AN: This is one of my favorite chapters so far. Hope you all enjoy it!
Also, this story is now being posted on SpaceBattles as well. FF will continue to be the "official" version, and it will take couple weeks for the version on SB to catch up to this one. I prefer FF because I have more experience with this site, but I understand that some of my readers prefer SB.
Chapter Sixteen: Dress to Impress
March 16, 2011
Glenn Chambers loved his job. He thrived on the politics, the unique personalities and people he got to meet, as well as the secrets that he knew. He liked feeling like he was part of something great, and that he was underestimated by those around him. He had overheard, and been told, some of the greatest secrets of the greatest heroes. He had crafted many heroes into their present greatness, just by understanding how the human mind (and human masses) functioned.
Recently, however, Glenn felt that he'd had his work cut out for him. First, he was given the job to market a teenage defeater of an Endbringer, who had no interest in being marketed. After extensive arguing, he had been forced to concede and allow her to keep her "practical" jeans. It was a crime. Of course, the PRT budget was loving it. Contract-style jeans with bold white stitching and the crisscross pockets had become a hit overnight and the PRT had licensed the design to a major clothing company for a cut of the profit. In New York City on any given day he passed twenty or thirty teenagers dressed exactly like the hero herself, many of them even with the right body size and hair color.
Now he was being flown out to Brockton Bay to try to convince her in person of changes that she had flat refused through video chat. While there, Rebecca had also asked him to look into the marketing of the most recent addition to the Brockton Bay Wards. Taylor, he had many ideas for. He could only hope she wasn't as stubborn as Contract.
As he arrived at the PRT building, he held the door open for a young woman wearing headphones and a ball cap. The front desk directed him to the Ward's elevator, and when he went to push the button, it was already lit. The young woman was texting, waiting for the car. They got in together, as Glenn tried to figure out what a young civilian was doing, headed to the Wards. As soon as the door shut, Contract took off her cap and scanned her retina, then put the cap back on and put away her phone.
"Hey Glenn. Nice to see you again."
"Contract," he returned neutrally, seeing where she would choose to take the conversation.
"Please, call me Fi." The name was new to him, but Glenn smiled and shook her hand. A more friendly impression and informal address would probably help their working relationship. Usually he preferred to use the cape names of his clients, to put them in the cape mindset, but since that had gotten him nowhere with Contract so far, he was willing to try a new battlefield.
"Fi. I didn't notice you."
"I know. I can walk around town in full costume, and as long as my mask is in my purse and I wear a hat of some sort, no one notices. But if I spot trouble, the transformation is as simple as hiding the purse and cap and donning the mask." Glenn was well aware of the lack of presence invoked by Contract's costume, but chose not to say anything.
"Were you waiting for me? I don't need an escort you know. I have been here before."
"Of course. I just came back from the Boardwalk. I asked Taylor if I could sit in on her briefing with you. I've got a couple of ideas for her."
The elevator arrived and she headed straight for the private office attached to the Ward's main conference room . As she did so, she motioned to a girl who had been sitting at the table, reading. "Join us, Taylor." Glenn wasn't sure if Fi was purposefully taking charge, or if the power play was unconscious.
The gangly fifteen year old followed them into the room, and Glenn took the seat of authority behind the desk. "My name is Glenn Chambers, I am the head of Public Relations for the Protectorate and Wards."
Taylor blushed as she shook his hand, obviously nervous. "I'm Taylor Hebert. I, ah, don't have a cape name yet."
"Yes, they told me." He gave her a large smile and it seemed to put her at ease. "Do you have any top contenders?"
"Um, I've been playing with the idea of a name that's not directly bug related, like Buzz or Weaver?"
Glenn didn't frown, but both names were soft, compared to her power. Given the natural fear and disgust inspired by swarms of insects, it might prove necessary to control the public perception of Taylor's power, but there was no need to downplay her abilities. She could become a very powerful hero, and she might even help bridge public opinion between regular heroes and case 53s. It would be nice to give her something a little stronger. On Taylor's right, Fi hummed, evidently dissatisfied.
