Frostbloom

Chapter 3

Ashley took Homelander's statement like a punch to the stomach. After a few seconds of shock, she regained enough composure to say, "Anyone in this room who repeats what he just said is not going to find themselves fired or dead. They will find themselves in the locked ward of a mental institution for the rest of their natural lives and no one will ever believe one more word out of their mouths. Ever. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone in the room was properly cowed, as the chorus of "Yes, Ms. Barrett" proved. Everyone except Homelander, of course.

Although she'd kept her face and body calm and relaxed, she knew he could hear the panicked hammering of her heart. Her displays of confidence had never fooled him, not even once.

Maureen entered the room and let out a sigh of relief. "Ms. Barrett, thank God you're all right."

"Thanks, Maureen. Can I get a brief synopsis of what's going on?" Give me some concrete data to distract myself from the fact that I may not be human anymore.

Maureen gave her a description of what had gone on, and Ashley took charge. She pretended Homelander wasn't there watching her, smelling her fear. "Our first priority at this time must be to locate Dr. Harriman and bring him back to the Tower. He's the only one with a total understanding of Project Mirror. Reacquiring him is the only way we can find out what the hell happened during the accident. Since we don't know how any…powers—" she still barely brought herself to say the word "—were acquired, I want a close watch kept on the other survivors. Who were they?"

"Dr. Rennie and a lab assistant named Shane Miller," said Dr. Clay. "You met Dr. Rennie before the accident."

Ashley restrained a shudder. Her memory of the accident was fragmentary at best. She remembered going to the lab, meeting the project lead and the other two scientists, then the shattering sound and the alarms, and then there was nothing until she woke up in Homelander's arms. "I want a twenty-four-hour guard on them. If they manifest anything dangerous, and attempt to leave, keep them under observation but don't try to stop them. The supes can handle that part."

Maureen said, "Yes, Ms. Barrett. You should know that we've had some difficulty getting information about Project Mirror."

"Understandable," she replied. "It was a hangover project from Stan Edgar's reign."

"We thought it concerned the aerosolizing of Compound V. That was the most likely explanation for the…manifestations you and Dr. Harriman exhibited."

"I already said it wasn't." Ashley sighed and looked around the room. "What I'm about to tell you is also covered by the mental health clause that was just under discussion." No one said anything, so she continued. "Project Mirror was Stan Edgar's attempt to customize Compound V so that it would have predictable effects on the people to whom it was administered. Mr. Edgar wanted to know in advance what powers would appear, be in control of whether a supe had strength or speed or whatever. Reliably in control. He hated the randomness of it. The project was experimenting with different formulations of Compound V to refine its effects."

Homelander spoke up. She knew he'd been quiet for far too long. "So what you're saying is that if Stan felt like we needed a new invisible supe, he wanted a dedicated formula that would give him a new Translucent, right?"

"Right. Or a new A-Train or Queen Maeve. Or a new Homelander."

"Sneaky bastard. How far along was the work?"

She rubbed at her temples. "That's the thing—I don't know. Dr. Harriman was playing his cards very close to the chest and the project files are missing. I think Mr. Edgar might have gotten sticky-fingered on the way out the door. I know from what the good doctor said that the Compound V formulations they were working on involved DNA from current and past members of the Seven."

"So Harriman could have Lamplighter's powers?" asked Maureen.

"At this point I couldn't say, but it seems likely. Dr. Harriman also indicated that Mr. Edgar wanted to refine it so it would be safer to administer to adults."

"Neat," said Homelander. "If Translucent dies, just shoot up somebody else to take over his position. No muss no fuss. And even better if it's an adult—no Godolkin University for them, just straight into the field. Interchangeable supes, made to order. Disposable."

Ashley saw the rage brewing in him and thanked God she wasn't Stan Edgar. "Dr. Rennie might know more about what stage the project is in. Let me know immediately when she regains consciousness again."

"Yes, Ms. Barrett," said Dr. Clay. "May I ask how you're feeling?"

Back to that already, huh? Focusing on the event, and dealing with the event, had helped to distract her from her own situation. "I feel fine, doctor. A little tired, but otherwise fine."

"Specifically, do you feel sleepy? We've noticed that you seem to manifest new…abilities after you sleep." Clay was sharp enough, like Maureen, to notice she didn't like the word powers.

Ashley shook her head. "Not really." And now she never wanted to sleep again.

"Well, we can do additional tests on you once you go back to your room, do some experimenting. There may be some abilities you've acquired that you haven't manifested yet. They may require emotional triggers, anger, fear, that sort of thing."

