Chapter 3
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sweat beaded along my brow as I finished my third push-up. Hopping to my feet quickly, I picked up the wooden sword that was serving as my practice weapon and struck the leather target four times in quick succession, each time trying and failing to add magical power to the blows. Then…
I flopped to the floor, exhausted.
What, did you think I was going to magically stop being a lazy gamer dude? I was staring down the barrel of a lot of work in order to get into hero shape. The urge to just wait until the Grimoire picked out a power that would allow me to alter myself was strong, but I needed to prove to myself that I could do this, that I could improve myself enough to actually be a real life superhero. The two powers that I'd woken up with had been handy reminders that I was getting stronger, but not necessarily in the areas I was looking for.
Flying Leap (Sailor Moon, 100CP): Superman, in his original appearance, could not fly, but he could leap over entire buildings without even taking damage or suffering pain. You can do the same, swiftly jumping from your high place and landing perfectly on your feet or enemies, if you're inclined. You can also do the opposite-jump across the gaps of buildings or jump out of the way of huge blasts. You can land perfectly, without stumbling. This perk will not save you if you are knocked from a high place. Only if you jumped of your own volition, and from a reasonable distance. Jumping from a helicopter or airplane without a parachute remains a bad idea.
Lunatic Eyes (Touhou Project, 400CP): You can manipulate all kinds of waves, from light and sound waves to brain waves. By manipulating light, you could turn yourself invisible or create seemingly endless illusory mazes. By manipulating sound, you could make someone hear anything at all. And by manipulating brain waves you could drive someone insane, or just hypnotize them into buying you stuff.
I wondered if I should have been saving the big one that was stored within my soul, but I was always bad at saving when there was a more immediately impactful bit of power waiting for me. It was an easy decision that I'd tell Carol or maybe just the Protectorate, about my new Mover power. It was kind of perfect for patrolling and just generally getting around a large city like Brockton Bay. The other power though… I knew nothing about the series it was from, but the power cost, not to mention it's listed capabilities, led me to the conclusion that it could easily be abused. I'd maybe pretend it was just illusions or something, no need to talk about new high level Master abilities.
Maybe an alternate identity? That would be kind of fun to play around with, have the best of both worlds…
I shook myself out of my musings and struggled out a fourth push-up after I tossed my bokken aside. I hated being out of shape, but I'd never had any good enough motivation to do anything about it. Now… Well, I at least had a goal. I forced myself to do several more push-ups, practice a bit more with the sword until my arms felt numb,and generally just flit about the gym doing a little bit of everything until I was coated in sweat and out of breath. I wasn't very good at locking in and doing just one thing at a time, so I settled for doing something until I got bored or tired, then moving on to something else. Not efficient, but it was the only way I'd get any exercise in.
After an hour or so of that (with a strong note to myself to work on my stamina), I decided I needed some caffeine and food.
Coffee always cheered me up, so I headed to the same place on the Boardwalk that I'd been frequenting. I was only a little disappointed not to see Lisa lurking around, I was starting to grow fond of the snarky gal, but I supposed that she had better things to do than people watch all the time, like plan heists with the Undersiders and whatever else teenage supervillains do when they aren't in costume.
Without a conversation partner, I ended up finishing my coffee and breakfast sandwich in short order before wandering around the Boardwalk. I debated just randomly showing up at the Undersiders' loft, but decided that was definitely a bad idea. Much as Lisa was fun to needle, Brian was liable to kick my ass if I seemed like a threat and Rachel had her dogs. Alec… I don't think he'd really care, especially if I offered to play games with him and brought pizza or something. I filed it away as an idea for if I was mind numbingly bored. Which was rapidly approaching. I knew intellectually that Carol couldn't just drop everything to write my potential contract, but I was itching to start using my powers and I wasn't even a proper parahuman with a conflict drive. The urge to just let loose and have some fun-
Why the hell not?
Before I could talk myself out of it, I activated Lunatic Eyes, weaving the light around my face to make it look like it was concealed by a black mask. I also subtly changed my clothes, making them a tad scruffier, altering their color, but not the overall shape or design. Not like I wore anything that would stand out anyways, I've always been a jeans and sneakers sort of guy. That first activation took a small bit of magical energy, a mostly negligible amount, followed by a very small ever present drain as I maintained the illusion. Made sense. I flexed my legs and then jumped.
Knowing intellectually what your power can do versus actually doing it was wildly different. I normally couldn't jump to save my life. But in that moment, with magical energy flowing through my veins, a comforting, omnipresent warmth, I was able to soar. With a single flex of the legs I cleared a storefront and landed safely on the other side, barely even needing to brace my legs for the impact. I grinned at the exhilaration of it and then did it again. And again. And again. I just kept bounding through the city like the original Superman, clearing apartment blocks, stores, and houses with minimal effort. Each jump ate a bit into my mana reserves, but with the perks I'd acquired so far, I had ample power to throw around for the moment. It was the closest I was able to get to true flight and it was unbelievably fun, not to mention getting a great view of the city from the various rooftops I landed on.
