks."
"We'll keep an eye out for her." Gallant declared, and this time he actually sounded sincere.
"So, what happened on Friday?" If Clockblocker had to guess, he'd say that Missy was asking more to change the subject than because she cared.
Intrepid finally did something useful and answered her, "A couple of ABB and Empire guys started a knife fight. They had about 20 spectators with them in an upper classroom. Fi froze them all stock-still, like human statues. She released them only when they agreed to stop fighting on school grounds. If they ever start fighting again, they'll re-freeze for 24 hours. They all took the deal." Intrepid paused slightly, then looked at Contract as though he was waiting for a signal or double checking some detail. "It cost her the ability to hear for at least a week, maybe more."
Clockblocker felt the shock on his face, even as Contract tapped the glasses she was wearing. "That's why Armsmaster made me these. They link to my phone so I can read everything that's being said around me." She sighed, sounding perfectly normal despite apparently being deaf.
"I suppose I should lay out a little groundwork, since we are teammates and all. Deafness is one of my most common costs. It's very straightforward, easy to explain, and I don't get treated differently. I've learned to live with it, so I can do everything I can do when I'm hearing. I am fluent in ASL and lip-reading.
"For smaller effects, I use straight energy. You have probably noticed that I eat more than my weight would indicate. I can also drain batteries or use other forms of electric power but mostly I'm talking about effects on the scale of party tricks if I'm using energy as my sacrifice.
"Anything that includes an ongoing choice is more powerful. Constantly choosing to give up my family is pretty much the biggest sacrifice I can make. I don't know if I'll be able to handle another Endbringer."
Clockblocker winced at the reminder of her cost, and saw a few other flinches around the table as well. He couldn't imagine giving up his family for anything, not even to save other lives. It was hard enough to be temporarily separated from his family, especially now. He forced himself to focus on the rest of what she had said, and found a slightly morbid curiosity waiting for him. Without thinking it through, he asked, "Have you ever been blind?"
"It's about twice as effective as deafness, but three times as inconvenient. Not worth it."
"What about paralyzed?" he shot back.
"Do you think you're going to come up with anything in the next five minutes that I haven't tried in six years?" Her condescending tone pissed him off, and his short fuse, which had been cooling off, snapped again.
Clockblocker leaned forward, ignoring Triumph's disapproving look. "Challenge accepted. Stop me when I come up with something you've never sacrificed before. Sense of touch, sense of smell, sense of taste. Pleasant sensations. Broken bones. Unconsciousness. Nakedness." After a moment's thought, he clarified, "Nakedness in public." He paused, expecting her to admit that this was one price she'd never paid, but she was silent, so he moved onto other things that she might have given up temporarily. "Eating. Drinking. Suffering burns, nausea, cramps. Giving up good judgment." He paused, then, thinking, and Contract jumped in to rile him up.
"Spare yourself from this line of thought. If it's listed in a medical commercial under 'possible side effects,' I've done it. Try something original."
Her speaking had given him the time he needed to think up a new line of attack. "Have you ever given yourself agoraphobia? Lost the ability to read? Been bald? Had an embarrassing tattoo? Kissed a girl? Kissed a boy? With tongue?"
"Dennis, keep it PG." Triumph cut in, but he was looking more impressed than disapproving, now, so Clockblocker opened his mouth again, but Intrepid cut in first.
"You said on Friday that you could give up anything that was yours. Energy, body, or possessions. From Dennis' questions we know you've used embarrassment and fear, which are both painful emotions. Have you ever made yourself angry?" Clockblocker filed away that Contract had told Intrepid about her powers, but not the rest of the team.
"That was a mistake I didn't repeat in a hurry." Despite her words, she was smiling a little fondly.
Intrepid continued, "You've mentioned an enforced silence… have you ever given up your ability to be silent and been forced to just keep talking?"
"When it finally wore off I didn't get my voice back for a month and a half."
"I think we get the picture," Triumph cut in. "Unless there's something you want to add?"
"I think you understand the important details."
"Any other questions?" Triumph offered, which was his way of wrapping up, but Clockblocker decided to throw a curveball at Contract just to see which way she'd jump. He let out a little of his hostility out of the box he usually kept it in, this time being purposeful and keeping it tightly leashed, and faced Contract directly.
