The springs of the mattress shifted slightly under my body. I watched as Christine paced around the room, hands fiddling with the knife I had acquired from Alabaster.
The other blonde's parents had gone out of town for the week so she invited me over to talk about the issue with them and her cousin. I had been wary but decided that if her parents weren't likely to be there no harm would come of it.
The other girl was worked up, that much was clear from the way her hands fiddled with the edge of her sweatshirt, as well as from the frantic, almost maniacal rant she was currently having, and had been having for the past half hour.
"-and they just-It's like they don't even care that I'm their daughter you know? I'm just another…commodity to be traded away for a chance of more influence in the fucking gang!" she turned to me, eyes brimming with angry tears.
She had been venting about the situation with her parents. Apparently they had been saying that she should take a more 'active' stance in the Empire, while at the same time not so subtly hinting that there would be consequences if she did not.
I had never been close to Mr and Mrs Landridge given their constant dislike of my own parents, but it was still somewhat surprising to learn that they valued their daughter this little. It was the kind of cold hearted behavior one would suspect from a step mom or dad who hated their child with a passion. I guess they were just the type of people to show their true colors when given the opportunity of power.
And that wasn't even mentioning this mysterious cousin. During her rant, she had let slip his name, Justin. I had never met anyone named Justin during my time at her house when we were younger so I assume he must have been somewhat distant until recently.
Either way, he wasn't distant anymore and he had been siding with her parents on her stance in the Empire. He had been the most vocal in pushing her to be more active, even going so far as to contact her friends, Hailey and Trevor, and telling them to keep an eye on her. Something that had really hurt Christine when she discovered the texts on Hailey's phone.
And this was all despite the fact that Christine had never done anything to suggest she was willing to take part in their actions. In fact, the most Christine ever really did was act as a recruiter for the Empire, from what I can remember she never participated in their hateful behavior.
The only time I can recall her even slightly following the Empire's dogma was when she went off on that Hess girl two years below us. From what I had heard, it had almost ended in a physical altercation between the two, one I somewhat doubt Christine would have won. Hess may have been a bitch, but she was a bitch who could fight better than most of the seniors on the football team.
Everyone in the school knew that Hess was horrible to just about everyone, so I figured that the trackstar had pushed one of Christine's hot buttons and the blonde had snapped at her. It certainly helped cement her loyalties to the cause in her friend's eyes however.
Only it seemed that couldn't go on forever, and now her 'friends' were becoming suspicious. Not to mention her cousin. It was all one big mess.
Still, Chris was working herself into a frenzy and I decided this had gone on for long enough so I stood from the bed, making my way over to the increasingly manic girl.
I place my hands on her shoulders, stopping her rant in its tracks and causing her to look at me with wide green eyes, "Breathe Chris, you're gonna have a panic attack." I instructed and watched as she did as I said, taking large breaths through her mouth and releasing them through her nose.
I waited for her to calm down before taking a step back, "Better?" I asked and she nodded.
"Yeah," She said quietly, staring at me weirdly, "Thanks."
"Of course." I smiled at her lightly. She spent another moment just staring at me before looking away and eliciting a confused look from me.
We were interrupted by a harsh ringing sound that startled the both of us. I looked to the source of the noise and was met with my phone happily ringing away on the nightstand. I could just barely see the name of the caller on the screen, it was Newter.
I walked over to it, accepting the call and bringing the phone to my ear, "Hello?"
"Hey Aspect," Came his voice, he sounded serious which was uncharacteristic of him, "Faultline wants us both to come to her office. She said it's important."
I glanced over at Christine, finding her staring at me again before turning my attention back to the phone, "Yeah uh, give me a bit and I'll make my way over."
"See you then."
"See you." I hung up, looking back toward Christine who was still watching me, "Sorry but I've got to uh…" I pointed at the phone and she nodded in understanding.
"It's fine Valerie." She reassured me, though I could tell she wasn't happy about it, "Go do what you have to do…We can talk when you get back." She couldn't quite keep the disappointment out of her voice.
I sighed and walked over to the despondent girl, pulling her into a hug and wrapping my arms around her in a comforting gesture. She stiffened before relaxing into my embrace with a small sigh as I rubbed circles on her back.
"We'll get through this." I reassured the smaller blonde, "I promise. I'm here for you."
She was silent for a moment before her arms tightened around me, "Thank you Val." She sniffed, "Thank you."
I tightened my hold on her, leaning my head down to rest my chin on her hair, "Anytime Chris."
The Palanquin was completely empty due to it being 3pm on a Tuesday, which I was slightly happy for as it gave me a chance to sort out my thoughts in peaceful silence as I made my way to my boss's office.
The situation with Christine was becoming more and more worrying. Her parents were apparently plotting to send her away, her cousin was pushing harder on her to perform an initiation, and she had nobody to turn to.
Nobody except for me, someone who she hadn't been on good terms with for a little over two years.
The idea that my only surviving link to my old life might be ripped away from me by the Empire once more filled me with rage. I had already lost everything to those bastards, I wouldn't let them take Christine from me as well. I would protect her at all costs, even if I had to fight the entire gang by myself.