It wasn't long though before my antics were noticed. I was taking a breather, letting some magical energy recharge, when a voice called out to me from above.
"Hey you there! Can we talk for a sec?"
I glanced up and two figures descended to meet me. Both wore red, though one was in a fully covered bodysuit and the other some kind of fancy looking armor while riding a hoverboard. Aegis and Kid Win. "Hey! Can I help you guys with something?"
They both paused at the sound of my voice, but Aegis shrugged past it. "We got reports of an unknown parahuman jumping through the city while whooping and laughing. Seems like you're having a good time."
Oh. I hadn't realized that I was making noise, but… well jumping around like that had been a lot of fun. "Yessir, just flexing the new power. Been fun so far, almost like flying."
"Flying is a lot of fun, but ah… well, you're making folks nervous. Some people called in that it was a villain, with your getup and everything," Aegis said.
Ah hell, I'd made the mask black, hadn't I? That, combined with the clothes looking scruffy… "Not a villain. Actually, I'm going to be a hero."
Both Wards brightened considerably at that. "That's awesome!" Kid Win piped up. "So are you like, super strong or do you manipulate kinetic energy like Assault or something?"
"Oh the jumping? Nah, nothing like that. I can just… jump really high and ignore the landing," I shrugged. "Not the only thing in my bag of tricks, just the one I use to get around."
"Ah, a grab-bag," Aegis nodded understandingly. "We have a couple of those running around Brockton."
Oh how little he truly knew. "Having multiple powers is pretty neat," I said honestly.
"Well have you given any thought to joining the Protectorate? Or Wards, if you're underage," Aegis threw out leadingly.
"Heh, no need for the recruitment pitch. My lawyer is putting together a potential contract that I'll submit to the Protectorate for consideration," I explained. "Being a hero is something I've dreamed about since I was a kid, I wanna do it right, y'know?"
"Sure do," Aegis agreed. "Glad to have another good guy around. You got a name yet?"
I winced at that and shuffled a bit. "Nothing that isn't way too generic or already taken. I'll think of something or let the PR guys handle it. For now just call me… Magus."
That got me definite looks of concern. "So uh, you think your powers are magic then?" Kid Win asked.
"I know that powers aren't magic," I assured them. I mean… powers in general sure, mine were a different case. "But with what I can do, a magic theme kind of makes sense. You'll get to see once I join up and do power testing and stuff."
"Looking forward to it," Aegis said with a note of cheer in his voice, while Kid Win had an unrestrained grin.
Both suddenly stopped dead in their tracks, hands flying up to earpieces. They stood stock still, then Kid Win let out a small, but emphatic 'yes!', while Aegis seemed to be more resigned than anything.
"Uber and Leet are pulling some dumb scheme at the mall," Aegis sighed. "What are the chances you could…?"
"I'm happy to help, but my offensive options are pretty limited," I admitted.
"As long as you can throw a punch and jump around, we'll take whatever help you can give." Aegis turned away from me and pressed his earpiece again. "Console, this is Aegis. Kid Win and I have encountered a new parahuman, tentative name is 'Magus' for the moment. He's offered his assistance with the Uber and Leet situation." Aegis listened to his earpiece for a moment, then turned back to me. "Can you follow orders if we give them?"
"Just point me where you need me," I said with a determined nod. I wasn't the lone wolf or leader type. I liked working with other people, at least in real world stuff. Cape fights might be different, but I had a chance to find out now. And if I really hated working with the PRT… Well I hadn't signed anything yet.
"Alright, follow us then. We're prioritizing civilian evacuation at the moment, we're talking dozens, maybe a few hundred civilians trapped in the mall right now. Thank God it isn't the weekend," Aegis said, partially to himself.
Kid Win fumbled on his belt and pulled out a spare communicator. He shot a questioning look at Aegis, who gave him a nod, and then offered it to me. "Here, this will let you talk to us. You use the dial to adjust the channel and press down to transmit. Double-tap to turn it off."
I accepted it with a quickly mumbled thanks, then fitted it into my ear, creating an illusion with Lunatic Eyes of me slipping it under my non-existent mask.
Crap, I better not get knocked out in this fight.
While creating and maintaining the illusion was easy for now, I had no doubt that unconsciousness would dispel it, leaving my face for the world to see. Which would honestly help take some stress out of certain aspects of this new life, but still… Being cavalier with the heroes who were also unmasked was one thing, having everyone know my name and face was a completely different ballpark.
