Chapter 60: Pizza Party.

‘There’s another one over there.’ I [Messaged]. ‘And there and there and under there.’

Charlie, Monique and Boris didn’t bother answering back.

Instead, they each went to work. Either sinking their whole arms into the snow in order to dig out the trapped survivors or using [Reverse Gravity] to send the heaps of snow upwards so that the people could be rescued safely.

Meanwhile, I was holding up Slasher.

Allowing Cherub to do his thing.

His fires melted snow left and right. Carving a steamy path over the aftermath of the avalanche. At the same time, he was using [Attune to Matter III] 15 and [Attuned Manipulation III] to affix himself to the water molecules. Moving them out of the way in their solid, liquid or gaseous state. In such a way that he didn’t even graze the people trapped below.

‘Hehe. I’m helping.’ He said, in his childlike voice.

“Yes, you are. Cherub. Yes, you are. Keep it up and we’ll be done in a few minutes.”

‘You got it Sully!’

A lot of the people we were bringing up had arms and legs that were either broken or dislocated. Their breathing weak as Boris placed his hands on them while I kept [Hum of Cleansing] flowing all around me.

I had originally thought the rescue would have taken hours. Since there were so many people under the snow and we didn’t have Slab or Dusty with us.

Instead, it had taken less than twenty minutes. Cherub was simply much more powerful and efficient than I had imagined. The fact that I could afford to splurge on Psy and keep him topped up with [Warp the Veil II] didn’t hurt either.

We managed to save everyone too. Good on us.

So, there I was, sitting around and receiving words of thanks next to my teammates, when a helicopter came into view.

I had sensed the reporters coming from way, way back and their presence felt, odd. They’d apparently seen us rescuing people using drones when the avalanche had first started and had immediately rushed over to interview this group of so-called wizards.

With special interest going to the red astronaut holding the magic sword.

‘Hey guys. Get ready for the press.’

“Ugh.” Monique groaned. “Can’t we leave already? I don’t want to have my face on camera.”

Oh, okay. I guess we’re talking out loud.

“Why not? Its not like you’ll ever be back.”

“You don’t know that.” She snapped. “My plans are still undergoing revisions. What I do know is that I do not want my kids to stay in our original earth and I definitely don’t want them growing up in the Labyrinth. This earth could be a possible home. I don’t want the whole internet knowing who I am.”

“Oh, my goodness!” One of the survivors said. “You’re aliens!”

“No.” I corrected. “We’re interdimensional travellers from alternate earths. Completely different.”

Her face changed through several different expressions over the course of the following few seconds. Her eyes going over Borislav as he healed some people and Charlie as he sprinted up and down the slope at blinding speeds.

Then she turned to me.

“Okay. Yeah. Interdimensional superheroes. Checks out.”

I gave her a thumbs up.

“But, why us?”

“Um. I assume it was because you were in danger.”

“Yeah. Duh. But there are lots of people in danger all the time and I’ve never seen a literal superhero anywhere else. Neither has anyone over the course of history for that matter. Why would you come here to save us when there are thousands dying down over at Yellowstone?”

“Yellowstone?” I asked, worry creeping into my voice. “Isn’t that a park?”

“Yes.”

“The one with the super volcano?”

“Yes! Exactly. I guess they have one in your world too.”

“And, people are dying because of the…”

“Super volcano eruption. Yes. Half the state has been evacuated and the plumes of smoke are drifting over the whole country. Why aren’t you doing anything about that? I mean, I’m grateful and all. I really am. But this seems a bit…”

She hesitated.

“Below you? I’m sorry. I know that sounds awful, but you guys were absolutely awesome. Couldn’t you do something about the volcano?”

I blinked at her for a few more minutes. Then I turned to Cherub.

“I don’t suppose you could absorb the heat from a volcano?”

‘I can sure try!’ He chirruped. ‘I love helping people! Just point me in the right direction, give me enough Psy and I’ll take care of business!’

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Monique piped in. “Heat isn’t the problem. Not the biggest one anyway. The smoke and all the debris getting into the atmosphere is what’s really going to kill people.”