So you think you're going to make me angry and frightened? Think again, doctor. "Well, I don't intend to be run through any mazes right now. Being an experimental test subject isn't something I find appealing."

"You're going to have to experiment with your new powers in order to get in control of them. Your cold powers manifested while you were asleep. We can't take any chances that whatever abilities you may manifest in the future would come out in an uncontrolled manner."

Ashley felt panic beating its wings inside her chest and she tried to deny its existence. "None of the other abilities did. I think we can call the frost thing a fluke."

"I don't agree with that, Ms. Barrett. I think—"

"As I'm the CEO, you don't need to agree with me, Dr. Clay. You just need to concentrate on finding a way to wake up Dr. Rennie and Mr. Miller so we can find out exactly what was going on with Project Mirror. Do I make myself clear?"

Clay looked mutinous, but he said, "Yes, Ms. Barrett."

Her inner panic subsided by a degree or two now that she wasn't going to be a guinea pig to satisfy any Dr. Frankenstein leanings the good Dr. Clay might have. "I wouldn't be opposed to trying to find out what triggers the abilities I currently have, but I will not be made to be frightened. I'm already scared enough for three people. I just want to go home and get some rest until either we find Dr. Harriman or Dr. Rennie wakes up."

"I'm not comfortable with you going home. We still don't know if there's possible contagion."

I don't care about your comfort level, she wanted to scream. I care about getting out of this building, forgetting for an hour or two about how Vought has destroyed my fucking life from the moment I got involved with supes. "If there were contagion, you and everyone else in this room would already know about it. How long did it take for everyone in the lab to become infected?"

"We're not sure if it's an infection, Ms. Barrett, but everyone went into seizure within seconds."

Maureen interjected, "I should remind you that all survivors in the lab were put through decontamination before being brought into the clinic."

"You see? There wouldn't be any danger of secondary contamination. Keep yourself and your staff under observation and report any possible symptoms, as well as anything that you find concerning for any reason. Maureen, you're in charge of this. This is your first priority for the foreseeable future. I'm going home to change clothes and get something to eat. Call me if anything comes up." She turned and headed for the door, her back prickling. Would Dr. Clay try to use any of the security people in the room to stop her from leaving? Would he tell Homelander to stop her? Would Homelander do it if he did? That was an easy question: only if he saw benefit to himself from it.

Apparently Dr. Clay didn't have the balls for that because she passed through the control room doors unchallenged and headed for the elevator. Homelander fell into step beside her. "I'm glad you're feeling more like yourself, Ashley. You had us all worried there for a while."

"Appreciated, but I'm fine. I think the skin and the strength and the cold stuff is probably all I have."

"And the X-ray vision. That was the first power you showed."

She wanted to roll her eyes but didn't. "And that." They got on the elevator and Ashley felt the panic ebbing a bit more. She'd be out of here soon, back home, and could make dinner and avoid thinking about what had happened.

"If the information about Project Mirror using DNA from past and present members of the Seven for experimentation is correct, then mine must have been present."

"That makes sense. You're the leader of the Seven." She wondered what he was getting at.

"Did you know that I'm the only member of the Seven, past or present, that has X-ray vision?"

"Uh—no." Her heart fell as she figured out what he was getting at.

"You already have X-ray vision, invulnerable skin, strength that's…sort of competitive with mine. For whatever reason, I think you're going to get my powers." He grinned at her. "And I think you're going to like it."

Like fuck I will, she thought. "I think that's a reach. And what about the cold thing? You don't have any powers like that. And neither did anyone who's ever been in the Seven, as far as I know."

Homelander waved a dismissive hand. "We'll figure that part out later. I think it would be safest for you and everyone else if we behaved as though you'll manifest all my powers, sooner or later."

"I don't think—"

But he continued as if she hadn't spoken. "The laser vision is what you'll have to watch out for. I've been trained for years so I can trigger it at will, but at first it did trigger when I was scared or angry. Dr. Clay might be right about you staying in the clinic."

"Well, I'm not doing that. I'm not going to be trapped there like he wants. I'm not going to be a prisoner. Or a fucking guinea pig."

"Okay." His easy acquiescence triggered her suspicions. He didn't want her in the clinic, but he didn't want her at home, either. What was he scheming? "Are you feeling all right? Just between us, no Dr. Clay involvement."

She rubbed her eyes. "Like I said, a little tired but otherwise fine."

"You might be more comfortable dealing with your new powers if you get some of the smaller ones under control. I can help you with that since I've already done that for myself."