I shook my head, putting it out of my mind as I approached Faultline's office. There was no use agonizing over what might or might happen, I would simply have to deal with the situation as it evolved, hopefully for the better though I doubted it.
I opened the door to the office and entered, nodding a greeting to Newter who was already inside standing by the door as he waited for me to arrive, "So what's the situation boss, you got a job for us?" I asked.
Faultline shook her head in mild amusement, "Not this time Aspect. And don't tell me you already spent all the money from your last job?"
I shrugged, "Nah, I still have most of it. But it's always nice to earn some extra money." I sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk, Newter hopping over the back and into the seat of the other one. I raised an eyebrow at his theatrics before turning back to Faultline, "So if it's not a job, what have you got for us?"
She opened a drawer on her desk and withdrew a file. Opening it up, she retrieved two photos and slid them across the table towards us. I picked up my copy and studied the photo intently.
It was blurry, as it seemed to have been taken while the person in the photo had been in motion. Said person was wearing what looked like several layers of clothing, odd for the weather of the Bay this time of year.
Their outfit consisted of a dark brown coat, under which I could see the outline of a dark maroon colored jacket that was bulging with further layers, thick gloves covered their hands from view. On their legs were a pair of baggy blue jeans that had faded from use and I could see the edges of a worn pair of boots peeking out from under the frayed edge.
They were also wearing what looked like a shaded motorcycle helmet, the plastic face of which was tilted up slightly to allow a pair of pursed lips to be viewed.
And if the mask wasn't a good indicator that they were a parahuman, the glowing liquid fire spewing out of said lips definitely was. The attack was aimed at what looked like massive monstrous dogs, snarling angrily as they stalked after the fleeing cape.
"Wait," Newter spoke up, "aren't those Bitch's dogs?"
I scrunched my face at the name even as I studied the animals. I had never seen Bitch, and really wasn't that a terrible moniker, in action, but from what I had heard and studied about her power, the dogs were indeed likely hers.
Faultline nodded at his question, "Yes they are. The photo you are looking at is the result of a failed recruitment by the Undersiders. Bitch apparently took exception to the prospective recruit, leading to the altercation in the photo you are viewing now. It was taken by one of our waiters on his way to work sometime last week."
The Undersiders. Faultline had asked me to pay special attention to the group during my research on capes in the Bay. They were a crew of thieves whose member's powersets were perfect for hit and run operations.
There was Grue, a shaker who's power allowed him to conjure massive clouds of darkness, Regent, a master who could mess with your nerves, Tattletale, a Thinker who specialized in cold reading. And one who Faultline had a massive vendetta against for reasons I couldn't pin down.
And the aforementioned Bitch, a master who could make massive monster dogs, although as I studied the photo, I couldn't help but notice that she had one more dog than what I remembered reading about. Not only that, but something about this dog was oddly familiar…
"So what does this have to do with us?" Newter asked in confusion while also breaking me from my own confused thoughts. I placed the photo back on the table, focusing on the conversation once more.
Faultline sighed, "We've been contracted for a big job. One that will likely require the entire team to perform. I won't go into details just yet but I figured we could use some extra muscle so I would like the two of you to attempt to recruit this cape, Spitfire is her name." She explained and Newter nodded. I was still confused however, all of the jobs I had been on so far had been quick and concise so I wasn't exactly sure what made this one so special.
"Wait, what constitutes a 'big job'?" I asked.
Faultline paused for a moment, dark brows furrowing as she thought as she debated internally, before she folded her hands on the desk, looking into my eyes. "Depending on how the specifics of the job play out, we may have more insight into the origins of Case 53s than ever before." she stated simply.
Beside me, Newter's breath hitched at the revelation. I understood of course, I knew just how important said origins were important to the Crew. In fact, Gregor and Newter had put a not so insignificant portion of their cut on jobs toward the issue of their origins specifically. This meant a lot to the both of them, and so of course it meant a lot to the rest of the crew as well.
I nodded firmly, that was all I needed to know to be on board, "Where can we find Spitfire?" I asked.
"From what I was last told, she has taken up residence in one of the shipping containers in the Boat Graveyard. She has been seen leaving and entering during the night so you'll likely find her there somewhere."
"We'll take care of it boss," Newter said cheerfully as we stood, "You can count on us!"
"Be careful you two," She warned as we went to exit her office, "There's no telling how Spitfire might react to a recruitment pitch after the disastrous one that just occurred. And the Boat Graveyard is right on the edge of Merchant territory, you may have to contend with them as well."
"Got it boss! We'll be careful." Newter said as we exited into the hallway.
He turned to me, "Looks like you won't be the baby of the crew anymore Valerie." He said, wiping an invisible tear from his eye, "They grow up so fast." He sniffed.
I slapped him on his covered shoulder, "Oh hush, if anything you're the baby. I'm a year and a half older than you." I teased, "And besides, who's to say Spitfire will even join us? She could want nothing to do with us at all."
"Bah." He waved his hand dismissively, "What could go wrong?"
I had to physically hold myself back from smacking him in the back of the head for that one.
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