“How do you know?” Boris asked.

“I watched a lot of dinosaur documentaries growing up.” She answered. “One of the leading theories for their mass extinction was smoke clouding up the atmosphere and not letting any sunlight through. The meteor theory is more widely believed these days, but that doesn’t discount the danger. Enough smoke could be as bad as a nuclear winter.”

I looked him over again. Realizing that he could absorb heat without spending any Psy from his status. Also, he was, kind of like a genie. Or a fire elemental. I couldn’t see him getting hurt from trying at least.

I called on [Insight] just to be sure. Grumbling a bit at how often it had been letting down as of late.

‘I mean, it didn’t warn me of Dusty’s reaction to our talk, but not using it would be a bit of a waste.’

I saw Cherub there. Holding Slasher in his hand and bellowing. While blackened smoke swirled around him before harmlessly dispersing.

I saw him keeping it up even after the shimmer took us back to the Warehouse. I saw the people he would save.

“Right.” I said. Clapping my hands together. “Thank you for the information. You’ve saved many lives today. Cherub. Get going. Yellowstone is…”

I shrugged. Placing my hands over my head in embarrassment.

“Uh, I don’t suppose you have a phone on you?”

“Yeah. Here.” She said, bringing up her phone and the GPS app contained therein.

I nodded and sent Cherub on his way once more.

Charlie arrived as the full body manifested. Brilliant wings spreading outwards while holding the sword for a few resplendent moments.

“You’re letting it leave?” He hissed. “What if it screws up something? What if it goes berserk like it did with the mutants? What if…?” He clamped down as his eyes glared at the flying Cherub.

“What if he makes ghosts appear?” I suggested.

“SHHHHH!!!” He hissed. Getting closer to me. “Don’t say it!”

“Okay. Okay.” I answered. Retreating back a few steps. “Look, it won’t even make much of a difference for us. We’ll be long gone by the time he gets there.”

“It’ll make a difference for the people of this world.” Charlie countered. “They don’t deserve this.”

“I really don’t think they’ll care much. Since they’re, you know. Running from the volcano erupting.”

His glared deepened.

“Look, it’ll be fine. Okay? I used [Insight]. I saw it was all okay. We’re helping because we can. This is what heroes do. What we have to do.”

“Didn’t you say that your future sight wasn’t working?”

“Yes, but that was different. What I meant was that it didn’t warn me of all the consequences before I talked to Dusty. Though in my defence I don’t if holding off on the talk would have been any better. I saw what was going through her mind and the way the girls back there were thinking the exact same thing. I had to say something. Back to the point, I can re-summon Slasher and Cherub whenever I want and wherever I want, so there’s nothing to lose.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The woman on the snow said. “Are you…”

Wind was whooshing now. Being sent all over the place on account of the approaching helicopter. Furthermore, the noise was deafening. Suffocating her voice as it left her lips.

I had been reading the reporter’s minds for a while now. Cringing at the questions they were formulating and wondering just what to say. Worse yet, I’d have to figure out what to do about the assassin pretending to be a reporter.

As it turns out, the local powers that be had a bit of a history with politically-motivated killings. To the point where there were a lot of three letter agencies dedicated to doing away with “Threats.” Not legally, of course. But with enough regularity that they were basically a network of secret state police.

‘I could use [Sleep] on him. That would be the most, humane way of ending this. But I don’t know how I feel about letting assassins go free. Government approved or no, you can’t go around disappearing people. What do you think Charlie?’

Charlie shrugged at my [Message].

‘Kill him.’

I sighed.

‘Charlie, I don’t want him out killing people but I don’t want to kill him either. Not while there are other choices.’

‘If you say so.’ He replied.

Thinking of the words and allowing me to pick them up using my fog.

‘Though I will say that the only way to end this for good will be to change the way he thinks. To make him truly regret his actions and refuse to follow orders. That would mean him getting killed by his superiors later. So, you’re just brainwashing him so that he can die later. I would argue that it isn’t very merciful. Also, this is only my opinion, but, I would much rather die than become your puppet.’