"I get why you wouldn't want to be Lady Bug or Butterfly. Too soft. And Spider and Wasp are a little harsh, but what about a name like Beetle? Or a collective noun like Swarm or Colony?"
"Swarm is too villainous," Taylor protested.
Glenn wasn't sure he agreed, but he never forced a name on a cape. He frequently had to discourage capes from choosing bad names, but pushing a cape into name they didn't like usually meant that they up changing eventually. That, in turn, left a bad impression on the public.
"I happen to know that Colony is taken." He'd considered that one too, and liked it. "But Beetle is free."
Taylor didn't look happy, but Contract wasn't done yet.
"Okay, between Beetle, Buzz, and Weaver, which do you like least?"
"Weaver, I guess. It doesn't fit as well."
"And it might give away details about your costume. You should hold onto that information as long as possible, since knowledge is power. I have to admit, I prefer Beetle. I think it will fit with your overall image. I saw your suit when you brought it in yesterday, Taylor. It's intense, which is good, but you want to control that intensity. If you dye it with a little purple or blue, it will look like a beetle. The sketches you showed us of the mask are very beetle-like too."
"Not Buzz?" Taylor asked, but it seemed more like she was double checking than protesting. Contract shrugged, and Glenn let her talk. He could live with a Ward named Beetle, and he was learning a lot about Contract just by watching her interact.
"You need a name you can grow into. I know you don't want something pretentious like Hive Queen or Queen Bee, but the fact is that you don't want to make Kid Win's mistake either. He's going to have to graduate names at some point, and I think Buzz could do that to you too. Granted, it's way better than some of the alternatives. It's probably one of my top five names, out of the ones we've discussed. But to me, something about Beetle seems a little stronger, a little more mature, than Buzz.
"Plus, Beetle has the advantage that it isn't not a bug that people immediately think of as deadly, scary, or dangerous. It will explain your costume and powers right off, but only the obvious stuff. It's simple and distinctive.
"It's also a name with some symbolism. Scarabs and stag beetles are ancient symbols representing a whole host of meanings. They were said to represent rebirth out of death, the rising of the sun, scholarship, priesthood, and knowledge. They were symbols of divinity and of crossing boundaries because they both fly and burrow." Glenn noted that Taylor was interested now. Contract had put a lot of thought into her suggestion, but she presented it in casual tone of voice, and she was reeling Taylor in.
"Really?"
"Yes. There are several creation myths that say a beetle created the world or was the first creation, and the Egyptians had three different beetle-gods: Khepri, Ptah and Neith. All three were supremely important, and in fact the Scarab was one of the hieroglyphs used in the Egyptian alphabet. Guess which letter it represented."
"I don't know."
"The letter T." For some reason, that seemed to sell Taylor on the idea. Glenn wasn't sure why it would matter to her, other than the coincidence of her own initial, but Contract had somehow known it would be convincing. Glenn found that very interesting. For a cape that had refused to market herself, she certainly understood the idea very well. First, because her plan for Taylor did seem to be a good marketing plan. But her proficiency was also demonstrated in the way she was presenting the idea to Taylor, peeling off each layer of reasoning like a showman.
"What about using one of the names of the gods?" he asked, mostly to feel out Taylor's reaction, and see how Contract would react to his influence in the conversation. Contract helpfully jumped in with more details.
"Egyptian mythology is incredibly tangled, I'd argue even more tangled than Roman mythology, but the basic outline is that Khepri was the god of the rising sun, Ptah was a god of earth and in certain periods also of creation, metal working, craftsmanship, and death. Neith was a warrior goddess of the sky, water, creation etcetera and Ptah's wife or female counterpart." Taylor was obviously growing less interested, and Contract shrugged. "Personally, I'd just stick with Beetle. Easy to say and spell. Keep it simple."
"I like it," Taylor said. "I can be Beetle."
"Then I dub thee, Beetle." Contract offered Taylor a high-five and she took it. Glenn let them have their fun, then sent Taylor to fetch the partially finished suit. Contract sat back, looking satisfied, and didn't speak again for the rest of Taylor's session.