"Why didn't you just tell us about your power? Why yank our chain? We're your team."
She met his eyes calmly, and answered him, "How would you go about telling complete strangers that, from your own perspective, you'd effectively killed your entire family? I can never talk to them again. I can never hug them, or see them, or send them a birthday gift. I am grieving everything I knew. My family, my friends, my life. How would you choose to address the subject?"
It hit Clockblocker like a punch to the gut. It was the second or third time she'd said it, but the first time that it really penetrated. Without waiting for an answer, Contract stood and walked stiffly towards her private room.
"She'll calm down," Intrepid said, looking after her. "I think it hits her all over again every time she has to say it. On Friday she could barely get the words out. She just kept hinting at it. At least now she can be blunt. It's hard for us to hear, but I think it's a good sign that she can say it to us." Jason grabbed his bag off the floor. "Sorry to duck out, but I should actually be going. My mom's expecting me at home."
Distantly, Clockblocker felt a hint of anger at Intrepid. He treated the Wards like an afterschool club that obeyed set hours and restrictions, and maybe that had worked in Texas but Brockton Bay needed them too badly to allow it. Clockblocker might flirt with the idea of irresponsibility, but he'd never let his team down when they needed him. The resentment felt feeble in the face of what Contract had said. She had cut all ties with her family. He couldn't stay away from his father more than a couple hours at a time, even for clearly rewarding activities such as patrol. Had he judged Contract too harshly?
Vista and Triumph left shortly after for patrol, and Gallant went to the console, leaving Aegis, Kid Win, and Clockblocker at the table. Fortunately, Kid Win could be counted on to know when he needed space, so Clockblocker chose to stay seated to work out his thoughts while his teammates conversed nearby.
"You okay?" Kid Win asked Aegis softly. "You didn't say anything that whole time."
"I was here most of Sunday," Aegis replied softly, "and I had monitor duty yesterday, so I knew most of this, just not how it fit together."
"It's a big change," Kid Win offered, feeling his teammate out.
"Yeah."
"What's up? You seem really down."
Aegis shrugged. He tried to keep his voice even as he replied, but as quiet as it was, it still shock a little. "Piggy called me to her office last night. It seems that they've decided to leave Rory in charge indefinitely, or at least until everything else stabilizes. She hinted that even if he left before I graduated, they might go straight to Clockblocker anyway for PR reasons. On one hand, I'm sort of relieved because I always knew that I would have a short window as leader. On the other… well, I think I wanted it more than I realized before it was taken away. Rory and I talked about it earlier today, and I get why it's the right choice, but it's a lot to take in."
It was news to Clockblocker too, but his resentment at the poor communications in the office was an old wound, and he tried to focus on the new information he had learned.
"I'm sorry. I think you would have been a good leader." Kid Win sounded sincere, which meant he was. The kid was a terrible liar.
"I'm considering where I want to go when I graduate. I got good offers from a couple schools in California. I never wanted to leave Brockton Bay before, and I don't want to do so now either, but they're really good offers. I guess I've just got a lot on my mind." Absently, Carlos stood up. "Sorry to unload on you."
"No apology necessary. You headed home?"
"Yeah. Chem test tomorrow."
"Good luck." Aegis left without saying good bye to anyone else, which was itself a sign of the disappointment and stress he was feeling.
Just as the silence was about to get awkward between himself and Kid Win, Contract came out of her room carrying her computer.
"We're thirty seconds from press release. Want to watch PHO blow up?" She seemed surprisingly okay, even smiling a little bit. Clockblocker wondered if it was an act, or if the earlier anger had been fake. As much as he wished otherwise, he knew the hurt had probably been genuine and with good reason, so she was either mildly bi-polar, or she was just acting okay.
"I admit, I've never really gotten into it," Kid Win told her as he stood up to leave.
"Really? At all? Do you have an account?"
"Yeah. I set one up when I joined the Wards, but I live this stuff day in and day out. I don't need to take it home with me too."
"Fair enough. I'm new to the whole celebrity thing."
