Angela
September 25th, 2007. 4:43 a.m. Dorm living room. Must. Beat. Game. Tonight. You know when you’re super tired, but you power through it and you’re not tired anymore? Everything inside you feels like a damp cloud and it’s hard to open or close your eyes all the way, but you’re still awake as long as your head doesn’t touch anything soft. I don’t even know if I’m awake right now, but that’s nothing new for me. I hear the door open behind me.
“Where are you going now, Josh?”
“What?” Sejong asks me. “Angela, it’s me.”
“Oh. Woopsie.” I put the controller down and look at Sejong. “The heck are you doing up so late?”
Sejong pats a fat piece of luggage that she painted herself. “I’m going back to Korea.”
“You quitting already?”
“Oh no. No. Nothing like that. Just going there for a cousin’s wedding and a big family reunion. Be back in two weeks or so.”
“Headmaster’s letting you do that?”
“Yup. Asked her already and had it cleared. She’ll just send me the lecture manuscripts and homework via email.”
“Wish she’d do that for me…” I mutter.
“I’m sure she’d do so if you just asked her.” Sejong shrugs.
“I may just have to do that.” My head feels empty. “Have a safe trip though, okay?”
“I will. Thank you.”
“Bring me back some weird Korean candy while you’re at it.”
“Of course.”
“Oh! And any weird bootlegs you can find! I’ll pay you back.” I lean back, rest my head on the floor, and feel my eyelids slam shut. The last thing I heard before conking out was Sejong wishing me a good night and the door closing.
Angela
September 25th, 2007. 3:12 p.m. Mission Hall. Josh has been here all day looking for a particular mission. For some reason, he really really wants to go to San Diego. I don’t really get why. Sea World’s not even that good. Headmaster comes out of a briefing room looking like she just marathoned something. She’s… just chewing on coffee beans now. Wait… something about that sounds real relaxing… I can’t explain why. Maybe I’m just hungry. Who’s to say?
“Hey! Teach!” I wave my arms. “What is up, my dude?”
“Thank you for asking, Angela.” She rubs her temple before shoving a handful of beans in her mouth. She looks like she’s about to McLose it. “Nobody ever asks me how I’m doing. It’s always “Uuugh you have too much funding. Uuug stop doing that. Stop breaking state law uuugh.”
“Yeah.” I close my DS and nod. “That’s how it be sometimes.”
“And I have all this paperwork to do, a bunch of time sensitive missions no one wants to take on, and I missed my soaps, so I’m really not in the mood to deal with anyone’s bs right now.”
Josh perks up and locks eyes with Headmaster. I can hear the encounter music start playing. He looks about as crummy as she does. Only slightly more smelly. “What kinds of missions? Where do I have to go?”
“Oh finally. A student who actually wants to be a hero. Thank god.” she slaps down her pile of folders and begins sifting through them. “You can go to the Mojave desert to rescue the California governor.”
“No.”
“Good boy.” Headmaster says before chucking the folder to the other end of the table.
“Locating Lucky Clover in Beverly Hills.”
“Pass.”
“Can’t blame you.”
“Killing Biters and other alien fauna in national parks.”
Josh shivers. “Pass. Can’t stand those things.”
“Construction and community building in Tijuana.”
Josh purses his lips and smiles. “You don’t want me going to TJ.”
“That sounds like none of my goddamn business.” She cracks a coffee bean between her teeth and wipes the residue off the folder. “I also got some villain supervision duties in San Diego going on.”
“I’ll take it!” Josh stands up and tries to steal the folder from her.
“Really. You want a supervision job?”
“I need to get out.”
“Supervision jobs involve you sitting next to a cell for hours on end. You’d be more cooped up than you are in here. Watching paint dry is more exciting.”
“I don’t care. Just let me have it.”
Headmaster raises an eyebrow and shrugs before tossing the folder at Josh. “That also sounds like none of my business. Just get there by noon tomorrow. Report when you get to the cell. All the details you need are in that folder.”
“Thank you so much, Headmaster. I promise to do a great job.”
“Yeah yeah.” she resumes sifting through her folders. “Do you know anyone who wants to recover something around the Marianas?”
“I don’t know anyone with powers that could help with that. I apologize.” Josh gets up and leaves.
“What about you, kid?” She locks eyes with me. “Want a free trip to the deepest trench in the world?”
“Nah I’m good. I’m not ready to fight Emerald Weapon.” I get up and chase after Josh.