"Channel four," Aegis said, then took off into the air, Kid Win not far behind.
I turned the dial into place and then held the button even as I jumped up and through the air, following behind the two flying capes. "This is Magus, following behind Aegis and Kid Win," I said, trying and failing to remember proper radio protocol.
"Console here," a young girl said over the line. "Glad to have some back up for once. Just stick close to them and listen to what Aegis says."
Has to be Vista. Why can't we have trained adults sitting in the chair exactly?
Not to mention that Vista would have been a much better asset in the field, not as a strategic coordinator. Oh well.
"Console, what theme are Uber and Leet going with today?" I asked curiously, knowing that they usually did pop culture themes, specifically video games.
"Star Wars. They're mostly using cheap automatons, but there's the occasional goon that's dressed up, so we can't just break them all," Vista said with a huff of annoyance. "But right now we're focused on getting everyone out. Gallant and a squad of troopers are already on the scene and helping with evac. Once all the civies are safe, we can neutralize the villains and bots," she explained.
"Got it," I confirmed. Seemed easy in principle, though I had a growing pit of nervousness in my gut.
Brockton Bay wasn't exactly a small city, but it wasn't a huge metropolis like New York or Los Angeles. Between flying and my huge leaps, we made it to the mall in no time, police cars covering the various exits while a PRT van sat at the main entrance, surrounded by scared looking civilians that were being tended to by paramedics and firefighters. Seeing all the wanton chaos, the scared and crying children… It lit a fire in me. Uber and Leet might have been relatively harmless as far as villains went, but they still made their living by stepping on those below them, robbing and destroying for the sake of their little 'show'. If this was the aftermath of one of their incidents, then it made my blood boil to consider how much worse the three main powers of the Bay were.
One step at a time. Can't save everyone all at once.
Except, I could, if I could just access the power that sat within my soul. But it would take far too much time and points that could be better spent in the meantime. One day, it would be mine, I swore that to myself then and there.
A PRT trooper with a containment foam launcher waved us down and I landed without issue next to Aegis and Kid Win. "Aegis, Kid Win, new guy. Gallant and the rest of the squad are inside, still getting out the last of the civilians. We estimate we're about eighty-percent done. Velocity should be here any second too and two more squads are also on their way," the armored woman explained quickly.
"We'll join them," Aegis decided, already beginning to rise back up into the air. "Have we seen Uber and Leet yet?"
"They're in there, dressed like Jedi, even swinging around lightsabers. Hopefully they're just hardlight and not the real deal. Watch out for the bots they got swarming around though, they'll surround you and beat the crap out of you if you don't get out of there. No laser guns, thank God and they go down with a few good hits, but we can't use firearms because they have their goons mixed in with the crowd."
"We'll be careful," Aegis promised. "Magus, you know about Uber and Leet?"
"Guy who can become really skilled with one thing at a time, so expect some martial arts and a Tinker who can build practically anything, but his creations tend to be pretty unstable," I summarized.
"That's about it. You mentioned lacking offensive power?"
"I have a Striker ability, but I need a sword to use it. A bat or something might work too" I explained. "If there are goons inside, then I might accidentally kill them with that anyway."
"Well if you see a Big Five or something, grab one, we can pay them back later," Aegis ordered. "Don't go for the head unless you're sure it's a robot."
"You got it."
With that, we reentered the air, Aegis and Kid Win scanning the place through the large windows and skylights while I leapt up onto the roof. I kept pace with them as they searched before they finally saw what they were looking for. With more speed than I'd yet to see him use, Aegis accelerated down and smashed through a skylight, Kid Win following close behind with his laser pistols out. Before I lost my nerve, I jumped in after them, adrenaline singing through my veins.
It was utter chaos, what looked like the classic B1 battle droids from Star Wars wandering about, some running, some glitching, all of them attacking people on sight. An especially large group was crowding the front of a nice boutique, the call of 'Roger-Roger' echoing loudly as they tried to get in and rob the place, the civilians trapped inside looking scared out of their damn minds. Aegis swooped in and took out an entire group that had clustered together, sending sparks flying as their weak chassis broke apart under his assault. Kid Win began firing into the crowd, each shot of his pistols powerful enough to down the cheap droids.
I landed amidst the chaos and threw out my first punch. I deeply regretted it as soon as I did.
It was a robot. A robot made of metal, plastic, and who knew what else. I was still flesh and blood. The shock traveled up my arm and made my hand throb with agony as the thing rocked backwards, thrown off course by my hit, but not out. I let out a loud curse and bounded away before I could get swarmed, eyes roving for something, anything, that I could use as a weapon.
"Magus!"