Instinctively she wanted to refuse, but she was pragmatic enough to know it made sense. If she did wind up getting fucked by the universe and getting all his powers, the laser vision alone was something she needed to get under control as fast as possible. "What would you suggest?"

"I think the X-ray vision first. You don't seem to be afraid of it and it's the easiest power to control."

"Okay, we can get on that tomorrow."

"No time like the present, Ashley. You can do this anywhere."

She sighed. "In the elevator?"

"It's quick and easy. Let's see if you can control it by the time we get to ninety-nine."

"Okay. How do I do it?"

Homelander smiled. "Just look at me normally."

"I'm doing that already." She started to feel a little pissed off. The last thing in the world she wanted was to be dependent on him for anything, especially something important that would keep other people safe. He wasn't reliable or trustworthy, and what would he do when this stopped amusing him?

"Now I want you to sort of unfocus your eyes like you do when you get bored but keep me in your field of vision. Tell me when you think you have that done."

Putting aside her unsettled state of mind, she did what he said. "Okay."

"Now you have to keep your eyes unfocused but look very, very hard at me. You need to feel some strain in your eyes."

Ashley strained and suddenly he turned into a skeleton. She cried out and Homelander stepped toward her. "What happened?"

"I saw your bones!"

He laughed. "There are degrees of the X-ray vision and you just went hard enough to see through flesh. It's fine, though. You didn't strip the flesh off me." Was there a chance of that? She didn't want to ask. "Now do the same thing but don't strain so hard."

Her heart rate was still up from the shock, but she tried to do what he said. "Nothing's happening."

"You're all tensed up now. Later on you can be tense and still use it, but you need to relax. The only strain should be in your eyes." She nodded and tried to relax. "Close your eyes and try to keep them unfocused. Then try looking hard and open them."

Now Ashley felt stupid, but when she opened her eyes Homelander was naked. "Shit!"

"What is it now?"

She couldn't find an immediate answer because she was too busy looking at him. Oh, she'd seen him naked before when she'd gone into his apartment without knocking to give him the good news about his numbers, but it surprised her how familiar he seemed. Had the sight of him without clothes really engraved itself on her brain from that one occasion? He didn't have the beefy, gym-rat look, but she didn't like that anyway. Tall, lanky men were her jam. And he fit that description to a T.

Then he got it and grinned. "Are you ogling my naked body, Ashley?"

"No!" Out of embarrassment she blinked several times and he was standing there in his costume again. "I—was just surprised."

"Sure you were." The door opened on the ninety-ninth floor and they stepped out of the elevator. "Since you know how to do it now, just keep practicing and it'll come easier to you. The strength is the next thing I'd suggest we get under control."

"That's fine, but not today, okay? I'm tired and it's been a long, hard day. I just want to get my purse and go home and rest."

Homelander nodded. "You just have to remember, until we start practicing, that you have to touch everything like it's an egg, especially people. It's going to be harder for you since you have to adjust. I've been this strong all my life so it's nothing new." Something dark passed across his face and she decided to try to lift his mood.

"So you can look through people's clothes whenever you want, then."

"Yes, I can."

"That must have been difficult when you were a horny teenage boy."

"Don't you mean hard?"

"A pun is the lowest form of wit."

He chuckled. "But you're right. From the ages of twelve to eighteen, no woman in my immediate vicinity had clothes on in my eyes. I had a perpetual hard-on."

"Didn't it get boring after a while?"

"Uh—no. You're not a man so I don't expect you to get it."

"Oh, I think even a woman can understand the archetype of the horny teenage boy." Ashley walked into her office and opened the bottom drawer of her desk, where she kept her purse. Keeping her new super strength in mind, she used two fingers to open the drawer, and it seemed to work fine. The tension in her chest eased a little. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "I need to freshen up my makeup before I leave."

"Fine." Homelander settled down in one of her office chairs.

"Are you accompanying me? Are you my unofficial guard?" The tension ratcheted up again.

"I am not your guard, Ashley. I'd just feel better being nearby in case anything happens. I'd think you'd feel better with me around in that case, too, so I could help you if needed."

There wasn't any way she could get rid of him, so she just turned her back and went into the bathroom. As she'd guessed, her makeup was all but gone from the lab accident, and she found her mascara and began reapplying. Just the mascara and lipstick, she decided. She just wanted to get home. Ashley took a final look at herself in the mirror and noticed her wig wasn't sitting correctly on her head. And didn't it feel funny? Like there was something between her scalp and the inside of the wig? With a sense of foreboding, she pulled off the wig and barely held in the gasp at the sight of her hair, not her bald pate, but her hair, grown back in, falling to just above her shoulders.