When he held the costume in his hands, he was impressed, and he told Taylor so. She explained the methodology behind both the weaving and the armor panels. Then they talked about her sketches for a mask. Glenn found himself more and more pleased the with name Beetle.
The costume was dark and edgy, and while the mandibles on the jaw would offer Taylor important protection, they would also serve to dehumanize her. A softer name like Weaver would have been an uncomfortable fit, and a harsher name could have made her seem villainous.
Surprisingly, Beetle actually made the outfit less scary, because it made it relatable to a known and familiar phenomenon, instead of letting the audience dwell on the humanoid insect. Glenn was able to easily persuade Beetle into using a metallic dye to increase the name association. After doing some online research, they decided to go with greens on the silk and purples on the armor panels. The costume would still come out dark, but that was unavoidable anyway with the construction.
"Now, Beetle, we need to talk about your arsenal. It's one thing to use black widows as your own personal seamstress, but it would only take one severe reaction in the field to have extreme consequences."
"I know." Taylor said. "I can sense what sort of bugs I have in range and sort the commands based on the type of bug. So I can order all the flies to attack without moving a single wasp."
"That's good to hear. What sort of tactics have you come up with?"
Taylor shrugged. "Tons of stuff. I'm practicing scouting and tracking people by using my sense of their positioning. I can't hear or see clearly yet, but I can gather a lot of data with just the tactile information. We've also discussed the possibilities of making decoy figures, but it only works if there's not much light. It might work better with more insects, but I'm trying to avoid drawing attention to myself yet. I'm also practicing carrying objects, setting up webs to act as trip-wire alerts, and basic distractions with swarming enemies and such. If I have enough warning, I can use a swarm like a very small blaster, but it's not very efficient…"
Glenn held up a hand to cut her off. "That's an excellent start. But I want you to do something for me. In addition to the tactical considerations you team has you working on, like preparation, I want you to think about what the public reaction would be if your tactics showed up on YouTube. I'm not saying what you have is bad, necessarily, but I want you to think about the possible consequences anyway."
He could see that she starting to deflate, losing the excitement she'd had when she rattled off her ideas. "I'm not saying you shouldn't use these ideas. But your power naturally lends itself to inspiring a certain level of fear. That can be very good, because you'll be able to intimidate enemies without having to cause actual harm. But I want us to be prepared just in case the public reacts badly. To be clear, I don't think it's likely. I'm going to be passing your case onto your local PR representative, and I wouldn't do that if I was worried. Just think about it."
"Thanks. Thank you for your time and advice." A little of her eagerness had returned, and he returned her wide smile as he shook her hand.
"Of course. Now go get started, Beetle. I need to talk to Contract for a bit." Belatedly, Glenn forced himself to remember to call Contract by her new name of Fi. The girl in question was still leaning back in her chair, looking fully at ease, as Taylor left them alone.
"Is there a problem, Glenn?"
"Several. Would you like to start with your costume or your PHO activity?"
"We can start wherever you like, but I don't see either of those as a problem."
"Why not?"
"I offered truthful, friendly banter. I made myself accessible. Everything you were harping on a month ago, I did. I opened up. I let people in." Even as she said so, she crossed her arms in front of herself. Glenn wasn't formally trained in psychiatry, but he knew enough to read Contract. She was putting space and barriers between them. She was bracing for battle.
He tried to throw her off guard, to get in before she shut him out. "You made yourself seem harmless."
"That was the general idea." He was surprised to see that she was almost smug. "I put considerable effort into it. The press release, the costume, the PHO chatter."
"Why? You walked into the PRT today and no one even noticed!"
"Exactly. I don't want to be an action hero. I don't want to be some kid's plastic toy idol and I don't want to be Rebecca's attack dog or insurance policy. I won't be the Protectorate's ace in the hole. I can't."
"Fi, you took down an Endbringer." He purposely prodded her to see how she'd react, and as he expected, her hostility escalated.
"I thought Armsmaster told you to use the phrase 'erased Behemoth.' In fact, I'm pretty sure I heard him tell you."
"Why does it matter?"
"Because you're trying to make it sound like it's one down and two to go."
"Isn't it?"