I glanced up and spotted Kid Win. From his hoverboard, he tossed an object in my direction, a baseball bat. I didn't care where he'd gotten it, in that moment I was just grateful. I jumped and grabbed the thing midair, aiming for a cluster of tightly packed robots. As I was landing, I went into a hurricane spin, the energy leaving my weapon and carving a path of destruction through the automatons in short order. The ones closest to my initial swing were actually sent flying up and over the horde, while the ones at the fringes were scattered, some beginning to glitch as my attack damaged vital bits of machinery inside of them.
Tinkers don't mass produce the really good tech very well. Which means these things must be pretty fragile.
That thought in mind, I unleashed another spin attack, further decimating the horde. I made sure to do it at about mid-torso height, just in case any of them were actually goons, though I had a feeling the real henchmen were busy robbing the higher end stores for cash and valuables.
Between the two Wards and I, we cleared the small horde out in no time and began to usher the civilians to safety. Kid Win volunteered for that role, leaving me and Aegis to link up with Gallant and the rest of the troopers.
"Gallant, where are you at?" Aegis asked urgently as we began to smash more droids that got in our way.
"Ground floor. We aren't seeing any civies at the moment, are we clear yet?" Gallant asked, his voice out of breath.
"Console here," Vista cut in. "Velocity is doing a run through-" Now that she mentioned it, I was able to see the blur of motion as a figure darted into and out of stores at a rapid pace. "-and will give us the all clear once he's done. So far we have two hundred and thirty-two civilians outside. EMTs are checking to make sure no one is missing anyone from their groups and so far we're good."
"Velocity here," a new voice said on coms. "All civilians are out. Moving to engage Uber and Leet, ground floor, jewelry store."
Aegis and I traded a look and moved together toward the given location, Aegis already radioing ahead that we were enroute. Thanks to both of our Mover powers, it was rather easy to avoid the roving squads of battle droids and just focus on reaching Velocity's location.
We found him racing around as a red blur, not really able to do more than harass Uber and Leet, but even that distraction was enough to keep them pinned down and waiting. Both were wearing Jedi robes, Uber the more classic tan pattern that Obi-Wan Kenobi wore and Leet the dark version that Anakin Skywalker did. Both were swinging around blue lightsabers, trying and failing to hit Velocity.
I really hoped that they weren't real plasma blades.
Aegis gestured me toward Leet and dove in toward Uber himself. The Tinker brandished his saber at me, actually looking like he knew what he was doing. Being kind of a nerd myself, I actually recognized the style and everything.
"Dude, that's a Soresu stance. Anakin is a Djem-So user," I blurted out as I approached.
Leet blinked in surprise through his mask. "You can actually tell?"
"Well yeah. Smart choice of form though, were you expecting Kid Win or something?"
"Yeah," the saber dipped a bit and the dumb nerd actually looked disappointed. "We planned this out based on their patrol schedules and everything. Getting to deflect a real laser would have been so cool!"
I felt some of the earlier fire leaking into my chest. "So you staged all of this… this… chaos, just to LARP?"
"The money too," Leet shrugged. "But we chose today and this time so we could test the lightsabers against lasers. In theory if it works on Kid Win's, then it might even work on Photon Mom and her pack. That would be kind of neat!"
I breathed out once. Twice. Then I shouted in anger and lunged at him! The villain squeaked in surprise and brought up the lightsaber in a defensive parry that sheared through my bat like it was paper and almost took a few fingers too. I hurled the remains at him and tried to dive tackle him, but he tapped something on his wrist and then made a pushing gesture toward me. An invisible force picked me up and hurled me up and through a storefront, glass shattering around me as I got tangled up with some mannequins.
"Your powers are nothing compared to that of the Force!" He called tauntingly before making a break for it with Uber close behind, Aegis nursing some gnarly looking burns.
Even with his injuries, the Wards leader flew over and helped me to my feet. "You alright?"
"Fine," I spat angrily, wincing as my back screamed with pain. "Can we go after them?"
"Leet activated a failsafe. The bots are going wild, prioritization is containment and destruction of those now before they cause more damage. You good to keep going?" He asked, genuine concern lacing his voice.
I cursed under my breath, but walked over and hefted up my now very shortened bat by it's handle. A faint glow of magical energy began to emit from it. "Just point me at them."
I slumped against the side of a PRT van, my arms aching from swinging my weapon, my right hand from punching a robot, my body from Leet's little 'Force Push', and my legs from jumping around so much. I basically felt like a walking bruise. Between all of that and maintaining my illusory disguise, I was beginning to feel a weight on my soul as well, my mana reserves starting to run on empty. Truth be told, it had been kind of cathartic to smash mindless machines for a bit, but it had quickly gotten tedious. Thankfully between three Wards, three squads of PRT troopers, and Velocity, we finally managed to either destroy or contain all of the droids. Some of them were being sent back to the PRT to see if anything useful technologically speaking could be salvaged.