“I don’t know what that means.” Suzy licks the bean residue off a folder.
Vivian
September 26, 2007. 1:37 p.m. Dorm room. We were supposed to leave on a recon mission already, but Yuko insisted we regroup at the dorm before we go. A.D.’s on the sofa, but Yuko and Will are still locked away in their rooms.
I knock. “Yuko? You okay in there? Are you hungover?”
“No! Just hold up! Give me a sec!”
“Okay okay. Sorry. You don’t gotta shout.” I retreat from the door and sit at the table. A.D.’s sitting on the couch lifting a forty pound weight. He’s clad in a plain white karate gi. It looks worn around the wrists and ankles, but that just makes it look cooler. Two black belts around the waist and a long black headband fastened nicely to his forehead. “Aegis is really letting you use that as your suit?”
“If I rely on armor or weaponry, I am no better than my opponent. 141… 142… Plus it helps my mind stay at peace.”
“Can’t argue with that. Whatever makes you more comfortable.”
I hear a collection of bumps, swears, and clicks from Yuko’s room before the door opens and Yuko comes out looking like an idol that just got thrown through a pastel factory. She has a huge pastel pink bow on the top of her head that bounces like bunny ears every time she takes a step, a pastel blue crop top that’s covered by a button up mini jacket that doesn’t go down past her ribs and pink and blue plaid skirt that would have gotten me expelled on sight at my high school. Damnit… I’m a huge sucker for plaid… Especially red and black, but this looks good too. Soft blue stockings with thin pink vertical stripes that go up well above the knee and create that delicious thigh squish. She’s carrying a mass of dark purple cloth in her arms. “Well? What do you two think?”
“Looks good.” A.D. glances at Yuko before focusing back on his training. “Shall we depart?”
“Ugh.” Yuko rolls her eyes. “Well, Vivian? Do you have any decent critiques?”
“Well.. uh… I have zero fashion literacy.”
“That much is obvious.” Yuko puts her hand on her hip.
“I’m just saying I probably won’t be able to give a good opinion.” I shrug.
“I don’t care if it’s good.” Yuko glanced away for a second. “I just want your opinion.”
“Oh… Well, uh, I’ll do my best.” I give her outfit a second look. “Well first off, it’s good that you stuck to only two colors and made the hues consistent. Second, I think the choice of pastel colors was smart. If the saturation was any higher, that outfit would be a complete eyesore. Love the bow. It’s great. Never get rid of it. And those stockings… very nice.”
Yuko’s lip quivers into a smile. “Thank you…”
Will opens his door and looks like he’s cosplaying an OC he made in seventh grade. Assless chaps, bandit mask, spurs, long scarf, his signature cowboy hat, and a cowhide vest with the kanji for tree burned into the back. Same hilarious outfit he wore at the museum, but with a new cowhide vest. “Whoa, Yuko!” he smiled. “What anime is that from?”
“This isn’t a cosplay! This is my own outfit.”
“Ooooh. That’s rather charming. What do you think of my vest?” he turns around and flashes his back to her. “Ain’t it grand? I made it myself.”
“Why does it say ‘tree’?”
“... Pardon? What do you mean? This is the kanji for ‘big, great, magnificent’ ain’t it?”
“Nope.” Yuko laughed through her nose. “You added a vertical line down the center when the kanji for big has no vertical line.”
“Gosh darn it…” Will sighed and adjusted his vest. “I’ll have to get that fixed next time I’m at the ranch… What’s that slob of purple if you don’t mind me asking?”
“This is Vivian’s outfit.” She tosses it to me with a smile. “Go on. Try it on.”
“You… you made this just for me…?”
“Well, yeah. I like designing clothes. Plus it’s way better than anything those overpriced Aegis tailors could make.”
“I didn’t know you could sew.” Will tilts his head.
“Family business.” Yuko sighs. “Didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Yuko… Thank you.” I look her in the eye, hug the outfit close to me, and immediately begin stripping down.
Will turns his head and stares at the wall in silence. A.D. doesn’t care and continues exercising. Yuko flips her crap. “Vivian! What are you doing?! Change in your room!”
“This is faster.” I throw my shorts against the wall and begin unbuttoning my shirt. “Plus you guys were going to see this eventually. Might as well just get it out of the way.”
“That’s an excellent point.” A.D. points at me. “Being naked amongst each other improves team bonding. It worked with all my sports teams in high school.”