I scratched my head. Seeing his point.

‘Right. So, what do you suggest?’

‘Give him powers like you did with the people down in the village. Then mind-control him. Bad as it is, he deserves it. And it means you can get him to try and dismantle the current hold his masters have. He’d have a pretty decent chance if there aren’t other people with powers here.’

Damn. That was… dark.

I wracked my brains over the query. Considering it like a trolley problem. The assassin would kill more people if I let him go but making him stop would mean doing something I, wasn’t comfortable with. Not fully.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I bit my lip and recalled Mason’s case. How I hadn’t seen any other way out of it. Then I compared those results with the futures [Insight] hadn’t shown me. The ones relating to team cohesion.

I sighed. Used [Insight] again and allowed the results to flow through and into me. Choosing the option that led to the least number of deaths and the greatest overall good.

‘Damn that’s dark. What do you think Monique?’

‘I was going agree with Charlie. Not a big fan shadow government or the suppression of free speech. Saw more than enough of that back home. Reporters were literally telling us all it was perfectly safe to get back to work when burning zombies were waltzing down the streets eating people. One of them actually got eaten live. Still, that wouldn’t change things long term. You controlling him seems more productive.’

‘You realize you’re advocating for me to take away someone’s free will?’

‘Yeah, so? He’s an assassin. He was literally lining up a shot on me half a minute ago. He’s got it coming and he isn’t going to change his ways unless you make him. Sending to jail won’t work and I’d bet the people he’s thinking about, the people that sent him here, won’t let their local press bring this up. I’m going to go for the lesser of all the evils. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this was one of the most justified cases of mind-control I could imagine. Get on with it or don’t. Up to you, in the end.’

In the end, I decided to use a tiny pinch of [Domination] on him. Enough that he became docile until the helicopter landed.

Then I spoke before the reporters had a chance to.

“Sorry. Got to go any second now. Here, have some superpowers so you can defeat the secret police assassin network.”

“Huh!?” The lead reporter asked, seconds before I blasted him and the others with [Insight].

All of them crumpled as their Psy awakened.

“Sorry, sorry. Just want to make sure that none of you get, uh, ‘disappeared’. Again, sorry. Will try to make up for it later. If I can.”

I finished giving instructions to the assassin and was ready to share some memories with recently-awakened, when the shimmer took us back to the Warehouse.

“You know guys? I don’t think I like this pattern we’ve been seeing.”

“Are you talking about the rescuing or the repressive dystopian conspiracies?” Monique asked. Though she knew damn well what I meant.

“The conspiracies.” I clarified regardless. “I mean, this is, what? The fifth time its happened?”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Charlie confirmed, making his way towards the cafeteria without another word.

“And that doesn’t bother you?” I called after him.

He turned his head, but not his body. His shoulders somewhat slumped as he walked forward.

“Not really. Too used to it, I guess.” He snorted. “What you call conspiracy, I call daily life. The rich will get goons to kick down the peasants that get too uppity. Those that defy the king lose their heads, as do their families. This is not new to me.”

“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

Monique slapped me upside the head.

“Stop that, Sully. You’re being a sourpuss. Look. We had an issue to deal with. One that was morally grey at best. Its good that you doubt yourself when it comes to this sort of thing. It’ll keep you honest. But there’s a difference between keeping yourself in check and self-flagellation. We had a hard choice to make and I think we did the best with what we had to work with. You’ll just have to live with it.”

She grabbed my wrist.

“Now come on. I know you’ve been reading our minds. You know what’s coming.”

I smiled as I was dragged away.

“Hey. I can’t help that now, can I? Not unless I shut the fog off completely and I need to keep controlling any monsters that wander into range. In my defence, I have been trying to keep it on the down low and I have been getting better at ignoring stuff.”

We made our way over to the cafeteria, where the benches were bunched up next to the fridge that dispensed food in exchange for Store Tokens.