"Sit on it and spin." The utter vitriol in her tone shocked him, and he carefully sat back, mirroring her posture and giving her more space. It was one thing for him to purposefully wind her up, it was another to push her over a line and make himself her permanent enemy.
She wasn't looking at him anymore, instead staring at the blank wall to her left, away from the open door. Through that opening, Glenn saw that Gallant and Clockblocker had both looked up, evidently hearing some or all of their argument. He decided to ignore them, and deal with the situation at hand first.
He started with a deep sigh, to warn Contract that he was about to speak.
"I'm sorry for pushing you so hard, Fi. I was hoping that I could get you to tell me what this is really about. I'm a good judge of people, and from the moment I met you I've never seen you relaxed. Something is tearing you up, and I can't help you if I don't know what that is."
She didn't move or speak or give any indication that she was listening, but a muscle in her jaw was twitching ever so slightly. Maybe she was chewing on her tongue.
After a minute, Glenn continued.
"I know very little about you, Fi. You don't really give us much to work with. But I'm not an idiot. I can see that you're not either. You did a really good job with Taylor just now. You helped her craft an identity that she will likely use and be comfortable in for the rest of her life. You gave the freedom to define herself, and helped build up her self-confidence at the same time. You just shaped her future." He could feel that he was losing her, so he decided to take a risk and voice one of his long-standing suspicions about her costume choice.
"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in blue jeans because it's what you happened to be wearing on the last day of January?" At that, she looked over at him. It wasn't a friendly look, but it was something.
He continued cautiously, "Jeans, a simple blouse, a jacket, and tennis shoes. Socks that had a grey ring at the top. No armor, no protection, nothing that was out of place except a simple leather mask, easy to fold up and carry, maybe even carry every day as a matter of habit. You weren't intending to erase Behemoth, were you?" Glenn forced himself to use her wording.
She didn't answer, looking back at the wall instead. Despite that, something in her posture made Glenn sure that he was on the right track, and she was listening. He had to make a choice. Did he use the speculation that Dragon had shared with him? He decided to take the plunge.
"What did you really give up to erase Behemoth?" Her head whipped back toward him so fast, he was pretty sure that she would feel it later. Still, she didn't speak. "I saw the tape from your meeting that Friday. I read the press release and I talked to Armsmaster. I've heard from Dragon and Company. Everyone is convinced that you gave up your family.
"But as far as I can tell, you've never explicitly stated it. You say you can't go back. You say that you have to stay here. But you haven't straight out said that you traded one for the other. I think that you have your own reasons for staying away from your family. I think it's related to Behemoth, but I don't think it was the direct cost. I think it's a side effect.
"I think you want to stay in blue jeans because every minute of every day, you're thinking about going home. You're considering it. You're trying to figure out if you can go home without releasing Behemoth. You're looking for a loop hole, and you want to be ready to bolt when you find it.
"You don't want to be tied down to a name, or a mask, or a celebrity status. You don't want obligations. You don't want people depending on you. You want to convince us all that you're a regular girl, a one-trick pony who's all washed up. You could be an inspiration, a symbol, a force for change and you are throwing it all away."
He leaned forward, and was satisfied when she didn't shift to put more space between them. He had her hooked. Now to reel her in slowly. "I understand why you might feel that way. But what if you could have both? When you find your loophole, your family can join you here. You can be a hero, build a legacy, without giving up on your past. Let us be your family for now. Be an inspiration, make a difference, use your influence, and when the time comes, your family will have all the more reason to be proud of you."
He spent a moment gaging her reaction. Some of the tension had drained away, and her head was tilted just slightly forward. She was ready to talk. "What do you say? Will you let me help?"
"Christo." She said the strange word calmly, quietly, under her breath, like it was an involuntary reaction. After a moment, she continued a little louder. "You're serious." She was staring at him, looking more perplexed than anything else. "You really want to clean house. Shake things up."
She sat forward in the chair, slowly becoming eager. "You see it, but you can't get at the cancer directly. You need a cape. A lightening rod. You're a Cinna."