“I don’t care!” Yuko raises her voice, but doesn’t look away for some reason. “Vivian! Room! Now!”
I’ve already started putting my legs into the suit. It’s kinda like a jumpsuit, but cooler. I get the suit all up around me, but still need the back zipped up. “Yo, Yukes.” I turn my back to her. “Mind if you zip me up?”
Yuko takes a deep breath and zips me up no problem. “There you are. How does it feel?”
“Hmmm…” I stretch my arms and bend my knees. “It’s tight, but not in a bad way.” I look down and see blocks of padding around my stomach, chest, arms, and thighs. Knock knock. Oof. That’s sturdy stuff. There’s pouches upon pouches on my arms, belt, and thighs. I feel and look like I’m about to infiltrate Shadow Moses. “It feels… good. I feel safe and warm in it.”
“That’s good to hear.” Yuko nods. “That composite mythril was a bitch to buy, but it was all worth it. Try growing yourself.”
“Got it.” I touch the table and grow a foot taller, yet the outfit doesn’t feel an inch tighter. Everything is still covered and armored. “Whoa… Yuko, you thought of everything.”
“Damn right.” Yuko grins, walks over to the fridge, and pops a beer open on the counter. She takes a hearty chug before continuing. “Composite mythril’s stretchy as all hell, so feel free to grow and shrink to your heart’s content.”
“Awesome!” I rush over and hug Yuko. “Thank you so so so so so much. This is the coolest costume I could’ve asked for.”
Yuko spills some of her drink, but tolerates the hug. “Don’t mention it. Just remember it’s dry clean only. Might wanna get some baby powder up in there too.”
Josh
September 25th, 2007. 4:47 p.m. Carrying a big box up to our dorm room. Just got our super registration forms approved and our suits from Aegis’ tailoring division. The box is friggin heavy for just having two suits. The hell do they make these things out of? I open the door, lock it behind me, plop the box onto the kitchen table, and open it up. “Yo! Janelle! Your suit’s here!” The whole team books it out of their rooms and crowds around the table.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“Hm.” Janelle reaches into the box and pulls out two clear bags: one with a crimson suit and one with a pitch black suit. “That’s weird… Angela, Sejong, where are your suits?”
“Don’t need one.” Angela shrugs. “I’m just going with a hoodie and jeans. The Glitch doesn’t need any fancy clothing. Also Aegis suits are expensive so… yeah.”
“Please stop calling yourself that.” Janelle rubs her temple. “What about you, Sejong?”
“I don’t need a suit. I can just change my outfit at any time.” Sejong gives a little salute.
“Wait…” I turn my head towards him. “Are… are you even wearing clothes?”
“Nope. Any outfit you’ve seen me in so far has been made of my own flesh.” Sejong smiles and presses my hand against his shirt. “Check it out.”
I immediately withdraw my hand and pretend I never felt that. “Moving on…” I run my thumb over the fresh plastic bagging. “I’m getting changed right here. You’re welcome to join me.” I wink at Janelle.
“Mmmm. Thanks but no thanks.” Janelle retreats inside her room and locks the door behind her.
I strip down to my undies and snap the bag open. The scent of a fresh suit fills the room and makes sweet sweet love to my nostrils. Aaaw yeah… I grab the pants and rub its sweet smooth polyester against my face.
“Is he okay?” Sejong asks Angela.
“Don’t worry about that. He does this every time he gets a new suit.”
My brain is slowly melting. It’s like the scent of the suit alone is making sweet love to my brain. I’d bang this suit if it didn’t stain. I pull each pant leg over my legs and feel sensual tingles run up my spine each time the fabric rubs against me. I need to treat whoever made this to a nice dinner and a bottle of scotch. Got my lapel, shirt, collar, tailcoat, and finally… the jacket. Oh lordie lord this jacket. I feel like Zeus looking down over the earth feeling like I can bang anything. I glance in the kitchen mirror. Damn… I’m stylin. Got pockets and compartments all over this. In my legs, under my belt, in my collar, in my jacket. Rows upon rows of petite pockets perfect for knives, needles, caltrops, and anything else sharp I can fit in.
I look back into the bag and pull out a mask and a hat. Hat first. A smooth jet black fedora that absorbs all light that dares touch it. Fits around my head real nice and has a good weight to it.
“Why’s a hat part of your costume?” Sejong asks. “Is there anything special about it?”