Despite all of that, I was still rather pissed off. Uber and Leet had escaped. It galled me that my first outing had left me so out of it, not to mention that I hadn't even been able to catch Uber and Leet, two of the most pathetic villains in Brockton Bay. I tried to comfort myself with the knowledge that I was just a new guy, no one was automatically just good at this sort of thing. Still…
Defeat is a bitter pill to swallow.
A bottle of water entered my view, breaking me from my spiral and I eagerly accepted it. I glanced up to see Gallant looking down at me, the bottom portion of his helmet having been removed so that he could drink some water of his own.
I chugged the bottle, not even caring that it was tepid and sighed in relief. "Thanks."
"No problem. Thank you for all your help today. I'm Gallant," he introduced himself while resealing his helm.
"Magus, for the moment anyway," I replied tiredly, extending a hand.
We shook briefly before turning and staring at the departing EMTs and firefighters, the police now taking statements from those civilians who hadn't needed to be transported to the hospital due to injuries.
"I always thought they were harmless," I said, breaking the silence. "Uber and Leet. I thought they were just nerds. Jackasses sometimes, but harmless. Here though… Dozens of people scared out of their minds, several injured, businesses ruined, thousands of dollars worth of property damage, not to mention whatever they stole. Those bastards." I slammed my already aching fist into the asphalt, wincing at the pain.
"It seems like fun and games, until you really see the cost of what some capes get up to," Gallant agreed. "That's why we exist. To stop parahumans like them."
I sighed and leaned forward, staring off into space. "Makes me wonder how much it could be, with villains like Lung and Hookwolf running around."
Gallant nodded grimly. "I won't lie, I've seen some pretty bad stuff in this city. But… With the amount of villains that make this city their home, the PRT and Protectorate have a hell of a time keeping things contained, let alone better. Make no mistake though, if we just allowed the villains to reign freely, things would get so much worse." He shook off the dark thoughts and stood straighter. "That's why every hero that joins us, counts. Even just one more can tip the scales. We'd be glad to have you, Magus."
"No need for the pitch again," I chuckled, waving a hand through the air. "That's gotta be the third one so far. I'm already planning on joining, just waiting for some stuff to get settled is all. Even if my mind wasn't made up, today… today would have done it."
Velocity dropped out of his Breaker state in front of us, looking out of breath despite his power. "Gallant, good job in there. And you too, new guy. Thanks for the assist. You have the PRT's thanks today."
"Just doing what might be my job soon. Was out testing my powers while my lawyer is getting the paperwork together when I ran into Aegis and Kid Win. When they got pulled over here, I just followed, figured I could help at least somewhat."
"Well regardless, it was appreciated. Aegis was telling me that Striker power of yours was pretty handy at clearing out those bots," Velocity informed me. "You had powers long?"
"Couple of days," I admitted.
That made both Velocity and Gallant stare at me with shock. "And you're already out helping?" Velocity asked incredulously.
"Well… yeah," I shrugged. "I felt better putting my gifts to use, rather than doing nothing."
"That's commendable," Gallant put in. "I hope we're able to work together again soon."
"Oh yeah, count on it," I agreed. "For now though, I have to get out of here. I'm running on empty, need to get some food and sleep.
"It's barely two in the afternoon," Velocity barked out a laugh. "But I can't say that I don't understand. I'm guessing with how new you are that this was your first cape fight? Even though we technically didn't run into any capes, an incident like this counts."
"Yeah, first run in with capes. Glad it wasn't someone even worse, if that's just what Leet can do…" I trailed off, not even wanting to consider what other, less restrained villains might be capable of.
"That was one of the bigger stunts I've seen them pull," Velocity said thoughtfully. "I'm sure it took up a lot of time and resources to put that together. We probably won't have to worry about something like that again for a long while. They're usually smarter than that. Last time they pulled off one of their heists that was even close to this big was the GTA debacle."
"What, did they run around beating up random people and stealing their wallets?" I asked sarcastically.
Both heroes remained silent.
"No way they could get away with that kind of crap…"
"They got blasted pretty hard even by their fans," Gallant said, shifting uncomfortably. "And they were mostly targeting businesses and prostitutes, though a few random people that were on the streets that night got hit too."
"And they're supposed to be the tame villains?" More anger was flooding through me at the thought. It was easy to dismiss and laugh when they were just words on a page, the jokester gamer losers, but hearing and seeing it all for myself, having it be made real…
My resolve had solidified by that point. I was going to clean this city up, piece by bloody piece and if the Protectorate wanted to stop or limit me…
Well I'd burn that bridge if I got to it.