"Well, don't let me stop you. Just make sure that you don't say anything that will put PR up in arms." He waved good-bye over his shoulder, but Clockblocker didn't bother to return it.
"Keeping it PG. Roger, Roger." She put her feet up on the table and set the computer in her lap.
Clockblocker considered, just for a moment, holding his tongue but he couldn't. He knew it would eat at him if he didn't say something, now, here, while he had a chance to rebuild his image of Contract. "You healed people."
Contract looked up instantly, and she saw something in his face that made her put the laptop aside. "Pardon me?"
"In New York. You healed people. You can do that."
"What's your point?"
"Why aren't you healing people? You could save millions of lives just by healing people."
"Millions of lives? Or did you have one particular life in mind?"
Clockblocker didn't think he'd been that transparent, but it was too far down the path to turn back now. "My dad. You could heal my dad." She glanced off to the side for a quick moment, before she met his eyes again.
"And what do you propose I sacrifice to achieve this? Nothing in this world is free. What could you give up, what might you regret giving up, even if you got your dad's life in return? That's where a contract exists, in the balance between two equal costs. If want your dad's life, find something of equal worth."
Clockblocker wanted to protest the unfairness of the task. Nothing was worth as much as his father's life. He thought over all the things that he had listed off to her just minutes before, but he'd gladly accept any of them to save his dad. Physical discomfort, handicaps, limitations - his dad was worth all this and more. There was no equality there.
After what felt like an eternity, Contract nodded, still staring at him, as though his silence was answer enough. "And what do you propose I trade for his life? What do I have that is worth the life of a human being, even one I have never met? Do I have heirlooms, or beloved tools, or hand-crafted treasures to trade away? Do I have even so much as my own name, that I could give it up to save a life? Having lost everything, what do I have that's worth the life of any person, even the life of a stranger?"
Clockblocker felt a little sick, listening to her. His anger and resentment, recently fed, slipped out of his control yet again. "So you're useless, worthless. You had one card to play and it's done. Are you just going to give up? This is my dad we're talking about."
"Do you trust me?" she interrupted, so calm and casual that it snapped him out of it and he realized that he had been lashing out at her for reasons that were truly beyond her control. He was disappointed, but she couldn't change the situation. Wearily, Clockblocker looked away from her and answered honestly.
"No."
She reached into a pocket and he turned back to her, surprised to see that she was actually smiling just a little bit. "Put this on." She leaned across the table, and set a hand-made bracelet between them. It was very simple, black and blue, utterly unremarkable except that it looked like it was made by a nine year old girl. He looked up at her, then glanced at the bracelet, then looked at her again.
She was leaning back in her seat, watching him patiently. He didn't see how there could be any harm in doing as she said, as bizarre as her request seemed to be. Slowly, he reached out and put it on, but her facial expression didn't change. "Don't take it off."
"Why not?"
"I'll tell you in a couple hours."
Clockblocker didn't really like that answer, but it wasn't worth arguing with her over it. Instead, he sighed, and habitually checked his phone. It was six minutes past the hour. He'd missed visiting hours, again. Briefly, he considered trying to sneak into the hospital, but it wasn't worth the trouble if he got caught. He could just go home, but he didn't really want to face his mom at the moment. While he thought, he found his fingers toying with the bracelet and forced himself to let it go.
Contract had picked her laptop back up while he was lost in thought, and was typing away. Absently, Clockblocker found himself wanting to be helpful to make up for his earlier lashing out, even if it didn't seem to have upset her. "Glenn will be pissed if you give yourself any bad PR."
"Thanks for the tip, but I'm not on PHO at the moment."
Clockblocker decided not to push, and instead he grudgingly got out his homework. If he couldn't see his dad today, he could and would delay his mom's lectures.
After about an hour of productivity, Dennis decided that he'd waited long enough. He looked up to get Contract's attention, but she was already looking at him and just met his eyes steadily.
"Why am I wearing this bracelet?" he asked in frustration.
"I can't tell you that yet."
"Why not?"
"Please trust me."