“Ever play Mortal Kombat?” I smile, take off the hat, and squeeze it in just the right place.
kashink
A razor sharp rim shoots out the brim. It’s small, but sharp and strong enough to split hairs
Sejong’s eyes widen and he backs off a little. “Okay… okay… just put that away before you hurt someone.”
“Don’t you worry.” I smile, squeeze the hat again, and put it back on my head. “This hat’s hurting none of you.” I reach into the box and pull out a nice dull golden mask. It’s got just the right amount of cracks on it and looks far older than it actually is. All the luster of gold, but all the weight and experience of erosion. Wear and tear on precious metals is like grey hair on an older gentleman. Shine and luster is nice, but it's the grit and wear where true style emerges. But the mask’s shape… I can’t help but kiss it. It’s a skull with noticeable cracks in it. The sockets are made with special one-way glass that doubles as sunglasses. Covers every bit of my face except my mouth, but even then the mask design curves around the lips to make it look like the mask is smiling wide at me. I love it. Pop it right on and I’ve never felt more menacing.
“How do I look?” I turn towards Angela and pose.
“Like an edgy Tuxedo Mask ripoff.”
“I dunno what that means, but I’ll take it.”
slam
The door to Janelle’s bedroom closes and she comes out in her suit. It’s… It’s something. It’s got a nice mix of white and crimson that swirls into little vortexes around the ankles and wrists. She’s got some thick looking gloves with watch-looking devices around the wrists. There’s a white belt with six cans on it around her abdomen. They look like unmarked, reinforced soda cans. She’s wearing some thick anklets. They look like tiny engines and appear to be about 15 pounds each. Minimum. There’s little tubes all throughout the suit going every which direction as well as little lcd displays on her forearms. Kinda looks like something a motorcycle stuntman would wear.
“Mind explaining the hell’s all that for?” I point.
“Uhh…” Janelle pulls a small manual out of her suit’s hood. “Let’s see… give me a sec. There’s a lot. The anklets can store my fire and let me run and propel myself even if I run out of flame.” she points to her belt. “The cans on my right contain explosives. The cans on my left contain fire retardant. The cans on the back of my hips are empty and let me store any excess flame.” Janelle holds out her forearms for us to see. “These little displays keep track of my heart rate, breathing, and - most importantly - my body temperature.”
“Ooooh… Yeah, that totally sounds super useful.” Angela marvels.
“The gloves have grooves that help me latch onto stuff better… as for the tubes… give me a sec.” Janelle holds her hand to her chest and takes a deep breath.
Fire flows through the tubes and emits out her back. They’re weak, but large flames. No… Flame is too distinct. It’s almost like the suit converts the fire into an aura? Or maybe that’s just Janelle’s doing. Regardless, there’s feathers made of translucent fire following Janelle now. The room has grown noticeably warmer.
“Whoa… Holy crap that’s rad.” I back off a little to keep my cool.
“That’s not even the coolest part.” Janelle pulls her hood down to reveal her hood has a golden beak and two little eye holes that make her look like an actual phoenix.
“Alright alright alright.” I chuckle. “Now we’re startin’ to look like a real hero team.”
Yuko
September 26, 2007. 3:12 p.m. We’re in some dingy place called Industry. Will’s going 45 in the right lane because he’s apparently an old man that can’t see five feet in front of him. The car AC’s busted. It’s hot as hell. At least my hero outfit is light and breezy.
Will finally parks outside a Taco Bell by some warehouses. “Does anybody want anything? I’ve got a craving for some nachos.”
“Two bean burritos, beef and beans only.” Vivian raises her hand.
“Three supreme tacos and a large sprite.” A.D. continues pumping iron.
“What about you, Yuko?” Will undoes his seatbelt and looks back at me.
“Gimme four chalupas. I haven’t had breakfast yet…”
“You got it.” Will gets out, closes the door behind him, and heads inside.
Oh my god he looks like such an asshole in that outfit.
We continue marinating in this piece of crap Aegis car.
“So…” Vivian bounces in her seat. “Is it cool if we check out the EB Games later? Angela wants to know if they got any early copies of Brawl.”
“I see no issue with t-”
BA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The earth shakes. The sky shatters. A pillar of flame ruptures upward from a nearby warehouse. Shrapnel from the warehouse shoots up and quickly falls to earth in every direction. Damn near thought the car was gonna teeter over.
A.D. looks at it with a dumb grin and immediately hops out of the car. “Finally more practice!”
“A.D.! Wait up!” Vivian chases after him.
