On a rational, logical level, Lillian knew that the laughter wasn’t that loud. There were only a few chuckling at the crack from the stranger near the front of the bus. And yet, to her, it was all deafening. She tried again to feel for the instincts of the ability, try to see if there was more to it, there was more information she could work with. There was nothing, she understood on a simplistic level what it did, what it was used for. She also knew that she couldn’t simply turn it off either, but she could direct it and reign it in.
It provides comfort, She thought miserably, leaning forward and resting her head against Greg’s chair. That’s it. It soothes. What kind of villain and monster-fighting hero has a power like that? What am I supposed to do with it? Stand at the back? She closed her eyes and clenched her fists as the laughter died down, she mutely heard a few sharp words from Miss Mint somewhere but she barely understood what the woman said.
“Man, nice and warm in here,” Alex mumbled somewhere nearby, “Headaches easing up too.”
“What do you mean?” Greg asked above her, “I think it's a bit cooler.”
She frowned and peeled her head off the back of her seat. Her eyes slowly moved up to see the two looking down at her. Alex grinned at her, though he looked a bit uneasy about it, “Not what you were hoping for?” He asked, rubbing his neck, “If it makes you feel any better, I feel great.”
She gave him a sad smile, “Sort of, I guess? Is it really helping a headache?”
To her left, Marc grunted and shifted a bit in his seat, looking more pointedly out the window. A little bit of her sank a bit. She’d just got done declaring that she’d be fighting on the same team that took down Ishtar. With this? Who am I fooling? She thought. It probably isn’t even rare. They’re going to kick me out if-
“Miss Landrey.”
The clipped voice drew her out of her thoughts and she looked up in horror at the woman standing over her. Carla Mint adjusted her glasses and looked down at her with that piercing gaze. Up close she had a unique scent to her, some kind of rare perfume, why was she wearing perfume for an event like this? Lillian schooled her wandering thoughts, realizing that she was trying to distract herself. The woman reached into her purse and pulled out a small silvery ball about the size of a baseball and held it out to her. “A portable RTE,” Carla said, “Please hold it.”
Lillian’s heart sank but she nodded. She felt the gazes of the others who she had quickly bonded with on her as she let the ball drop into her hand. Carla pulled out her phone and tapped a few things on the screen and the ball started to hum, then glow. First white, then green, it hung there for a while and Lillian felt her shoulders droop before the color deepened to a vibrant blue and remained. A chime rang out from the phone and the ball turned silver again, Carla took the ball and slipped it back into her purse. “Rare, very good. I’m looking forward to seeing what it's features are. It’s an unusual ability,” She said and departed without another word.
Lillian sat there, mouth agape, “It’s rare?” She looked up at Alex and Greg as if begging them to confirm it. Alex just grinned at her and shrugged, “It’s rare! I can stay!” She gasped, laughing and getting to her feet, throwing her arms around the two boys' necks and pulling them into a tight hug. Alex gagged and patted her arm desperately while Greg just laughed.
“Muscles- too- can’t- air!” Alex squeaked.
She let the two of them go, beaming. She didn’t understand her power, the instincts for it were so faint it felt like it wasn’t even there, but it was good enough to stay. Good enough to make a difference. She didn’t know how she could use it to help or live up to Firestorm’s memory, Dammit I’ll try my best! She thought, relief washing through her. Text appeared to her right and she glanced over to see a message from Snow.
Lillian glanced at Alex who frowned, “Yeah, had a headache for a while now, honestly,” He rubbed his neck, “Slept funny on the way to Atlanta. My shoulders and neck feel better too.”
“Pain relief?” Ollie chimed in, adjusting his glasses, “That would certainly be useful especially when grouped with a regenerator. They rarely come with a pain reduction feature. It isn’t a fun power to have,” He tilted his head before narrowing his eyes and reaching out to her, “May I?”
Lillian looked at his hand, “Do what?” She asked, reaching out to take it anyway.
“I wanted to-” He paused, “Oh my,” He glanced around as if he could see something she couldn’t, “They’re everywhere. Instant karmic threads connecting you with the entire bus. That’s… very interesting. Why are they silver? Hmm… new color,” He rubbed his chin and pulled his hand away before immediately pulling out a notebook and starting to write something down, “...silver is temporary? No, mine aren’t silver…”
“And we’ve lost him,” Greg chuckled.
Lillian looked up, “I don’t get it,” She said.
