Chapter 24: Returning Home

--- Coraline Hawkins ---

Once her dad came to pick her and Micki up from the hospital, they dropped the other girl off at her home before heading for their own. (Though Micki really did look like she wanted to stay with us. I guess things aren’t getting any better with her parents.)

“You feeling alright Cory?” Her dad asked, picking up on her downward mood.

“Uh, yeah. Just thinking about Micki, she uh, she didn’t look happy to be home.” She admitted.

“Did she… mention anything?” Her dad frowned, knowing that Micki’s home life wasn’t exactly the best but that it also wasn’t bad enough that he needed to get involved.

She shook her head. “No.”

“You know if things get bad enough she’ll tell you.” Her dad pointed out.

“I know.” She sighed, leaning her head against the car window. “Doesn’t make it any better though.”

“No it isn’t.” Her dad agreed with a sigh of his own.

They were both silent for a moment before her dad broke it with another sigh. “Hey, Cory… I know your birthday is still a couple months off but… given some of the things going on…” Her dad stopped himself before shaking his head. “With the things going on the last couple days, and the things they were talking about at the station… I think, I think it might be best if we start teaching you magic soon.”

She jumped. “R-really?”

“R-really.” Her dad nodded, looking a little pained.

Which made sense given how strict her dad had always been about waiting until she was eighteen to teach her the magic she’d spent her entire childhood watching both of her parents throw around.

Unfortunately, she was too excited to offer the sympathy she usually would.

“What are we starting with?! Enchanting?! Willcraft?! Scriptcraft?! Summoning?!” She fired off wanting as many details as possible.

“Um, uh, I’m not quite sure…” Her dad confessed, looking a little overwhelmed. “I still, I still need to get some things together, but I want you to have… something to defend yourself if things… go in the direction we think they are.”

That tempered her excitement a bit. “What… what direction do you think they’re going?”

Her dad grimaced and went silent for a moment, before eventually telling her that, “We think… this might be another Rift Riot.”

That killed all of her enthusiasm. “Oh…”

She still remembered the last one when she was eight.

The one that… (took mom…)

“Y-yeah.” Her dad sighed. “We’re still hoping it’s not that bad but… some parts of the city were hit pretty hard yesterday, and given the sky… we don’t think this was a one off type of deal.”

“I… I understand.” (This isn’t us learning magic for fun. This is us learning magic to stay safe.)

Her dad watched her for a moment, looking upset that she did, before shaking his head. “Um, there was something else… My captain, he uh, he’s got this thing he wants to try and set up to keep some of the cop kids close to the station. We’re still sorting out the details… and I’m not going to make you join up but… if you want to…”

“I’ll, I’ll think about it.” She told him, before thinking about something. “Do you think… Miles and Micki… could join?”

Her dad shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I mean… it’s meant for the cop kids but I doubt the captain will have any issue with more kids going if you can get them to. I, uh, I’m pretty sure that before all of this he was setting it up to try and get his daughter to make some friends.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” She admitted. “Max seemed kind of lonely at the hospital.”

“Well, from what the Captain told me ever since his divorce and then his promotion, she’s slowly been pulling in on herself.” Her dad explained, eyes on the road. “I know he’s worried about her but… I can’t really do anything to help either of them.”

“That’s fine, because even if Micki and Miles don’t join up I’ll still try to be Max’s friend.” She decided (because no one should have to feel alone.) “I didn’t get to talk to her much but she seemed like a fun enough person.”

--- Max Miller ---

After her dad left for work (yet again) and knowing that despite what he said he probably wasn’t going to be home in time for dinner, she went to her room and booted up her computer before unloading all of her spare electronic parts onto her work desk.

Once the computer was on she stared at it intently, just as she had the TV back at the hospital after waking up from whatever had put her into that brief coma. (Come on… I know it wasn’t a fluke… It was too consistent.)

Slowly she felt something click into place between her and the computer.

Her eyes immediately focused on the browser icon in one corner of the screen, and after a few seconds the computer opened her homepage without her even touching the mouse.

A mad grin made its way to her face as she bit her lip and focused on the search engine, running a sort of mental finger over the thread between her and the computer. And while it felt like she was running dial up to do so she eventually managed to enter a web address using (my mind!)

With another flex of her mind she managed to pull up a website that she was pretty sure her dad wouldn’t want her looking at.

She’d always heard rumors on the net about what people were calling Mentally Augmented Deviants, or M.A.D.s. People who through some twist of fate were capable of naturally building pieces of tech far beyond what the average person could manage even with a doctorate in their given fields.

Part of her had always hoped that with her talent with machines she was an M.A.D. but no matter how much effort she put into it, she just could not hear the ‘whispers’ that all M.A.D.s swore told them how to build their inventions. And so eventually she learned to accept that even if she wasn’t a special supergenius that would make science her bitch, she was still a genius by everyone else’s standards and could make them her bitches by staying smarter.