“Five minutes… can something not go wrong… For five minutes?!” I yell at the car ceiling and sit in there for a little bit. Fine… Fine, I'll go. Might be able to get some good cash out of this. I chase after Vivian and A.D. towards the warehouse down the street. Damn. Vivian’s ass looks every bit as fine as I thought it would in that. I tell any people on the street nearby to gtfo asap. Some listen. Some ask about my outfit. Others just shrug as if they’re eager to let the shrapnel end them.
We’re about halfway to the warehouse entrance when a warehouse wall just gets blasted open. Luckily, the debris stops a few feet away from us. There’s a kid in a yellow jumpsuit with wires hanging off his back. Can’t be older than 13. He locks eyes with us and immediately runs through the wall of an adjacent warehouse. I don’t mean he busts the wall down or burns a hole through it. He just runs right through it.
“Wait!” Vivian calls out and runs over to the next warehouse. “Kid! Wait up!”
I pull out a megaphone from my jacket and adjust the settings to make sure it's working. Still have to run through… Being a hero sucks. We eventually find a door into the next warehouse, bust in, and find a bunch of workers peeking outside wondering what the hell happened to their break room.
“Guys! Guys!” Vivian gets their attention. “Did you see a kid in a jumpsuit run through here?!”
All of them point to the opposite end of the break room. It’s a doorway next to a vending machine and a drinking fountain. We run through it and find a normal looking warehouse with five long aisles that stretch all the way to the other end. Each shelf and wall is filled to the brim with crates, machinery, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t recognize.
A.D. looks through the five long aisles and sees the kid running down the middle one. He’s fast, but he’ll get tired soon. Legs that short can only hold out so long. “You! He’s there! You take the middle one, I’ll get the center right.”
“I’ll get the far left.” The three of us begin sprinting down the aisles. I can see his bare feet floating from under the crates and support beams. They look cut up and gross. His ankles have these gross looking marks on the ends too. I can see stuff fly off the shelves in the center aisle towards A.D. A.D. manages to either punch right through or dodge and just keep running. Hang on… Is the kid telekinetic or can he faze through stuff? Is he being helped by someone else? He shouldn’t be able to have two Techs.
I’ve caught up to the little crap and can see his feet slipping between aisles and towards me.
“Siren!” A.D. calls out.
“I got it!” As soon as I finish saying that, the kid’s upper body pops out of the aisle. I hold him by his gross hair and begin to sing a lullaby. “Go to sleep… Go to sleep…”
His eyelids begin flickering, but that doesn’t stop him from struggling. He opens his mouth. A white hot inferno grows from the back of his throat. I feel like I’m standing right next to a wildfire just standing next to him.
Next thing I knew, fire erupted from his mouth and engulfed me. It hurts. It hurts… I want to cry, but my tear ducts have just melted. I want to run, but my muscles have already been cooked. Vivian… Josh… I’m sorry… I collapse onto the ground like the useless piece of crap I am. The one nice thing about being killed by fire is that once your epidermis nerves get burned off, you can’t feel any pain. All you can do is hope you die before you watch yourself melt into a puddle of blood and organs. Just as I see my flesh melt down to my bone and feel my life end, I find me, Vivian, and A.D. back at the warehouse break room. I’m fine. Not a scratch on me. I’m just confused and pissed as hell though. All the warehouse workers are just as confused. As are Vivian and A.D. The little brat’s still floating down the center hallway.
Wait… what happened? I caught the kid, started singing, and then my memory just goes blank. Is that another one of the kid’s Techs? Can he rewind time?
“You!” I bark out. “The little bastard’s got multiple Techs!”
“So it would seem!” Vivian begins chasing after the little booger once more. Me and A.D. follow. The little bastard resumes throwing stuff off the shelves and at us. Piping, boxes, forklifts, you name it, it’s there.
“So telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and intangibility?!” A.D. cried out. “This kid’s busted!”
“And maybe now time travel???” Vivian got hit by a huge crate, but managed to shrink it before it crushed her. She proceeds to grow ten feet tall.
“You okay?!”
“Now I’m pissed.” Vivian begins collecting support beams, stray office equipment, and a shrunken forklift. Just in case. She is now twenty feet tall and lumbers through the halls like the minotaur in a labyrinth.
“Vivian… Don’t go lethal… He’s just a kid.” A.D. warns.
“I’m not. I’m just being cautious.”