Glenn found that he had lost control of the conversation, and sat back slowly as a way to gain a moment of thought. Although he did have some reservations about the PRT, he hadn't been thinking of that sort of inspiration when he'd tried to reach out to her. On the other hand, if this is what it took to get Contract engaged, he should probably use it. He tried to be flattered by the comparison and not remember that Cinna had been killed to make a political point.
Fortunately, he didn't have to decide exactly what to say, because Contract wasn't finished yet. "You're not one of them. Not in the know." She laughed, still staring at Glenn intently, sizing him up. "Okay, Glenn, I'm listening. Tell me how dressing in bright green is going to help me clean house."
Glenn scrambled for his footing. "It's not about the costume specifically. It's about investing in your career as a hero. It seems to me, that when you put your mind to something, you're very good at it. You did well with Beetle, and the PHO stuff hasn't been all bad. Knowing that you are purposefully projecting yourself as harmless, well, you've done a good job. What if you turned those energies toward, as you said, cleaning house. What would you do?"
Glenn wasn't entirely sure what all of Contract's little speech had been about. He was frustrated with the state of the PRT, the complacency, and the corruption that he suspected in certain departments. He did hope that making Contract more invested would help fix that in a subtle, gradual way. Contract seemed to be talking about a wider-spread issue, but if it got her focused he was willing to deal with the specifics later. Contract sat back little as she considered his question, and Glenn hoped that they'd be able to find some common ground.
Finally, Contract spoke. "Was it Dragon or Company who told you to push my buttons?"
Glenn found himself thrown off track again, surprised, though he tried not to show it. "Neither. I mentioned to Company that I might try to get under your skin to get a reaction, and he said if I did that he would appreciate a brief memo on how it went."
"I'd be very indebted if you didn't write that memo. Obviously, I can't stop you, but I really don't like that guy, and I hate that everyone is reporting to him." Glenn nodded absently, wondering where the conversation was headed next. "Dragon did tell you about my family, though, didn't she? She was the one who told you that there was some other cost for Behemoth?"
"Yes," Glenn admitted, but that didn't seem to upset Contract any further. Instead, she settled back, this time seeming to do it to be comfortable rather than because she needed the space.
"That woman is sharp." She sighed. "She's also not all wrong. The situation is complicated, and I wasn't consciously looking to run, but… she's got a point. So do you. If I was focused on investing in myself as a hero, well, you probably still wouldn't be tickled pink. I'm never going to be a conventional hero. I'm too practical for tights or a leotard. But we might be able to find a compromise."
"So let's compromise." Glenn refocused, and took out some of the sketches he had prepared. He had known he was facing an uphill battle and had a series of small modifications to suggest. Together, they would help change her overall image. "I work with practicality. Let's start with the basics. Do you still want to go with blue and white?"
"Yes. The white is negotiable, but I don't see why the denim should have to be. It's strong, flexible, and if it becomes necessary I can hide an under-suit beneath it." She paused, but Glenn waited for her to continue while she gathered her thoughts.
"What if we made the boots knee-high instead of only half-calf, and I could wear them on the outside of the jean? Use a skinny boot cut jean instead of the current flare. That would make the lower half of my body more protected, even from small particles, depending on how tight the fit is. It won't stand up to gas, but I have other methods I can use for a last resort on that front." As she spoke, she sketched over one of his computer-rendered drawings that had experimented with white pants.
"I'd like an inch and half of heel built into the boot, not as a stiletto but as a natural lift. For one, I've got a lot of practice moving in a just a bit of extra height, and I've got horrible arches so the extra shape won't slow me down. Plus, with my natural build, I tend to be the shortest person in the room. It'd be nice to be a touch taller."
She picked up his suggestions and flipped through them, stopping on one in particular the first time she saw it. She showed it to him so he'd know what she was looking at. It was one of his personal favorites. "I like the long-sleeved white here. We could use leather, maybe? I think it could be even more form-fitting, assuming it remained flexible. I don't want to limit range of motion, but I do want to give the impression that there can't be anything concealed beneath."
"What are you putting beneath it?" Glenn asked, not fooled by her very specific wording.