The PRT offered me a ride to a drop-off of my choosing, but I declined, instead using my somewhat recovered mana reserves to leap away. I used Lunatic Eyes to render myself invisible and then made my way back to the Overlook. A quick shower washed away the sweat and the robotic fluids (I dearly hoped it was just lubricant and coolant of some kind) and promptly passed out in my bed.
I was woken up, bleary eyed by the ringing of my room's telephone, an old, but fancy looking landline. "Hello?" I croaked out, my voice rough.
"I am sorry to disturb you, sir," the well mannered tone of the concierge greeted me. "But you seem to have a visitor, a young woman named Crystal."
I blinked, then grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand. There were a plethora of messages and missed calls.
Damn.
"Please, send her up," I replied groggily, dragging myself from the bed while stifling a yawn.
"Right away, sir."
The call ended and I placed the phone back down, then threw on a shirt and some shorts, making myself at least somewhat presentable. I crossed out of the bedroom and propped open the door to the suite, then began to boil some water on the ancient looking stove. Despite the age of everything, it all worked excellently.
After a few minutes, Crystal peaked her head in with a knock, "I hope this is the right suite."
"Yeah, c'mon in," I said with a wave over my shoulder, setting some coffee to brew in my french press. "Just making some coffee if you want any."
"I'm in college, I practically live on the stuff," she laughed, setting herself down on the sofa. "Plus I've got a patrol with my mom tonight, so that sounds amazing."
"Geeze, what time is it?"
"It's almost seven. You had me worried, not answering your phone after I saw you on the news."
"And how did you know that was me?" I asked innocently, pouring two cups, filling one with an obscene amount of cream and sugar while leaving the other black.
Crystal snatched the one with cream and sugar before I could protest, forcing me to go re-prepare mine. "You think I'm that stupid? New cape suddenly shows up with unknown powers? Had to have been you. PRT already put out an official statement, thanking you for the assistance. Said they hoped that more independent heroes would show your level of cooperation and also expressed interest in you joining the Protectorate."
I grunted as I finally got my drink just right and set myself in a chair across from her. "That's nice of them. I thought they usually give indies the shaft."
"Only the edgy ones like Shadow Stalker," Crystal replied. "Nice costume by the way. Where'd you get it?"
I flared Lunatic Eyes, putting the disguise back over myself. "Got a couple new powers overnight. Super jumps, like you probably saw on t.v and illusions, more specifically I can now control light and soundwaves." I'd just leave out the bit about controlling brainwaves. I was honest, but I wasn't suicidal, I knew how Masters got treated in Worm.
"Your powers are bullshit. They could still be temporary though."
"Maybe, but I have a feeling they aren't."
"Shhhhh, let me pretend that you have limits of some kind."
"Sure." I took a sip of my coffee and sighed happily as warmth and sweetness rolled across my tongue. Never could stand to drink it black.
"Anyway, Aunt Carol gave me a call. She wasn't thrilled to see you out and about before we officially got you an introduction to the PRT, but she was happy to see you helping out and making a good show of it by all accounts," she warned me. "On the upside, news outlets were able to get ahold of some footage from the CCTV and you look pretty badass smashing up those robots."
"Droids," I grumbled. "What else?"
"Well apparently people think you're Brandish's secret third child."
I choked mid-sip and sputtered. "Excuse me?" I asked while hastily grabbing a napkin to wipe away the coffee now staining my chin and shirt.
Crystal held in her giggles, but failed to hide the amusement completely. "Between the huge jumps and then the energy coming off of your bat, that's the main theory on PHO. Probably another reason she isn't too pleased."
"Yeah I'll bet," I muttered, taking another drink and eyeing Crystal carefully to make sure she wasn't going to hit me with any other news. "But Brandish doesn't do large jumps like I was doing."
"No, but my dad does with his Brute rating. So therefore you must be Manpower and Brandish's secret lovechild in people's minds."
That might actually be Victoria. Or maybe I'm just getting theories confused?
"Oh just great," I said sarcastically. "And I was also secretly raised by villains and only just now seeking redemption and to join my true parents."
"More specifically by the Marquis and that's why you've waited this long to reveal yourself to New Wave," Crystal said jokingly.
I rolled my eyes and drank some more coffee. "Alright, enough of that. What brings you to my humble abode?"
"Pft, humble? It's old, but still classy. I dare say this is nicer than most people can get in the city." Crystal looked around, admiring the decor. "How much do you pay exactly?"
"Less than my old place," I answered evasively. "Got a special deal from the manager. I suspect they're having a hard time finding customers with the lack of tourism in this part of the city."