There, on the tables, were about seven and a half pizzas. Surrounded by energetic crowds taking slices with wild abandon. What’s more, there was also ice-cream, cakes, sodas of questionable copyright status and even more questionable taste. All the nice familiar items that last-minute parties used to bring the mood up.

It worked. I couldn’t see a single frowning face among all the people present.

Kaito was juggling soda cans in front of a cheering audience, showcasing his newly acquired coordination and reflexes as he threw two-dozen cans up in the air without dropping a single one. Meanwhile, Mantis-man and Simeon were having an arm-wresting competition. Contestants coming by in order to wait their turn as they watched the two compete against each other.

There were cheers being thrown around. Cries of joviality going round and round all those present.

Mr. Park walked by at that point. Smiling at me and offering me a slice of extra cheese.

“Sully, how good to see you. Come, come. Have a seat next to us. We have much to discuss.”

I accepted the slice from him with a murmur of thanks. Lowering Buddy’s face-membrane so as to take a bit. The pizza was, fairly decent. Not great, but good enough to not leave a negative impression. Typical fast-food stuff.

“What kind of things do you want to talk about?” I asked after finishing.

“Why, this of course. The cause of our celebration.”

“Aren’t we celebrating because most of us are making lots of Store Tokens from doing Excursions?”

“That is part of it, yes. But not all of it.”

His smile widened further. Making his many wrinkles stand out even more.

“Why are you so chipper?”

“You can’t tell?”

I raised and eyebrow. Then both at once as I found that his thoughts had become slightly muddled.

“You’re hiding your thoughts?”

He wagged his finger excitedly through the air. Moving so much that he accidentally spilled some tea on the floor.

“Not all of them. We’ve found that its quite impossible to fully isolate one’s own mind unless they have a combined ability like yours. Yet, there are ways to get around the first-Tier version of [Sense Thoughts]. At least for some time. The trick is to use [Enhanced Concentration] to keep yourself from thinking about the ideas you don’t want read.”

I blinked. Very quickly in a very short amount of time.

“That’s… awesome! How come no one else has been doing this?”

He leaned over, and I smelled the booze on his breath for the first time.

“Easy. Because it is hard. Much too hard to pick up right away for anyone who hasn’t had prior training.”

“Training which you’ve had.”

Mr. Park looked abashed.

“There were, many aspects of my job that were not directly related to rifts or monsters. I was also tasked with being a sort of, handler, for our assets. Hiding one’s thoughts and emotions is a necessary skill.”

He patted my back some more and led me to one of the tables.

“The, vastness of our newfound wealth is certainly something that should be celebrated.” He began after we’d sat down. “It has certainly been a load off my back. I was fairly sure something horrible was going to happen and that we’d be forced to ration roasted centipedes.”

He released a sardonic smirk.

“I must say. This is much better.”

“Hear hear!” Fernando assented. Raising a mug of sour European ale and downing it in three gulps.

My lips grew wet as my moved my tongue along them.

“You know, I could use a drink.”

“No.” Mr. Park answered at once.

All remnants of that cheery disposition vanishing into the ether. I looked around, noting with trepidation that my comment had summoned a hushed silence into the previously festive hall.

“Okay. Okay. Never mind.”

Mr. Park took a deep breath, before donning his sharp smile once more.

“It’s alright. I understand it is hard to quit. It will get easier with time.”

I could have pointed out the slight hypocrisy that he was actively drinking as he said this, but that might have come across as petulant behaviour.

He gave off a slight whoop. Raising an arm in order to toast once more.

I was getting a little curious by that point and delved further into his mind. Focusing on him in particular to the exclusion of all others. I got through his diversions in not time. Honing in to the real reason behind his fair mood.

“You’re happy about my team splitting up?”

“What? No. No. Don’t be ridiculous Sully. I’m happy to be here. Five levels higher since the start of the week and richer than ever before. With ensured safety and…”

“What part of my team splitting up makes you happy?” I relented. Not giving him a chance to sweettalk his way out of this.

He gave me a sideways glance. Staring right into my eyes. Then, he sighed theatrically and wolfed down another slice of pizza.