"A flat blade, as soon as I can get clearance from Armsmaster, and a spider-silk shirt once Taylor has the time to make one. I'll go from there." She suddenly looked up from the modifications she was drawing and grinned at Glenn. "Don't worry about putting in hidden pockets or whatever. I can do the concealment myself."
"Is that a good use of your power?" He asked, concerned. It had been stressed to him that Contract's power expenditure was to be kept to a minimum.
"I have a lot of practice, and it doesn't require my power."
"I find that vaguely disturbing," he teased, and he was rewarded with a small smile that was somehow more genuine than her enthusiastic grins.
Contract shrugged. "I think it would be good to have optional gloves, dyed to match the jeans. And I could live with a dark blue mask, if you honestly think it's better than the white."
"This costume is bolder, but it's still very close to blending in on the street."
Contract smirked. "I once walked through a black-tie event wearing a sweatshirt and shorts and nobody blinked an eye. That's why no one saw me earlier. If I don't want to be seen, I won't be. The opposite is true too. I can make anything look good. Let me try this on for you, and prove it. When I step onto the street as Contract, I guarantee that no one will mistake me for a civilian."
"Okay, we'll give it a try. Now, what are we going to do about Parahumans Online?"
"I can't take back what's there. I don't want to. I believe heroes should be accessible to the people."
"And when you hit your first PR bump?"
"We should be accountable too."
"The web is a dangerous place, PR wise. It's hard to control or predict."
"It's raw and personal. This is important to me, Glenn. I want to be accountable online."
"We can try it for a while longer. But I want two promises."
"I'm listening."
"You have to do a TV and paper interviews as well. And if I tell you to go dark or retract something, you do it first and then argue with me about it. We can discuss those decisions, but only if we pull the information first, and then talk. The longer it sits there, the more dangerous it is."
"I can live with that."
"Good. Your first interview is Friday at five o'clock. It's not live, but we will have to hurry to have your costume available on time. After that, we will schedule an interview for all the new Brockton Bay Wards. That likely will be live."
"I can live with that, too. Any chance of screening the questions?"
"What happened to be accountable to the people?"
"I don't have a problem claiming information is confidential, but the TV crew might prefer if it didn't happen live. It could be real mood-killer."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Was there anything else you wanted, Glenn?"
"No. I think that's all."
"Okay, well, I'd like to say something." She took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. "I appreciate that you're trying to help and do your own job. And circumstances being what they are, information about me is very valuable. What you said here today… you weren't all wrong.
"The cost I paid for Behemoth was exorbitant, bigger than anything I've hinted, though you probably don't believe that. Technically speaking, I am not strictly forbidden from contact with my family, but I might as well be. The barriers between us are only be a consequence of that cost, but it doesn't matter. Even if there was a loop hole, I couldn't take it for fear of invalidating the contract.
"I don't like talking about this. I have been changed in fundamental, permanent ways. And no matter how much I think about it, I can't find a safe way home. So you don't have to worry about me running off. And I'd really appreciate it if you would keep this between us. Trying to explain this to everyone, I just… I just can't."
"I understand." Glenn knew this was a flat lie, there was a lot going on that he didn't understand, but he would still try to help her. "We're not trying to get you in trouble or make things difficult. I want to help. If you say that you can't talk about it, then that's that. You don't have to. I promise."
"Everyone says that and then they just keep poking." Contract sounded broken, and Glenn suddenly wondered how much of her earlier anger had been actual anger and how much was just the rawness of all her emotions.
Glenn sighed. "I'll talk to Dragon. She shared her suspicions with me in confidence, and if anyone is a match for Company, she is." Glenn had caught her preference for Dragon over Company early on, when she was still living in New York, and since he knew he had to report this to someone, he'd prefer to do what he could to ease her mind. He could afford to let the decision to pass the information on be Dragon's call instead of his.
"Thanks."
"Don't worry, Contract. Like I said, we're here to help you."
She nodded, then looked up with a certain sharpness that did not put him at ease. "About that, Glenn. Do you think Contract is a good name?"
The question caught him flat-footed, again. He'd never thought about changing her name, because it was one of the few details she had given them voluntarily. "Well, it's been over a month, so changing it wouldn't be simple."
