Volume 4: Metaphase

Issue 13: Icons

Jannette Adrian Churchwell

By Nova

The rain pounded against my booth’s window, streaking down at such a rate that my view outside was almost entirely obscured. Large, distorted shapes passed by, while bright lights filled the roads before disappearing. Even indoors, I could feel the cold, wet rain in my bones, and a shiver passed through me as I pulled the coffee mug closer. Even though the caffeine had no effect, the warm cinnamon and cocoa scent wafting upwards was comforting enough.

Wind and rain blew in through the front door as Linda stepped through, a bell ringing to signify her arrival. She quickly exchanged pleasantries with the man at the counter before heading over to me. “Jan,” she said, “how’re you feeling?”

“Fine,” I lied, “or about fine, anyways.”

“I see…” Linda said, seeing through me a bit too quickly for my taste. She took the seat across from me and looked out the window. “Shitty weather we’re having,” she said.

“Yep, got soaked walking here,” I said.

“We need it though.”

“Mmhm, yep we need it,” I said.

The Californian rain-ritual complete, I took a sip of my coffee and looked at Linda, not sure what to expect from her. She had told me to meet at this place, Aesop’s—a café-game store combo in the Mission district. Aesop’s hummed with gentle activity. From where I sat, I could see a counter with coffee machines and piles of superhero-shaped cookies behind glass on one side. On the other stood shelves and shelves of cards, games, and books. Tables sat between these two sides.

I couldn’t deny the place had charm, but why were we here?

As if reading my mind, Linda cleared her throat. “I know things have been… rough.” Yeah, understatement of the year, I thought. She continued, “But Ramirez told me about… Well, whatever it was that went down a few nights ago.”

I just nodded. She never told me how she found out I was in that building, how she was in the area to save me, but if Ramirez told her everything…

There was a pause as Linda looked out the window. “I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, having someone telling you what to do right now probably isn’t going to help anything.”

“But,” she continued, looking back at me, “you’re my friend, and I want you to be, well, happy.”

Friend. The word struck me harder than it should. I bit back tears as I squirmed in my seat, ashamed of myself for some reason. I wanted to say, “you’re my friend too,” but all I could do was nod.

“And I… I don’t know if I’ve been the best friend,” Linda said.

“W-what?” I was a little confused by that. “Are you talking about the whole leaving me in the club thing?” I was angry about that, but was that really what she was talking about?

“Yes, but also not really. Or at least, not really just that,” Linda said. “Jan… Other than, uh, work and clubbing, have we done anything together?”

I sighed. “No, not really. Though, to be fair, I don’t really do anything outside of work anyways…”

Linda nodded. “And that’s the problem… or at least there’s where I’ve been a bad friend. The first time we do something outside of work together and it’s something I pretty much knew you probably wouldn’t have liked. I mean, I know you, and you’ve never struck me as a… party girl or whatever.”

I shrugged. She wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t like I didn’t want to be that… I just couldn’t.

“So… here’s something that I think might be more your speed. Board games, coffee… something quieter. I don’t know if you like this stuff, but at the very least I want you to know that our friendship doesn’t just have to be work and clubbing… or even board games. We can find something we both appreciate, like hiking or whatever, or maybe just find a new hobby together.” She sighed. “Plus, I think you need a hobby, no matter what. And something like this could help.”

I laughed, despite myself. Despite it all. “M-maybe you’re right about needing a hobby.”

Linda chuckled, too. “This stuff is a little expensive, but it can be pretty fun.”

I took a sip from my coffee, while Linda looked back toward the counter. “Can’t believe he hasn’t gotten me my cocoa yet,” she said, smiling slightly nonetheless. “Plus he owns the shop, so you’d think he’d care about the customer.”

I laughed, eyeing the guy at the counter: Aesop himself maybe? “Yeah, though why’s he working the counter then?”

“Guess he enjoys it?” Linda said with a shrug.

“Guess so.” I took another sip from the mug. “So… I’ve been meaning to ask,” I started.

“Yeah?”

“About… them,”—meaning, Dynacrew—“how’d you know that they were…” trouble? Assholes? Willing to let people die in front of them for no good reason?