The kid slips through the warehouse wall. Vivian and A.D. just casually punch a hole right through it and continue chasing him up to the hills behind the warehouse. Due to the sheer length of Vivian’s new legs, she’s able to keep up with A.D. with a casual walk.
“Kid!” A.D. calls out. “Please stop! We’re just here to help you. We’re not going to hurt you! I promise!”
“That’s what they said!” The kid throws out a wave of fire.
Vivian plops down the forklift and grows it, creating a barrier between us and the flame.
“Leave me alone! I’m not going back!” The kid cries out.
“That’s it.” I turn on my megaphone. “You! Shoto! cover your ears.” I wait until their ears are covered and begin singing a lullaby into the megaphone.
“No… No!” The kid stumbles, propels the forklift towards us with his mind, and manages to slap A.D. pretty bad with it. A.D. went flying like a ragdoll, but I’m sure he’s fine. He even shouted, “Nice counter!” on the way down.
Vivian on the other hand was strafing around the child to try and trap him between me and her. Good strategy. Unless he falls through the Earth, he’ll have nowhere to run. “Go to sleep… Everything will be okay… Go to sleep…”
The kid falls to his knees and struggles to keep his eyes open. His breathing is erratic. His eyes are bloodshot. Sweat, mucus, and dirt flow from every orifice on his face. The poor kid’s legs are quivering like a bowl of jelly. I could swear I heard a leg slip out of a socket.
As he drifts off to sleep, Vivian continues closing the distance between her and him. She had reverted to her normal size after growing a mini metal beam to the size of a club.
“Kid… please…” I sing to him. “Just tell us what happened… we’re trying to help you…”
“That’s what the Pavise goons said!” he spits at me before rising and beating his chest and stomach with all his remaining might. His skin glows red, then scarlet, then a bright white. “I’m not going back!” White fire erupted from every opening. His mouth, his ears, even his eyes had melted away to white flame. His skin began crackling away as well. The kid was less human and more inferno at this point. “Burn in hell!”
Just before his body erupts, Vivian strikes him in the back of the head with her beam club. I could hear it squelch and get stuck. He stopped talking. He stopped moving. Yet despite everything, the kid’s eyes were still aglow with flame. After three sloppy yanks, Vivian managed to pry the club out of the kid’s head and tip the body over. She immediately raised her club once and proceeded to beat the kid’s head over and over and over and over. Each time she struck him, the fire inside him died out just a little more.
“You!” A.D. runs up from the bottom of the hill and yells at the top of his lungs. “You! Stop!”
Each strike of the fiery body made Vivian’s club melt little by little, but Vivian just kept going. Hot blood spurt out of his cranium with every strike and singed her cheeks. That didn’t stop her either. I no longer hear metal bash against bone. I don’t even see a head. All I see is a body with a pile of goop that looks like chunky salsa where the head used to be. Each time Vivian strikes it, it sounds like someone stirring macaroni and gooey cheese together.
“You!” I drop my megaphone and rush towards her.
A.D. grabs Vivian and begins struggling with her, but she headbutts him off and moves to continue battering what’s left of the kid.
“You!!” I stand over the gross body and hold her wrists. “You! You! You can stop! It’s okay! Stop! He’s dead!”
Vivian stares right through me. I wasn’t even sure if she knew she was looking at me. Her breathing was erratic. Sweat pours from her face and her hands tremble under mine. “No… I need to make sure…”
A.D. gets back up and resumes yelling. Snot was freely flowing from his nose and tears erupted from his eyes. “You! What the hell was that?! He was a kid! Why would you do that?!”
“I’m… not letting anyone hurt my friends…” Vivian wouldn’t stop shaking.
“Vivian…” I hold her hand and try not to cry. Just ignore it. Ignore everything. Just focus on her. “It’s okay… It’s okay… Can you hear me?”
“Yeah… I can hear you…” Vivian nods. Her knuckles are pale white and there’s still hot blood dripping down her cheeks.
“Let go of the pipe…” I gently squeeze her hand. “He can’t hurt you… We’re safe… Okay?”
Vivian tries to say something, but it's obscured by snot and tears. She lets go of the pipe and stands motionless.
I hug her tight. I hold the back of her head and secure her back. “We’re okay… don’t you worry… You’re okay too…”
Vivian cries to the sky. She was saying things, but none of them made any sense. All she could do was stand still as a brick until she got tired of crying and just buried her face in my shoulder. Her tears and snot are going to be a bitch to clean out, but I don’t care… I reaffirm my hold on her and run my fingers through her hair the same way my mom used to do to me.