Of course that didn’t kill her interest in M.A.D.s or the tech they could build, tech that no matter how smart she was she couldn’t quite replicate because there was always something missing or some abstract thing that never quite clicked. Though regardless of whether or not she could build a power armor out of junk, that research still let her push the boundaries of just what she could do with regular tech. Such as learning how to make tasers for self defense, flying drones for spying on that cute boy in her one class, and a number of other fun toys that her dad would absolutely confiscate if he knew about them.

On its own this was an interesting little hobby, combined with this new ability she’d somehow gained, well…

Her eyes roamed over the probably on a watch list tech forums dissecting every bit of M.A.D. tech they could to middling success. Eventually she managed to track down one she’d seen a few weeks ago about what people were calling ‘smart weaponry’.

She was going to have a lot of fun.

--- Miles Kennedy ---

“So, uh, how much did you tell everyone?” He asked as he and his mom made their way to their front door. “About me and the hospital I mean?”

“Well I told your grandma and Hannah, but Molly just thinks you were staying with me because of all the crazy going on.” His mom explained. “Oh, and you’re aunt of course since she was the one who brought you to the hospital.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

He couldn’t help but grimace. “So, they know I was… out of it for a couple days?”

“Yeah, though only Cat actually saw you.” His mom nodded, before giving him a look. “Honestly, you weren’t going to be able to hide it. It’s a miracle you’re able to move already with as bad as you were when they admitted you.”

“I know…” He sighed as he flexed his hands and while they closed they took much longer to do so than he was comfortable with.

“Hey, it’ll be alright.” His mom assured him. “As fast as you’ve healed from the rest, you’ll be good as new in a few more days. You get that from your dad, I swear that man could walk off getting hit by a car.”

(“Heh.”)

(And you’re back.) He thought bitterly.

(“Of course, gotta see how fast your healin’ so I know when I can put ya to work.”) Kriminel reminded him.

(Got any more lies to tell?) He wondered following his mom as she opened the front door.

(“I don’t lie.”) Kriminel growled, before gaining a smile to his voice. (“After all, the truth is so much harsher.”)

The moment they walked inside a young voice yelled, “Mom and Miles are home!” before a small missile hit him around the stomach.

“H-hey… Molly.” He smiled down at his younger sister even as he fought to stay standing. “You doing okay? I heard things got pretty scary for a while there…”

Molly shook her head. “Nah, I wasn’t scared. Oh, did you see the sky! It’s so pretty, but it looks like the sky is falling down too! Do you think the sky is going to fall Miles?!”

“Uh, given how the sky covers the entire world… I don’t think so.” He chuckled. (Then again, if Baron Samedi is real… who knows what's going to happen?)

(“Sky won’t fall.”) Kriminel told him. (“Crack ain’t in the sky. It’s in reality itself.”)

(That… sounds significantly worse.)

(“Eh, happens at least once a week. Odd bit is that the crack hasn’t sealed.”) Kriminel assured him. (“World likes bein’ right ways, and we’ll right itself when it can.”)

(Good to know…)

He blinked and found Hannah in front of him watching him worriedly. “You doing alright little brother? You kind of blanked out for a second there.”

“Y-yeah, just uh… not feeling one hundred percent.” He admitted, noticing that Hannah wasn’t the only one watching him in concern. “I’m fine… really.”

“If you’re sure, just… let us know if you start feeling funny.” Hannah told him.

“Will do.” He lied, knowing that he was going to feel funny as long as he had a Baron beating around in his skull.

Said Baron scoffed. (“Be glad I ain’t Samedi playin’ his drums twenty-four seven. If his champion wasn’t Obsessed with music he’d of gone insane already.”)

“Ah, there’s my other grandbaby.” His grandma cried as made his way into the kitchen, before making her way over and dragging him into a hug where she whispered. “You had us so worried. I’m glad you’re up and movin’.”

“Sorry, grandma.” He apologized. “Didn’t mean to worry ya.”

“It’s fine, you just need to worry about yourself too.” His grandma told him as she let him go.

(“Hmm, I like this one.”)

(Really?) That surprised him.

(“Yeah, killed a racist asshole in the sixties who hurt her sister. I’m given’ it a pass since vengeance kills are my favorite kind.”) Kriminel elaborated, actually sounding impressed. (“Woman’s got spine, that’s the kind of thing ya ought to look for in a woman yerself kid.”)

He just stared at his sweet elderly grandma -the one who’d moved in and helped their whole family function after his dad’s passing, including helping his little sister get dressed, and cooking half their meals- as he processed the fact that she’d killed a man.

The world seemed to spin a bit and he considered himself lucky when he spotted his aunt Catherine coming over while looking exhausted, almost as if she hadn’t slept all night. “Hey, kid, glad to see you awake.”

“H-hey, aunt Cat… Uh,” He glanced back making sure Molly wasn’t listening. “I heard you got me to the hospital… just wanted to thank you for that.”

“You don’t need to thank me kid.” His aunt smiled, before pulling him into a hug of her own. “I just don’t want to see you like that ever again.”

As he hugged his aunt back, he could hear Kriminel letting out a whistle in the back of his head. (“Now that is a body count. Bitch really likes her bloodshed. She be one step off from bein’ a pig worth takin’ to the slaughter. I mean, she’s almost at the triple digits.”)