"Yeah yeah, big bad ol' Docks. It's really not too skeevy if you avoid the places directly controlled by the ABB."
"Got that right," I chuckled lightly. "You should have seen some of the neighborhoods in the L.A. Now that was a cesspit. Makes even the bad parts of Brockton Bay look suburban."
"If you ignore Lung and the neo-nazis, sure," Crystal said snarkily. Huh, she and Amy really were cousins, blood be damned. "But hey, what do I know, I'm just a local girl, born and raised here."
"I bow to your wisdom," I drawled. "Seriously though, you can't just be checking up on me for no reason. Sure I wasn't answering my phone, but it's not like I was in any danger. I didn't pick a fight with the Empire or anyone really dangerous."
"You might have set me on edge a bit with that talk of how dangerous Coil is," Crystal admitted. "But I had another reason." She unslung a satchel, really more of a classy book bag, and pulled out a stack of papers. "Ta-da!"
"Your aunt finished the contract already?" I asked hopefully, reaching out and taking the papers eagerly.
"Yup. Pulled an all nighter, said she was happy to help a new budding hero get his start." She paused dramatically then let out a small snort of amusement. "She also might have said something about billable hours. I wasn't really paying too much attention."
"Well regardless, I appreciate it." I flipped through the contract, reading the basic outline of it all. "Is she still going to want to meet with me to walk through it?"
"Oh yeah, but no rush on that. Last I saw she was booking a nice dinner for herself and Mark. Another good day luckily."
"Depression can come and go in waves," I shrugged. "Sometimes you can ignore it, just push it away and function like normal, then next thing you know you're sitting on the couch in your undies chugging beer at 11 a.m."
Crystal's gaze sharpened and she leaned forward in her seat, focusing with laser intensity. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."
Shit. Me and my big mouth.
I really had to work on thinking before I said the wrong damn thing.
"We all have our own struggles," I said with forced levity. "Just one day at a time, ya know?"
"Sure."
We sat in somewhat awkward silence for a minute, just sipping at our respective drinks before Crystal rose from her seat. "Well, I've got to get ready for that patrol with Mom. You wanna join us? You've got a decent Mover power now to keep up with us fliers."
"Maybe another night," I winced, rubbing my well bruised knuckles and sore arms. "Kind of a wild day."
"I'll hold you to that," she said, giving me one last grin before waving and taking off.
The room felt empty without her around, but now, Protectorate on the horizon and day of helping people out under my belt? For once, being alone didn't feel too crushing.;
Still running on fumes in regards to funding, dinner that night was Fugly Bob's. I felt kind of disgusting, having just eaten some for lunch the previous day, but I figured I'd go with a bit of a lighter burger and maybe a shake instead of a cheap beer. Walking into the burgeoning dinner crowd, I placed my order and then found myself a seat in a booth, all the spots at the bar already taken. I thought I spotted a flash of dark curly hair headed out the door and my protagonist senses tingled, but I waved off the sensation. It was a big city and Taylor couldn't have been the only person with that kind of hair.
As I was mulling over the possibility, a familiar figure slipped into the booth. I was pleasantly surprised to see a cheshire grin and green eyes peering at me. "Well well, what brings you to this fine establishment?" Lisa asked. "I thought you were nearly broke."
"Nearly isn't the same as completely," I replied. "Besides, I've got a source of income coming in soon."
Her grin dimmed a tad. "Yeah? Going through with it then?"
"I am. You watch the news today?"
"Of course. Oh, that was you, wasn't it? I was like, seventy-five percent sure, but that just confirms it."
"Your power is kind of bull sometimes."
"So says Dauntless and Eidolon's secret lovechild, but in this case it's just natural intuition. What tipped the scales?" Lisa enquired, sipping at a soda.
"I saw how much chaos and havoc just small time losers like Uber and Leet caused, the hurt civilians, the scared children, the property damage and I just… I can only imagine how much worse things are when the other gangs pull their shit. I refuse to contribute to it and I can't stand by and do nothing, so… Joining the big guys seems like the right thing to do," I explained best I could, trying not to sound like I was judging her career choices.
"That's fair. Careful with that bleeding heart of yours though. People not as nice as me might stab such a vulnerable spot."
"Threats Lisa? And here I thought we were getting along so well."
"Not a threat, you moron. Just some friendly advice. Oh and cut the cape talk. You're a friend I made at a coffee shop. Brian, over here!" She called, waving a hand toward the milling crowd.
A tall black teen strode over, eying me curiously before taking the seat next to Lisa. "Making friends, Lisa?"
"Already one. Mak, Brian. Brian, Mak. Met at that coffee spot I like. He's a pretty chill guy."