Will
September 26, 2007. 3:25 p.m. Clear skies. I’m chasing after my team with a bag full of cheap; but delicious, mexican food. I hear explosions, clinks, clangs, and some foul language. I don’t know what’s going on, I just hope I’m not too late. I can still take some credit if I hurry. All I can do right now is follow the sound of Yuko’s voice the best I can. I follow it through a warehouse, through a hole in the warehouse wall, and I eventually arrive at a hillside just outside the district. I see A.D. sitting down near the bottom of the hill crying his eyes out. I leave the bag next to him and climb up the hillside. I see blood. A lot of blood. It paints the hillside red. It looks just like Calvary and what I saw up ahead only added to that. I see Yuko and Vivian crying over what a scene that’s grown commonplace. I feel my chest grow hollow and the hair on the back of my neck tingle for a moment before moving in.
I flip out my cellular and bend down to examine the body. “Hello. This is Diablo from The Lovers team. I’d like to make a recon report. Class 3. Yes, I can hold.” I close my eyes while on hold just to escape the sight. No matter how long I close my eyes, I can’t escape the smell. There’s no amount or combination of words on God’s Earth that can describe how grey matter smells. It never leaves you, nor should it. Anyone who smells it deserves to have it fester in their minds for the rest of their lives… “This is he. Yes. Yes. Of course. There was an explosion at a warehouse in Industry. I forget the exact address, but I can text that to you later. Excellent. Thank you. Judging by the carnage, I would guess the suspect had a pyrokinetic Tech and a telekinetic Tech. What do you mean that isn’t possible? Are you insinuating I’m lying? Well there weren't any other assailants or suspects around. Ah, that…” I take a deep breath and look down at the body. “I... had no involvement. I was unable to be on the scene. Yes. Yes, I understand. Yes, we are more than happy to be brought in for a post-op interview. Yes, yes. I know. If I was here, the kid would still be alive and this episode would have lasted no more than three minutes. Of course I mean that. The body’s condition? Well… Yes, I won’t disturb the body. He’s wearing a yellow jumpsuit that has wires poking out the back of it. He looks malnutritioned… Several cuts and bruises all over his arms and face.” My eyes trail down to his feet. “He’s missing two toes and his tendons are bolted… Yes, that is horrible. Yes, telekinesis would explain how he was able to move. Mmhm. Mmhm. Yes. We will be happy to stay on sight until the proper authorities arrive. What? You’ll be here in five minutes? That’s… fast.”
As I wait around for Aegis authorities and police to come to the scene, I can’t take my eyes off my team. A.D.’s head is buried in his hands and he won’t quit crying. Didn’t move the body at all and isn’t doing anything to calm down the others. Crying like a freakin civvie. Yuko’s at least doing her best to calm down Vivian. I can respect her for that much. I’m amazed, yet grateful they’re all still alive and uninjured… No matter where I try to look, I cannot look away from Vivian. She’s stopped crying, but still sniffles every now and then. Her arms tremble less and less with every second, but her eyes look like they’re two seconds away from shaking out of her head. I feel like if I move, she’ll lunge at me like a snake. Her eyes are hollow, yet look like they could pierce through the Earth with her gaze. I know that look all too well. Looked just like John after the tour… I’d yell at all of them for getting involved, but it’s too late for any of us. Vivian’s in the pit now too. I’ll have to keep an eye on her… I’m not losing another one.
No sign of cop cars yet, but some Aegis vans pull into the hillside and tell us to book it back to Aegis while they preserve the scene and investigate the body. We do just that. I don’t want to stay here any longer than I need to. I pull A.D. and the taco bag up while Yuko puts Vivian’s arm over her and helps carry her back to the car. The limp back was long and silent. Not that I’m complaining. I would be horrified if Vivian was all laughs and jokes right now. We get into the car, I put the bag in the backseat, and drive away. A.D.’s staring dead out the window sipping on his pop. Vivian’s resting her head on Yuko’s shoulder. She looks like she just got dragged through heck and back. Yuko’s just silently eating a chalupa and occasionally offers Vivian a bite. Vivian opens her mouth, Yuko puts a small piece in, and Vivian swallows it whole without a sound. I drive in silence as the stench of blood and sweat slowly filled the car. Even with the windows rolled down, the stench of blood never leaves.