"Because you've been so open and trustworthy with us? You went behind our backs with the Sophia business, you've been here for weeks without the slightest effort to be a part of this team or share any useful information. I get that your life is rough right now, but none of us are living on a bed of roses, so why won't you cancel your pity party and just explain yourself once in a while?"
"Dennis, please, be patient. I know that I'm asking for a leap of faith, but what is it hurting?" She had a point, but now that he'd started this conversation he sort of wanted to finish it, and it had nothing to do with the bracelet she'd asked him to wear.
"Why didn't you just tell us what you saw happening with Sophia?"
"Would you have believed me?"
"It would have been better than having her whisked away in the middle of the night like we're suddenly in the Mafia or something!"
"I think you're feeling guilty for not seeing the truth yourself and that you're taking it out on me." Contract was still speaking softly, almost calmly, which was pissing him off even more.
"There was no truth to see! Sophia was a dedicated member of the Wards. She was a hard worker and a better teammate than you." He forced himself to take a deep breath. "Why didn't you at least try?"
"I didn't want to be the girl who cried wolf. It was my word against Sophia's, and I hadn't observed any direct incidents, only behavioral patterns. I had no credit in the eyes of anyone who was able to make a difference. My family knows that I'm a good profiler with good instincts, that I don't malign individuals without good reason, that I tend to give people more benefit of the doubt than I should. But the PRT only sees a recalcitrant teenager with authority issues."
"It would help if you explained yourself once in a while."
She glanced at his wrist, then nodded slightly. "Alright, Dennis. You're taking a leap of faith for me. Ask me anything."
"You'll answer?"
"I'll be as truthful as I can be."
"Why me?"
"For one thing, you asked. For another, you're obviously stressed about your dad, and you're lashing out at every excuse. I know what that feels like, and I don't want to be something else to keep you up at night." She paused, then continued.
"Mostly though… it's nice to be able to be honest. For the past several days I have been under a contract to speak no complete truth and communicate no complete lie by written word. However, I am currently in the middle of another contract which makes you an exception to the first, so I can be honest with you right now. I am very good as using statements which are technically false, exaggerations, and questions to convey what I mean without speaking complete truth, which is why I haven't told the entire team about my limitation. But it is a limitation, which is why I have been avoiding detailed, technical explanations as much as possible, but can now discuss them with you." That was totally and completely not what Dennis was expecting.
"So you're telling the truth right now?"
"Yes." As soon as she said it, he saw the error in his test. She suddenly grinned at him. "You're quick on the uptake. A better test is to come up with a statement that is completely true and see if I can repeat it back. For instance, you might ask me to state, "When in costume, Dennis is called Clockblocker." Or some other very simple truth."
"Thanks for the tip."
"Of course. Telling people about this particular cost, which my family abbreviated to the handle truth-and-lies, tends to mess with our ability to trust each other, and offering you a test is the least I can do if it will help you not freak out."
"Who else knows?"
"I told Intrepid and Armsmaster, which means that I assume Dragon knows too."
"Why Intrepid?"
"I thought he could handle it."
"How much longer will it be a problem?"
"With you? Not again during this contract. For the rest of the world… well, it was going to be about 7 days, but now it's probably closer to 5, and it started on Friday afternoon."
"Really? Why?"
"The balance works on regret, remember. Telling people about this limitation increases the damage to my relationships with them, which is what I really regret."
That actually gave Dennis the reassurance he'd been looking for. She wanted to be a part of the team, but was struggling. He could accept that she was trying and failing much easier than he could accept her simple indifference. He decided to lighten the mood. "So tell me about the weirdest contract you ever made."
"Ah… well, I had to be my brother for a day."
"What?"
"Yeah. I had broken both legs and he was out cold, and we were in danger, so I became a body snatcher with the cost that however long I used the power to get us out of danger, I'd have to stay in his body twice as long afterward. It ended up being just over 24 hours total. Weirdest experience of my life."
"That's seriously freaky." Dennis made a note to warn someone that she could give herself master capabilities.
"I know. But my family gave me blanket permission to make what trades I felt were necessary, even at cost to themselves, so it worked. I couldn't have body snatched our attacker, for example."
That made him feel better, but it didn't seem quite true. "But you healed without permission."