"But it's doable. We both know that. What do you think?"
"There's nothing related to your power that jumps to mind. A lot of energy capes already exist, and I don't find dealer, lawyer, or compromise any more inspiring than contract. Covenant has already been used. The cape in question is dead, but using it would be seen as bad taste, because he died in an attack by Leviathan. All the classic names like Hero and Legend have been used."
"What about Sacrifice?" For half a second, Glenn thought it was a brilliant idea. It was an emotional, inspirational sort of name that tied into her power and hadn't been used yet. It wouldn't be difficult to roll it out when she rebranded herself with the new costume, and it was more fitting for an S-class cape than Contract was.
But before he answered, he caught a glimpse of something in Contract's posture. She was sitting slumped back, as she had been for a while, and her arms were still resting crossed across her chest. It should have been casual, but something about her suddenly seemed enormously weary, and he was reminded of her emotional fragility. It was like she was both holding herself together, and already slumped in surrender.
Without knowing exactly how, Glenn was sure that she didn't mean "sacrifice" to refer to her costs. She meant it to refer to herself. "Is that how you see yourself?" he asked carefully. Contract had been so self-assured and forceful, that it was hard for him to reconcile this hurting girl with the hero he'd been working with.
There had been signs, of course, but her constant self-confidence had fooled him into ignoring them. It was hard to see a teenager stand up to Legend and berate him for licensing her symbol without her prior permission and realize that she wasn't looking for a cut of the profit, but instead feeling betrayed and used. It was just one memory that was taking on a new light, and Glenn wondered what else they had all missed.
She shrugged and glanced away. For a moment, he thought she'd shut down and wouldn't answer. But he waited patiently, not pushing her any further. Finally, she spoke quietly, almost reluctantly. "It's just… I erased Behemoth. That was supposed to be impossible. It saved millions of lives. I guess I expected a little gratitude, or respect or something.
"Instead everyone just wants to know what I plan to do about the other two. I'm reeling and lost and I feel like… like I gave up a kidney and everyone wants to know how long before I drop dead so they can take the rest. Some people want my heart, some people just want my clothes, but I feel like they've already taken everything that makes me, me.
"I keep thinking about the word Holocaust. It used have religious meaning, a long time ago, before it was re-defined. It referred to a sacred sacrifice to God for cleansing and purification. I sort of feel like that's me. Both the idea, and the re-definition. I know I couldn't name myself Holocaust but… Contract just seems sort of small. It doesn't really encompass everything I'm going through, every time I put on that mask."
"Do you worry that by naming yourself Sacrifice, you might surrender to that redefinition?" Glenn asked quietly. He was concerned about the effect a name change could have on her mental health. Giving up another piece of herself, one that she had used at least online for six years, couldn't be good.
"I don't know. I hadn't thought about it."
"Why don't you take a day and think it over, maybe discuss it with your teammates if you want to? I'll try to think of some other options for you, and we can talk tomorrow, if this is what you really want. But personally, I like the name Contract. I don't think a re-naming is necessary in the least. If you want to change, we can make it happen, but I don't think you should rush into this."
"Okay. You're right, we shouldn't be hasty. Thanks." She seemed distracted, but she sat up a little more and he took that as a good sign.
"Of course. And Fi, your privacy is safe with me. We'll call it Cinna-Tribute privilege." She smiled, and it was surprisingly open and genuine, even if it wasn't the biggest smile he'd ever seen. Mentally, he resolved to refer to her as Fi even in his own thoughts so that he wouldn't forget in the future.
"I'll consider the name Tribute too." Her smile grew a little, indicating that it was humorous.
Glenn laughed as he gathered his papers and stood. "Walk me out?"
"To the elevator, at least."
Briefly, as he rode the elevator up alone, he considered writing a memo to Company. Not telling him everything, but just to let him know that he had tried pushing Contract and didn't recommend the results. In the end, he decided not to. There were a lot of justifications, everything from letting Dragon handle the situation to embarrassment that he had actually pushed a minor as hard as he did, but the real reason was that he just didn't feel like breaking Cinna-Tribute privilege.
Evidently, he was getting old and going soft 20 years early.