“Because it is so banal.” He answered at last.

“Banal?”

“Yes. Sully. Banal.” He brought up a hand covered in grease, before cursing and wiping it with a tissue.

“Let me explain. Ever since I met you, ever since all of us met you. There’s been this, distance between us. You’ve been having problems with your whole, good person business, while we’ve been having problems sleeping knowing that you’re not all there sometimes. I can’t help but feel like this distance has closed.”

“How do you mean?” I asked. Genuinely curious. “My relationships here have gotten better because people have gotten to know me.”

“To some degree.” He agreed, before shaking his head. “Don’t get me wrong. You going out of your way to talk to people and become involved in knowing them is admirable and it has gone a long way to calming nerves. Yet, there was always this, surreal presence about you. Like a bomb waiting to blow.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Don’t…” He hiccupped. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. It was, like a weight pressing down on us. Whether it came from the level difference or the Titles or whatever else; it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it was there and now it isn’t. You’re more approachable. Less unnerving.”

“That might be the new combined ability talking. [Charming Presence] pretty much says that makes people like me.”

“No. That wasn’t it. At least, it wasn’t the only thing. You are far less stressed. Far less, wound up than when we first met.”

“And that’s a reason to celebrate? What does that have to do with my team problems?”

“Everything.” He belched. An action that was completely at odds with the image I had of the senior.

“Your talk was obviously good for you. Even if you don’t realize it. You got rid of a lot of tension, which helped in lowering everyone else’s tension.”

I opened my mouth to bite back, but found that I couldn’t quite refute his statements.

The fact was, the recognition back then had felt fantastic. I had felt fantastic as the surviving villagers carried me on their shoulders. I had also felt fantastic when…

“You’re not mad about the girls coming onto me?” I asked. “You’re not mad that I turned Dusty down?”

“Ha! Why would I be? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That’s not what Dusty thinks.”

Mr. Park’s eyes found mine. Then he shook his head slowly.

Kaito interjected at this time. Sliding a soda over to me.

“Listen, Sully. It really isn’t that big of a deal. Now, don’t interrupt me. Hear me out. Were the two of you dating?”

“No.”

“Were there any talks of dating?”

“No.” I repeated.

“Then that means that you were, at the time, a single bachelor of appropriate age being courted by other singles of appropriate age. Everyone involved was an adult as far as I know. Everyone had plenty of chances to bring up relationships. No one did.”

He paused for a second.

“I would even go so far as to say that you should have gone for it. Let out some more of that stress you’ve got on your shoulders. I’ve known plenty of young men who feel like new, completely different people, after letting go.”

“But the other girls…”

He waved me off.

“I know what Olga and Prudence are saying. And Esmeralda and Collette and… you know what? That doesn’t matter. They’re being unreasonable. I mean, yes. You did know about her feelings and she had expressed interest before. But that, a relationship, does not make. If none of you said anything, then it doesn’t matter that you were reading her thoughts. And it was very mature of you to end it when you did.”

Simeon nodded slowly, though he didn’t say anything.

Charlie and Borislav were busy gorging himself on pizza two tables down.

Ryan was trying really hard to disappear into the back ground. His mind still thundering with fear that I might off him for what he was planning to do when we’d first freed the Warehouse.

‘There’s no need for that. I already forgave him.’

I turned to Mr. Park once more.

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re so happy. There are more emotions hidden beneath.”

“There are.” He admitted. “I suppose I feel, relieved.”

“How so?”

“Because it’s a very normal issue.” He said, nonchalantly. “Mind you, I’ve been around the block of Espers and pro-heroes. Managing a few of them over the course of my life. This kind of thing, a local hero being showered in attention, is perhaps one of the most normal interactions young heroes can have. Both male and female. It doesn’t matter. The fame, the glory, it gets to them. Makes them feel invincible.”

“I sure don’t feel invincible.”

“That was a poor choice of words on my part. The point is that having admirers is among the most normal things you could have done. Heck, I actually got up to those same activities back in my day. I took it much farther than you as well. I would not be surprised if I had three or four children that I’m currently unaware of. I’m not ashamed. Why should you be ashamed about not responding to someone’s feelings?”