Greg shrugged, “None of us really get him, he can see the threads that connect people. It’s no secret. He can even tug on them and manipulate them a bit. Apparently he started a riot with it at one point and got in some legal trouble, hence the nickname.”
Lillian looked back at the deeply focused young man across from her, “Woah.”
“The fuck, John?” A half-grunt half-shout came from the seat directly in front of Snow and Riot, making Lillian jump. She looked up to see the stoic guy in the white shirt and tie staring at his bleeding hand. There was a knife in his other hand. His expression hadn’t shifted at all, instead, he simply took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his palm down before turning to face Lillian. He held his hand out. Behind him, Val was standing up and looking at him with visible confusion. “Hey you can’t just stab yourself like that, man!” Val protested. “Gross!”
Lillian looked at John’s face, unperturbed and stiff as ever. She looked at his hand.
“Oh…” Alex said, “Nice.”
“No wound, it’s got a regeneration feature to it too, classy,” Greg said thoughtfully. “Nice of you to volunteer, John.”
Lillian looked at the unblemished skin and back up at the stoic guy who nodded to her, “Very good. You can help a lot of people,” He said evenly before turning back to sit as he had before.
Lillian’s lips twitched and she looked down at her hands. A few emojis popped up next to her, a smiley face, a wink, a hug, and a thumbs up. She pressed her lips together harder and closed her eyes. These are some really good people I’ve met already. I’m so glad. She didn’t feel the little streak of warmth that went down her cheek. Maybe I won’t be a fighter, but I can help, right? That’s good enough. It’s gotta be. She sat up and smiled at them, “Thanks, guys.”
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“Ah shit, don’t cry!” Greg griped, “Alex is gonna get all weepy.”
“Am not! You asshole!” Alex protested.
“The shrimp is gonna protect her? Yeah, okay,” Alex laughed.
“Slither?” Alex bit out.
Lillian couldn’t help herself, she laughed. These people were so strange that it was a breath of fresh air. They’d already completely set aside the moment and gone back as if nothing had changed between all of them. Everyone except Marc, who seemed to have dozed off at some point during the excitement. She smiled at the back of his head, he had a bit of an ego but he had a good goal. She sighed as the bickering continued. Val stood up at one point and told Alex to keep his mouth shut. John dozed off despite the noise. Cartoony two-dimensional illusions of Alex getting his butt kicked by monsters started filling the air.
Lillian leaned back and closed her eyes. Maybe a nap would be a good idea.
–
Lillian woke as the bus came to a stop, the faint swaying of the vehicle drawing her slowly out of her slumber. She blinked a few times and squinted before looking up and around herself. The air felt strange, still. She turned her head towards Ollie and Snow and found them both dozed off in their own seats. Alex and Greg were also asleep from the looks of it. Where are we? She wondered.
“Hey, Lillian right?” A sharp voice came from her right. She looked up and saw Val. He was up on his seat and staring at her. Facing him, she got a good look at his face. Red hair and off-orange eyes that had a slight grayness around the color. He wore thick clothing, even a turtle neck and gloves. Every inch of his skin except for his face was covered. “You good?”
She blinked at him, “Huh?”
“Not easy not getting what you hoped for, am I right?” He said with a knowing smile.
She smiled at him, “Yeah, I guess. I’m fine though. It’s not what I was expecting, but it doesn’t feel wrong either.”
“That’s good,” He said with a nod, “Sorry about John, he just does things sometimes. Nobody knows what he’s thinking, but somehow things just turn out alright,” Val said and rubbed his neck before glancing away and looking towards the front of the bus. “If it makes you feel any better, your aura or whatever it is, it’s pretty great. Haven’t felt this good in a long time.”
She smiled at him, “Thanks.”
He grinned, “Anyway, we’re here. At the gates it looks like.”
She sat up a bit straighter and looked over the seats, a few of the others on the bus were looking out as well. Ahead of them, Carla was standing with the PSEC guard and talking with two others that were dressed like him. Just past them was a huge sheer white gate of metal and concrete. It trembled once before slowly splitting down the middle and sliding open. The sound of its movement woke a few of the others as Miss Mint got back onto the bus and regarded everyone. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we’ve arrived at Pandora’s Green Bank Facility. You will notice that your phones are no longer functional. This is normal. We will get you to the courtyard to begin your orientation in just a moment. There are VIPs and sponsorship company representatives present. Keep that in mind.”