"Good to meet you," Brian offered his hand, which I gave a firm shake out of reflex, only to hiss in pain and pull away. "Oh shit man, sorry, did I-"
"You're fine, just hurt my hand earlier today," I explained, rubbing my now throbbing knuckles. I placed them against the side of my cold milkshake, sighing in relief as the pain ebbed. At Brian's inquisitive look, I explained with a lie mixed with some truth. "Empire punks didn't like seeing an Asian guy strutting around."
"Well damn, if you got away with nothing but a bruised hand, count yourself lucky," Brian commented, but nodded in understanding. "You do martial arts or something?"
"Something like that," I muttered, giving Lisa the stink eye. "Skinheads have thick skulls though."
"Amen," Brian agreed. "Been there, done that."
"No kidding? You lift?"
"Plus some boxing and other stuff. My dad's a gym instructor, ex-military," he said.
"Very cool. My grandad was an MP back in the day, he was always the most fit member of the family, even when he was old."
"Yeah, my old man likes to keep in fighting shape, just in case some skinheads ever try and give him issues," Brian chuckled grimly.
"Is talking about punching stuff really the only way dudes can bond?" Lisa sighed, shaking her head with a look of annoyance on her face.
We traded looks, then turned to her and said 'Yes' in unison.
"Boys," she muttered, though her eyes were amused. "Alright, well our order is about ready. We gotta take some food back to our roommates, but I'll catch ya later."
"Take care of yourself," I replied, before activating Lunatic Eyes and sending the next words solely to her. "And if you ever need help with Coil, just say the word. I'm a certified hero now, it's my responsibility to take care of scum like him."
Her smile didn't falter, but she gave me the barest hint of a nod as she and Brian left with bags of greasy burgers and fried potatoes.
I settled in to enjoy my meal, because after the day I'd had, I deserved the damn calories.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The next day I found myself back in Carol Dallon's office, though this time it was her actual official one Downtown. Guess she didn't trust me in her own home without a family member to vouch. Ever the consummate professional, the minute I stepped into her office with my shabby suit, she placed a document in front of me and motioned for me to go ahead. I read the thing front to back and could genuinely say that I was impressed. She'd made sure I was getting a damn better salary than the average Protectorate hero, not to mention plenty of vacation and personal days, insurance, the whole nine yards. As a blue collar worker for my brief time in the working world, it was more than I'd ever imagined getting.
"So does it meet your expectations then, Mr. Inouye?" Carol asked as I placed the contract down.
"Way better than I'd hoped. I really appreciate you doing this for me," I thanked her earnestly.
"So long as you earn it," Carol warned me. "You seem like a decent enough young man, so I hope to see great things from your career. Truthfully after seeing you jump in so ill prepared yesterday, but still ready to help, I was almost tempted to do this for free." She paused. "Almost," she clarified. "I'm still a lawyer and I rather enjoy getting to spoil my daughter every now and again."
I noted the word choice and filed it away for later. "So how do we proceed from here then?"
"I took the liberty of scheduling a power assessment and an initial interview tomorrow," she informed me. "Don't look so taken aback, an appointment could always be canceled if you were truly unhappy with the contract, but better to get a head start on these things."
"I'm kind of surprised you were able to get things rolling so quickly. I wasn't expecting anything for at least another week or two," I admitted.
"Well when they get a call from a trusted associate that there's a powerful new cape who wants to join the Protectorate, the PRT can get the wheels of bureaucracy moving a lot faster than you might have been able to on your own."
"Thank you again, Carol, really. If you or New Wave ever need anything from me, then just say the word," I promised.
"Just make sure my fee is paid and you do some good out there."
We shook hands and I left. The easy part was over. Next came the hard part.
Despite all of my aches and pains, the previous day had taught me how lacking I really was. I mean, I didn't even try to use the hurricane spin against Leet, I'd just charged in and gotten my ass kicked for it! So I popped some ibuprofen, grabbed my training sword, and got to work in the Overlook's gym. I beat on the practice dummies for a while before shifting over to free weights, then jogged a while, then some more weights, before picking up the sword in my now shaking hands and struck at the target a few more times. Again and again I tried infusing magical energy into my attacks and again and again, it failed. What wasn't I getting about it?
The hurricane spin isn't even anything fancy, it's a… technique…
Maybe infusing normal attacks just wasn't in my wheelhouse yet, but the scroll had said that forming my own techniques should only require a bit of effort. I began to do just that, practicing an age old classic: The ground pound. A leap into the air, followed by trying to infuse my weapon and then slam it down! New goal set, I practiced that for a while before my body just refused to give anything else.
I was going to be the best goddamn hero I could be and if that meant working my ass off? Well then I was game.
I'd never felt more motivated in my entire life.
Despite my body's protests, I hauled myself up and swung the blade once more.
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