“I didn’t,” Linda said. “I mean, I’d heard their mission statement before and knew they didn’t care about the, uh, little guy. But I didn’t think they’d be so… callous,” she finished, choosing each word very carefully—considering our public location.

“Is what you heard before the reason you didn’t join?” I asked.

“If you’re worried about missing red flags that I saw, don’t,” Linda said. “I meant what I said to them, that I’m too old to change and have my own ways.” She leaned back in her seat. “Plus,” she said, quietly, “I don’t care for teams.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, despite myself.

She sighed, then leaned in. “I… like stuff like what we do, you know? A partnership, not a… formal arrangement with contracts and all that stuff. It’s more… personal, and flexible. You can be close to someone without your relationship being dominated by coworker dynamics.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“I can understand that…” I whispered back. “Though a lot of teams are pretty small, like Dynacrew. How would that change the dynamics all that much?”

“Every team has aspirations, them included. I could tell they wanted to reach the big leagues one day, become the next Starlight… I’d rather keep things small, focused, and operate in a way that I have more control over,” she whispered. “Doesn’t mean I can’t have friends on teams, or contacts, or whatever… but I’ve seen how joining a team, joining their culture, can… change someone, and I won’t let it happen to me.”

I nodded, slowly. I didn’t know Linda had… personal experience in this department, but I understood what she was saying. “The Titans were going to make me do all sorts of commercial appearances, that’s why I didn’t join,” I said.

“I know not every team is like that, but every one of them is going to ask for something. If I have to do something, I want it to be because I know it will help people, not because my boss says so,” Linda said.

We straightened up at the sound of footsteps as the counter man, Aesop maybe, approached. Linda smiled at him as he placed a mug full of steaming cocoa in front of her. “Glad to see you back, Lin, how long has it been?” he asked.

“Too long,” she said. “How’s business been?”

“Honestly, can’t complain. The kids at Chapel High discovered us a few years ago, and they’ve been reliable customers through thick and thin. Even with that Starbucks opening nearby.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Linda said. “Oh! And this is my friend, Jannette. I’m showing her ol’ Aesop’s for the first time.”

He stuck out his hand. “It’s good to meet you.”

I took his hand. “A-and you too… Aesop?”

He laughed. “Gordon, actually. I just called the place Aesop’s to attract customers. Had a nice ring to it. So do you play games? All the ones we have here are good.”

“I played Icons back in the day,” I said.

“I used to play Icons a lot too,” Linda said. “Though fell out of the habit around, oh, 2018 I think? Too expensive keeping up with the meta.”

“Well, we have some packs on those shelves there,” Gordon said, motioning to a set of shelves covered in brightly colored boxes and foil packets. “Feel free to browse if you’re interested.”

“T-thanks,” I said.

Gordon nodded and turned back to Linda. “By the way, Lin, we’re looking to start an Aesop’s DnD game. I know you used to be into that stuff back in the day, you still interested?”

Linda looked at me, then back at Gordon. “You know, maybe I should get a hobby too. Sure, I’m interested.”

“What about you, Jannette?” Gordon asked. “Interested in DnD? Dungeons and Dragons?”

I shifted in my seat, “I don’t know how to play… but I’m a little interested. What’s it about?” I only really knew it from reputation.

“Think of it like playing pretend, but with numbers,” Linda said, which made Gordon laugh.

“That’s more or less accurate, but it’s pretty fun actually,” Gordon said.

I wasn’t sure about the playing pretend part, but the numbers sounded like something I could handle. “Uh, sure,” I said.

“Alright, I’ll mark you both down as interested,” Gordon said. “I’ll let you two get back to it, but it’s good seeing you again, Lin. We’ll have to catch up again soon.”

“Definitely… I think I’ll be back soon,” Linda said.

Gordon nodded, then hurried back to the counter just in time to help a customer. Linda turned back to me. “So, DnD huh?”

I chuckled awkwardly. “I guess so… like you said, I need to try new things.”

“I’m sure you’ll have some fun,” Linda said. “But you can also get into Icons again too, you know.”

“I-I don’t know… it’s been so long…”

Linda took a sip of cocoa. “You don’t have to get into it, but getting a pack of cards or two could be fun.”