Lillian felt that excitement resurface, racing back through her body and into her mind. Her smile blossomed back to life as she gripped the back of Greg’s seat. He let out a snore and she gave it a good shake, “Greg, greg! Wake up! We’re here!”
He snorted and shook his head, confused, “Huh? What? Mmm? Oh shit!” He mumbled before sitting up and giving Alex a punch in the shoulder.
“Ow! What the f- oh! Fuck!”
They passed through the gates and everyone looked out the windows. It was night. A dozen PSEC guards were standing with anti-monster munition loaded guns in their hands. Past them, trees and a winding road lead up the side of a massive hill. Occasionally they’d see a break in the trees and spot either a building or some kind of sports-like field. There were obstacle courses and what looked like a simulated warzone at one point with scattered debris and craters. They continued until they reached the top where a large white building was stationed a distance away from what appeared to be an enormous decommissioned radio telescope. Behind it, hills and mountains rose in the distance, the sky was… amazing.
There are so many stars. She thought breathlessly.
The bus came to a stop, “Everyone out! Please line up in rows of five here in the courtyard,” Miss Mint ordered and stepped out of the bus. Lillian and the others hopped to their feet, talking quietly amongst themselves as they filed out. She stepped onto the ground and felt the air even more, still, clean, strangely empty for some reason. Like there was a noise that was just missing. She kept her moment of thoughtfulness short and hurried over with the others as they started to form columns. The Nashville crew of course formed their own line while she, Marc, and Ollie joined another, a blonde girl immediately behind her accompanied by a frowning young man who gave her a steely look.
She glanced away from him and at the building they’d been lined up in front of. It looked like some sort of combination museum, common building, and residence hall. Probably for the researchers who used to work here. She looked up and saw that there was a balcony looking down over the courtyard. Carla stepped past them and went into the building for a few minutes as they all settled and looked among themselves. Alex rolled his shoulders, “Here we go.”
“VIPs,” John muttered and his expression shifted for the first time since she’d seen him, down into a determined frown as he stared up at the balcony. Beyond the railing, the doors opened and Miss Carla stepped out, behind her were two men and a woman in suits. Lillian didn’t recognize any of them. “Wizney, Marian, Forge,” John muttered.
Then a laugh like tinkling glass shattered the silence that had only been filled with light muttering. Two more women stepped onto the balcony and everyone went still, Lillian felt her heart turn into stone in her chest as her eyes went wide. The first was a woman in black robes and armor, her stoic gaze sweeping over the gathered youths before glancing at the second woman and frowning a little. Black Lotus. Lillain breathed, The world’s number one. Then the second woman darted to the right, putting some distance between herself and Black Lotus. She rushed right up to the railing and leaned over it, silver hair dancing around her as a pair of luminous mechanical eyes looked over them all.
“Woah!” Sonya Chernovna said with all the enthusiasm in the world, “Look at all of you! Amazing! I see some familiar faces!” She waved, “Wow! Looking good! Oh there’s Ollie! Hi Ollie!” She waved merrily, “Glad you could make it! Who’s the cutie behind you?”
That was when Lillian felt the Voice of the Hero Movement’s eyes directly on her. Carla sidled up next to Sonya as another person stepped out of the doors but was obscured by the gathered VIPs and representatives. Carla whispered something in Sonya’s ear and the woman nodded eagerly, “Oh? Really?” She said and whipped around, darting back towards the doors.
The person that had come out immediately went back inside with the pixie-like CEO. Up above, Black Lotus looked back over her shoulder, her expression mute. What’s up with that? What’s going on? Lillian thought just as the entry doors of the facility flew open and Sonya strode out, pristine white suit and pink tie practically glowing against her glittering skin. She brandished a grin and strode straight towards Lillian’s group. The woman winked once and Ollie shifted a bit. She knows him, I wonder how? He didn’t say anything on the bus.
Sonya marched right past him, giving him a playful wink as the other person stepped out and leaned against the door, arms crossed. That maid outfit, is that Handmaiden?! Of course she’d be here, that’s Sonya’s bodygu-
“Hi!” The greeting came so abruptly that Lillian had to do a double-take.
She looked down a bit and into the glowing pink eyes of Sonya Chernovna herself. She looked like… wow. Was it even possible to be that pretty? She barely seemed human. It was beyond intimidating. Sonya grinned smugly at her, “Lillian Landrey right? Heard you awakened on the bus!” She held out her hand, “Mind if I have a look?”