The next morning, Claire and Jim found themselves meeting with the local PR manager, Kyle.

Part of the PRT process for getting the Bay used to Jim and Claire included them being seen. As open capes, they had no secret identity to fall back on, and so PR wanted them visible, not just when they were on duty.

“The good news,” Kyle, the PRT’s local PR expert, said, “is that your costumes, other than your sword and some of the more, ah, spikey bits on your armor, Shadowdancer, work well with the image of knightly protectors.” He had gestured at Jim. “And without being crass, there’s a certain amount of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ going on.”

“Jim isn’t a beast!” Claire snapped.

Kyle didn’t crack a smile. “No, he isn’t. But many people will stop at the outer appearance. I believe you’ve already seen some of that on the forums?”

Claire folded her arms.

“Right. But we have an advantage here. You have to understand that the vast majority of parahumans with… unusual appearances not tied to a changer form are Case 53s. Amnesiacs and that can make it hard for them to effectively relate to society. Jim has the outer form but not the amnesia, and that gives us a chance to promote a more positive image of all parahumans with a non-traditional appearance. And part of that involves normalizing you, which means not just patrols, but, as much as you are comfortable, just mixing.”

“I can handle that,” Jim said.

“Good,” Kyle said. “Remember that this might be hard in some cases, but you’re not just helping yourself, but hundreds of other parahumans.”

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Part of getting to know the community included showing up in civilian guise, or at least as civilian as a seven-foot-tall half-troll could get.

Jim didn’t mind because sitting in HQ all day got boring, especially when you had to listen to Merlin and Blinky argue. Merlin saw no reason to not simply stay at the HQ, while Blinky wanted a “proper house” for Jim and Claire.

But it also meant that Jim could get out in the morning for walks or jogs, and right now, Jim was jogging down the boardwalk. Director Piggot had forbidden him and Claire from going beyond that part of town without an escort.

Jim didn’t mind. He’d never been much into jogging as a human, but now he could jog for as long as he wanted without getting tired.

And he could do it in the open. The clouds were heavy today, so he could probably stick around even if the sun came up. A few people waved at him, and Jim waved back.

This is so neat. Weird, but neat. The people in Arcadia had known him, but the rest of the nation… Jim remembered having to send Claire into little towns to get what they needed in the day time or lurking in the alleys at night. He’d hated it. What if someone got her? What if she needed help.

Merlin had been no help at all. “She defeated Morganna, and you think she would have difficulty with some thugs?” The wizard had snorted and gone back to his nap.

Happy thoughts, Jim, think happy thoughts.

He moved slightly to the left and passed a curly-haired girl Jim had seen a couple of times. Jim waved, she waved back and said nothing, focusing on her jog. Some of the early-morning joggers tried to keep up with him, usually preparatory to asking for an autograph. That threw Jim off of his game. Then there were the serious joggers, the girl, the man who was puffing along muttering about his paunch and a few others who were here for the jog. Jim adjusted his backpack and kept moving.

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A purple portal appeared next to him, and Claire appeared, wearing her own jogging sweats.

Jim slowed up. Claire was many things, but long-legged wasn’t among them. She glanced up at him. “I can keep up.”

“By cheating,” Jim pointed out. “What does it say to everyone else on the boardwalk?”

“That I am clever and quick-thinking,” Claire said. “And I made certain to pick the right place.”

Jim chuckled. “Then let’s go.” The Boardwalk Breakfast Banquet was set up so that most people could sit outside and watch the bay. Jim and Claire stood in line, ignoring the cell phones being used to take pictures and videos, and then got their food.

Or Claire got her breakfast muffin and hot chocolate, and Jim got his hot water. He opened up his pack, pulling out a bag, and poured the silvery powder into the water.

“Armsmaster?”

“And Dragon.” Jim shook his head. “I don’t know what Merlin did to annoy them, but right after that fight with the Merchants, they had me down in the infirmary, with Armsmaster running all kinds of scanners over me and asking me if Merlin had talked to me about my diet.” He stared at the shining powder. “They told me today that I’m supposed to have this at least once a day to prevent dietary issues.” Then Jim held up what looked like a bar of metal. “And I can’t eat spoons anymore. They made this for me.”

“That’s sweet,” Claire said.

“I think that the disorder from me eating socks and the cafeteria's spoons offended Armsmaster.” Jim chuckled. “But Blinky likes them.”

“I’m surprised they got Mr. Blinky out of the library.” Claire took a sip of her coca.

“So…” she said, putting her drink to the side. “We missed Christmas.”

“Yeah,” Jim said. “Go from late summer to winter in one magic jump.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t have presents…” Claire said, a smile on her face. She reached down and pulled up a package. “Here you go.”

Jim opened it up, and his eyes widened. It was a sweater, but it looked…

Okay, Jim wasn’t much of a clothes horse, but the way it was put together, complete with a view of the Bay on front, the buildings and Rig woven into it, was just… Wow.

“I was looking for clothes you could wear comfortably and Miss Militia told me about Parian—she’s a parahuman tailor.” Claire smiled. “I sort of… got a few different outfits for you. I convinced Armsmaster to give your exact measurements so we could surprise you.”

“Claire, this is…” Jim stared. Then he coughed and reached into his backpack and brought out a parcel. “Go ahead, open it.”

Claire did, and her eyes widened. “The Collected Works of Shakespeare…”

“I… I remembered how you couldn’t take a lot of stuff, and there was an antique bookstore that I saw, and Gallant sort of agreed to take me…”

Claire flung her arms around Jim, heedless of the cell phone cameras. “Jim, thank you so much!”

“Think you,” Jim said.

Then Claire sat back and looked at Jim. “But you may need to apologize to Miss Militia.”

“Why?”

“Assault got her a logo’d cup: Beware Friendly Fire.”

“Oh…” Jim said, putting one hand to his head.

“Yeah.” Claire smiled. “I think he might be this universe’s version of Steve.”

“Now that is scary. Steve with super powers.” Jim pretended to shudder. Well, mostly pretended.

Claire shook her head. “So, three more days until school. Are you ready?”

“Yeah!” Jim said. “I mean, I know that Clockblocker is looking like it’s the end of the world and Shadow Stalker…” He looked at Claire’s expression. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I just don’t like the way she keeps putting Vista down. It’s not like she’s more than two years older than Vista, and Vista’s been a cape longer than she has.”

“Blinky already apologized to Vista for grabbing her.”

“Yeah.” Claire fell silent for a few seconds. “So, ready?”

“Yep!”

“Terrified?”

“Out of my mind. Last night I dreamed that when I went to school the chair collapsed under me, and everyone was looking at me, and then the teacher came in, and he was Gunmar. Wearing some kind of ridiculous tie.” Jim loved the way Claire laughed. I miss mom, we have to go back but this… Just being able to sit out and eat with his girlfriend… He’d miss this.

“Also, Mr. Blinky has something for you, but I don’t know if it’s ready yet…” Claire said, a mischievous look on her face.

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“The engine could be modified—” Armsmaster pulled his hand back, barely avoiding getting hit by the wrench clutched in one of the troll’s hands.

“This is a classic Vespa, sir, with the minimum modifications needed to ensure that Master Jim’s larger frame can ride it! Master Jim and I will complete it, without risking it being turned into a high-tech war machine or a suit of armor!”