“Are you going to get any?”

Linda laughed, “Nah, can’t risk getting caught up in it again. I mean, you probably know how quick the meta changed, staying competitive was way too expensive.”

“Well, I do get that,” I admitted. “Still… I honestly can’t believe you were that big of a… nerd,” I said, laughing. “After everything we ever talked about, none of this came up!”

“Well, I got really into Lord of the Rings when I was in high school… and in college that all ballooned into a love of DnD, Wheel of Time, Warhammer… pretty much all things fantasy.”

“Was it… work that made you drop out of those hobbies?”

Linda looked wistful for a moment. “Yeah… I guess it was,” she said. “Still though, I’m glad to get back into it again, especially if you’re interested,” she added, brightening again.

I nodded. “Alright, then let’s do it.” I rose to my feet. “I think I will try to get a few packs of cards… You sure you don’t want any?”

“If you pull any Ripples, I’ll take it as a sign to get back into the hobby. If not, then I’ll stay out of it for now,” Linda whispered.

I laughed, then headed over to the shelves Gordon pointed out earlier. Immediately, however, I felt entirely out of my depth. The old sets I knew—like Icons of 2020 and Ocean Deep—weren’t there. Instead, all I saw were packs with names like Icons of 2022, Heroes of the Void, and Flashpoint: Vietnam. I wasn’t sure where to begin, or even if I had to buy a starter set to get back into things. Had the game changed? Were my cards still legal? Would I even want to play with other people?

I glanced around. There was one other person browsing the cards. She was around my age, by the looks of it, and dressed in a jet black leather skirt matched with a black turtleneck. A black choker, studded with silver, sat on her neck, and she wore black bracelets on both wrists. She wore black eyeliner, and her hair was so dark that I wondered whether she dyed it black too. Just a lot of black everywhere in her outfit, if I was being honest. Her eyes carefully studied one of the boxes of booster packs, as if trying to justify the cost of purchase.

I wagered that she probably knew her stuff… and if I was confused about the new Icons stuff, shouldn’t I ask her? I gulped—the thought of interrupting her browsing—introducing myself, was terrifying. But why though? Hadn’t I, in the last month alone, been shot by gangsters and terrorists; been gassed, defeated a villain that hit like a semi-truck, and survived enough drugs to kill ten men? Was asking a stranger a question really that scary?

Yes.

But I still had to try. I cleared my throat. “E-excuse me, s-sorry,” I said, “I-I haven’t played much I-Icons recently, and I-I’m wondering h-how to get back into it…”

The woman glanced at me, then smiled. “Oh! Well, I’d recommend getting the Icons of 2022 pack, they’ll have a bunch of the debut heroes and villains for this year’s rotation. Plus, they reprint popular old cards too, so it’s definitely a good place to start.”

“O-oh, cool! Anything else?”

“Hmmmm.” Her eyes scanned the shelf. “I’ve been really interested in Flashpoint: Vietnam, but it’s all old heroes from the late sixties and early seventies. Not sure that’s up your alley…” She reached up and grabbed a bright blue box and handed it to me. “That’s a hero starter set from this year, should have a full deck of cards with all the new abilities they introduced.”

“Cool,” I mumbled, finding myself a little overwhelmed… especially since I hadn’t played in ages.

Gordon appeared beside us, “You guys looking to play a round or two?” he asked. He was so fast I almost thought he teleported, and I half entertained the idea that his business acumen was a sort of superpower; drawing him to potential customers like a shark to blood.

“M-maybe!” the girl said, just as surprised as me by Gordon’s arrival.

“You know, if you’re looking to learn the game, we have some practice decks,” Gordon said. “You can try one out in a game for free.”

“Well, what do you say? Up for a round or two?” She smiled.

My heart fluttered at the mention of actually playing the game, but I nodded despite my panic. “S-sure!” I said.

“Great! I’ll get set up at that table, meet you there?”

“Sounds good!” I said.

“Cool!” she said. “My name’s Holly by the way, yours?”

“J-Jannette,” I said. “B-but you can call me Jan!”

“Cool, Jan, nice to meet you,” Holly said. “Meet you over there when you’re ready? I promise I’ll go easy on you.”

I laughed.