--- Aurelio Hermenez ---

Walking up the steps to his apartment he found himself contemplating the previous night, in which he’d been attacked by a vampire, turned into a vampire witch, been asked to join what he was pretty sure was a vampire cult, on top of now being haunted by an ex-vampire ghost.

(Technically, I’m still a blood mage.) Said ghost -who he was once more reminded could read his thoughts- pointed out. (Which when combined with myths about vampires, pre-Bram Stoker would make me closer to some of the original definitions of a vampire than you. Note, that is the non-corporeal ghost variants common to the slavic regions rather than the bloated undead that would escape their coffins.)

“Do you drink blood?” He asked, more to prove a point in the fact that the ghost does not drink blood thus meaning she was not really a vampire.

(Well, I do siphon off a portion of what you drink.) Geraldine admitted, causing him to pause.

“Wait, you’re doing what now?”

(Don’t worry, it’s not so much that it’ll hinder your development especially given my own knowledge and abilities aiding your own.) The parasitic ghost assured him. (Rude! As I said previously I wish for this to be a mutualistic relationship, asking you to feed for both of us isn’t that severe of a request!)

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Right, and you’re idea of mutualism revolves around trying to get me la-”

“Leo!” A voice yelled, practically causing him to jump a foot in the air. (We’ll have to work on that, you should’ve been able to jump a meter minimum.)

Ignoring the dead woman haunting him, he instead turned his attention to the very much alive woman stepping out of her apartment. “Harper, what’s up?”

“What’s up?” The blonde laughed dryly. “Take your pick on the massive crack in the sky or the monsters it’s spitting out. I was starting to get worried about you when you didn’t answer the door all day! Where have you been?”

(Monsters?) He frowned, before grimacing as he remembered Alex as well as how the man had kept him on lockdown for the last couple of days, with Aurelio just barely being able to convince the vampire to let him go due to guilt tripping him about his regular life. “Um, I kind of got… mugged, and this… old guy let me crash on his couch.”

(You are a terrible liar.) Jerry told him, before gaining a… tone. (Also, who is this pretty little thing?)

“Oh… shit.” Harper winced, before giving him a once over. “You uh, you okay?”

(She’s just… a neighbor… friend. A friendly neighbor!)

“Nothing too bad. Just got knocked out and… lost a bit of blood.” He tried to deflect, because physically he felt fantastic, but mentally he was… still figuring things out.

(Hmmm…)

“Yeah, sucks that people would take advantage of all that mess this weekend.” Harper nodded. “I, uh, I sort of spent the first night at my job with Frankie and a couple of people we pulled off the streets. Though, uh, some of them decided to try risking the streets and it… didn’t work out for them.”

Sensing that she wasn’t okay, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you uh, you want to talk about it?”

“No, no… but um, I’m not really feeling up to our date tonight.” Harper admitted.

(Oh! You’re courting this one!)

He could just hear the grin in the ghost’s voice. (No, down. Bad ghost! We’re not… We’re just… it would’ve been our first date…)

“It’s fine, with the way things are right now…” With monsters apparently roaming the streets, and him maybe a monster himself… “How about a rain check? For when things calm down a bit?”

“Y-yeah.” Harper smiled, pushing a bit of hair behind her ear. “I’d like that, just… when it’s a little safer to be on the streets. You know?”

(Or… you could invite her to have dinner with you at your home?) The devil on his shoulder suggested.

He knew the ghost was working an angle on him, but… (I really wanted to hang out with her… Fuck it.)

(That’s the plan.)

“If things don’t calm down for a while… Maybe I can make you dinner instead?”

“Oh, um, you cook… for me?” Harper blushed.

He couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “I-if you want? Or we can just… wait for things to calm down… It’s your choice.”

“I, um… Next weekend!” Harper practically shouted, before shrinking in on herself. “If… if things haven’t calmed down in a week then… we can, we can have dinner at your place!”

“That… sounds great!” He smiled.

“Heh, yeah… it’s a date.” Harper smiled, slowly walking backwards to her apartment. “I’ll um, I’ll see you then.”

“Y-yeah!” He waved as she rushed back into her apartment.

He couldn’t help but give himself a fist pump. “Yes!”

(A question occurs to me… Do you know how to cook? Something romantically appropriate I mean?)

His eyes widened as he let out a quiet, “Noooooo…”

--- Micki Harrison ---

She looked around the school yard before making her way over to a window that she knew had a broken latch and slowly pushing it open enough for her to climb inside.

Once inside the school she couldn’t help but shiver, the building feeling so much colder than the previous night when she’d shared a bed with Cory (who is a friend. Just a friend… Which is why you can’t have sleepovers with her anymore…)

She didn’t trust herself not to take advantage of Cory’s trusting naivety.

With a shake of her head she made her way through the school building and back to where she stashed all of her things during the school day, a small storage room that probably hadn’t been used for anything important since the nineties.

Opening her stashed suitcase she pulled out and unrolled her sleeping bag before grabbing one of her granola bars and a water bottle, honestly feeling kind of sick of the meal after a night of eating junk food with her best friend.

“Home sweet home…” She whispered to the empty room.