“Because my team split up Mr. Park.” I bent my head over the table. Massaging my temple with my fingers.

“I don’t want to alienate them. You say I’m more relaxed but it sure as (Gnome) doesn’t feel that way.”

Kaito nodded.

“Then I guess you better get to talking then.”

“That’s part of the problem. I don’t think Dusty wants to talk to me. And most of the girls seem to think I’m evil incarnate for not taking her feelings into account.”

Mr. Park whistled.

“Seriously, what has gotten into you?”

“You’re not seeing the full picture, Sully. You’re not looking at the whole group the way the council does. You’re not the only member we felt we had to watch. Dusty always seemed, more on edge than her brother. Alienated from most of the people here due to cultural differences. Now, she gets to make friends.”

“While trashing me.”

He shrugged again.

“Totally worth it from my point of view. You’re far more stable, she has a bigger support network. Everyone is happy.”

It was then that Simeon took over.

“Sully, look. In these cases, I often feel that it is better to organize your thoughts so that you can make a clear-headed decision. Ask yourself this: What do you want to do moving forward?”

“I, I don’t know. I want my team back, I guess. I think we had a good thing going.”

“Fair enough. I think so too.” Mr. Park agreed. “In that case, there’s only one way to resolve the issue.”

“Go talk to her.” Simeon finished.

Mr. Park clapped his hands.

“Precisely. There’s not much else to do now. You need to hear her out. And her grievances. You two need to sit down and fully communicate what your expectations were and how they have or haven’t changed. From her part, she’ll either tell you that isn’t interested any more, or that she is and that she wants to move things along after the discussion. For your part, you can either tell her that you don’t share her feelings or tell her that you do share her feelings.”

Simeon nodded along until the end. Waiting until Mr. Park was done before speaking again.

“The most important thing right now is communication. You two need to hash things out like adults. It can get messy. It often does. But there’s no other way.”

“Unless you want to keep ignoring each other.” Mr. Park added. “That is also a valid option. One that was often chosen back home whenever these issues arose with heroes. Both fill out a few forms and our department will make damn sure to try and keep you on separate assignments. No sense in stirring up hard feelings, after all.”

“That isn’t going to go anywhere.” Monique interjected. Joining the conversation for the first time.

She had a fork in one hand and a slice of cake in the other. Or perhaps it would me more correct to say that she had most of a cake on a platter. It would seem that Monique suffered from a sweet tooth and that she wasn’t particularly ashamed about the fact.

She stuffed her mouth and pointed the fork at me, swallowing before speaking again.

“We are all stuck in this maze together. We cannot afford to be indulging in this nonsense. If you’re going to let her down, then the least you can do is tell her in person. Anything else will feel like an insult.”

I nodded slowly. Trying to delve deep down into my own feelings to sort out my answer.

“The thing is…” I started. “I don’t think Dusty likes me. Not in that way at least.”

“I would beg to differ.” Kaito said. “Pretty sure all the other Telepaths here would be calling you out too.”

“Not, in that way man. It feels like she likes my Type and what I’ve done so far. It feels like she wants the prestige that being with me would bring her back home. I, don’t know how I feel about that.”

“Then I guess you better sort it out.” Mr. Park declared. “After we stuff ourselves that is. Come Sully. Come and indulge in the good food.”

He tried shoving another slice of pizza into my hands.

“There are no monsters here today. No gnomes either. Or villains or killers. Only friends. So, bring up your pop and give us a non-alcoholic toast. Today is a day for celebration. So, lets celebrate as if the world was ending.”

There was a raucous cheer at his words and more food was brought up from the fridge.

People going up and down the tables to indulge. Reveling in all the progress they’d made and in having the confidence to relax. If only for a little while.

I nodded as I saw them enjoying themselves. Feeling their warmth flooding into me.

“Yeah.” I said, loosing myself in the flow. “I guess we do deserve a break.”