"I restored them to their own image of their best self. Permission is implicit. I used that wording in a cancer hospital once, and there was one patient who had no change what so ever. She believed her struggle was making her a better person and had no wish to give it up at any level."
"I think I would have heard about an entire cancer hospital being healed."
"It wasn't here in the US, and to balance the costs I had to make the healing gradual over the course of six months."
"How does that work? Balancing the costs?"
"Well, there's two main kinds of contracts. Mentally, I call them closed and open. In an open contract, I do whatever I want to do and accept a cost with a duration, and the duration changes in order to balance the contract. That's the sort of contract I did on Friday. Closed contracts are a more one-time cost, and in that case I just keep throwing out ideas until I find one that… clicks."
"Which is the Behemoth contract?"
"That's actually a combination of closed and if-then. If-thens are simple, but very powerful and very hard to do. It sets up an 'if this, then that' scenario. If this cost is paid, as long as this cost is continually paid, then that effect will be ironclad. It's hard to find costs and effects that are both continual and balanced. Destroying Behemoth and keeping him gone is if-then. Converting all that matter into energy was a closed contract."
"So when are you going to tell me about this leap of faith?" Dennis kept his tone teasing as he twisted the bracelet on his wrist, but her smile still dimmed.
She opened her mouth to answer him, but his civilian phone rang. Dennis saw that it was his mom, and he answered with a guilty twist to his stomach. He'd forgotten to text to tell her he'd be late.
"Hello?"
"Dennis? You need to come home right now."
The panic in her voice sent a shot of adrenaline through his blood. He was on his feet and calling the elevator before he had processed it all. "What's wrong? I can go freeze Dad, give them a little more time…" His dad had been stable that morning before school. How had things gotten to the point of panic in less than a day?
"No, honey, I need you to come home. Your dad's fine."
"What?" The elevator doors opened in front of Dennis but he didn't go in, leaning against the wall instead. "What do you mean?"
"He's fine. Miraculously healed. They've confirmed that he's completely healthy, but Panacea hasn't been in the hospital all day." The more he listened, the most he realized that she wasn't panicked, but giddy with happiness. She was fine. Dad was better than fine.
Dad was better than fine.
Dennis looked at the hand pressed against the wall, and at the bracelet on that wrist. "I'll be home soon," he said, even as he hung up and turned back to his teammate.
Contract - Fi, he reminded himself - hadn't moved a muscle, and she was smiling again, though it seemed sort of sad. Quietly she asked him, "Good news?"
"My dad is completely healed."
"Good."
"How did you do it? You said you didn't have anything to trade for a life."
"I've been working around the restrictions of my gift a lot longer than you have. Just because you couldn't find a solution, doesn't mean that I couldn't. I didn't trade for your father's life. I traded for a better relationship with my teammate. If you were willing to set aside your anger and hurt and take a leap of faith on me, then I would be able to be honest with you, and do a favor for you."
"You didn't tell me."
"It wouldn't have been a leap of faith if I did."
"So, what, I have to wear this bracelet the rest of my life?"
"No. Not at all. You took your leap, I did my favor, and our relationship is improved. You can do what you like with it. Throw it out for all I care. But it is yours. Keep it. Wear it, don't wear it, but I don't want it back."
Even knowing he didn't have to wear it, Dennis sort of wanted to. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Dennis. Thank you for having faith." He nodded, feeling like the words had been inadequate but not knowing what else to say, and lifted his phone slightly.
"I, ah, have to go home."
"I know. Go. Be with your family." Dennis nodded again, and turned into the still-open elevator. As soon as the doors closed, he found himself leaning and then sitting against the wall as his knees gave out. His hands were shaking from the adrenaline, and he felt like he was in shock again. He'd reacted the same way when his dad's diagnosis had been explained to him. It seemed his body accepted outraged denial and unbelievable joy in the same way. He just had to make it home, hug his mom, and ask when his dad was being discharged. He could do that.
The doors opened on the garage, and Dennis stood up as steadily as he could. He realized he'd left his school supplies behind, but he didn't care. He took a step forward, and then another, and then he found himself running towards the bus stop. He was going to go home and be with his family. Everything would be okay.