Unity

by Carl Stubblefield

  “Well, I knew you worked with computers…”

  Yuki opened her eyes and gestured in a circular ‘go-on’ motion.

  Aurora struggled to add anything more, and succeeded only in stuttering and stammering.

  “…and that was about it, wasn’t it?” Yuki finished as if this was a foregone conclusion. She turned to look at the fire, using it as a focus as she continued. “I could see what was going to happen if I kept doing what everyone wanted me to do. I would be the IT girl, always fielding inane questions and getting the computers to work again. You probably wouldn’t understand since you’ve been in the field so often. But this was my chance to show what I could do. I didn’t really know Tempest’s wife like most of the Crew who volunteered, but I had to do it. I’m not going to let myself get funneled into that job. I feel like I have so much more in store for me. I’m not going to settle for that. It’s not why I joined a Faction and went through all that training.” She turned and looked Aurora in the eyes, and the flames of the campfire were reflected in barely restrained tears.

  “My strengths are almost all mental. I probably should have gone Green Faction, but that would be the same as working for a corporate thinktank. Using my abilities to datamine and make money for someone else. All under the guise of helping the Faction.

  “My father is watching me like a hawk, waiting for me to fail. His pride was bruised that I did not agree to work for the family business. Seeing my powers as just another asset that he could leverage to surpass the frenemies he works so hard to impress. While they work just as hard to show some ridiculous superiority through their own business successes. My brothers all fell into line, and rebellious little Yuki is destined to bring shame to the family playing with supers.”

  “Yikes. That sounds like a direct quote.” Aurora winced in distaste.

  “It is,” Yuki spat, “the kind said intentionally loud enough to be heard by the intended target, complete with the accompanying mock embarrassment. I’m not saying that I have everything figured out, but I know I want more than the limited things others have planned for me. I’m almost to the point that I enjoy their shocked and offended looks.” She shifted on the rock she was using for a seat and wrapped the space blanket around her tighter, gripping it with clenched fists before going on.

  “Well, it’s probably more accurate to say that I’m getting numb to their disdain.” She turned back to the fire, coughing and clearing her throat. “I think I need to prove to myself that I can make it in the field. But so far I think I’m doing pretty damn good.”

  Aurora turned and looked at the fire as well. “You’ve been doing awesome so far. And thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For sharing that. I have been so driven to progress that I haven’t really worked that hard at creating any relationships within the Faction. Either that, or I’ve been promoted into departments where I haven’t known anyone. I guess after a while I just focused on the job at hand. I doubt many people know about my past either.”

  “So tell me,” Yuki remarked simply.

  And so Aurora did. It was easier to tell the story while looking at the fire. Relating her past as if it had happened to someone else. It felt like it had happened to a different person. Yuki didn’t interrupt, and encouraged her with occasional acknowledgements. Soon she had summarized her time with Purple Faction, and how she had ended up on the station, and how proud she felt to have progressed to the command of such a prestigious position.

  Then she related the attack on the space station and her time in Manticorps’ dungeon. She decided to edit out discovering her Nth and when going on to discuss the events that happened on the island, giving a truncated version of what had happened there. She had no real reason to do so, but she felt that if Gus wanted to fill in the gaps about everything then she would let him do that. Aurora could tell by her occasional glances at Yuki that she could tell there was more to the story, but Yuki didn’t press.

  A loud rustling sound distracted her as she was nearing the end of her story where the Crew arrived on the island. She stopped and looked over at Yuki, who was unfurling and opening a zipper on her belt. Yuki reached inside and came out with a handful of oblong packages.

  “Sorry, my stomach is starting to grumble. What sounds good to you? Let’s see… I’ve got: birthday cake, red velvet, peanut butter fudge, chocolate chip.” She held up the packages to the firelight to read the writing on the covers.

  “Let me try the red velvet.”

  Yuki tossed the package over to Aurora and she unwrapped the meal bar. The difference between the protein bars at the manor was evident as she bit into the flavored wafer that was as good as any candy bar. She hadn’t realized she was hungry until she started eating and Yuki threw another bar over, seeing Aurora scarf the first one as quickly as she did.

  While the cafeteria had done a good job at making meals, desserts weren’t really an offering, and sometimes she just had a craving for something decadent. The second bar turned out to be peanut butter and Aurora took more time to savor the chocolate coated treat. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

  “Yuki, you are a lifesaver.” Aurora sighed.

  “I love these things. The owner of the company is a super who has specialized in molecular gastronomy and I don’t know how he gets these to taste so good with what’s in them and how good they are supposed to be for you. Better living through superpowers.” Yuki licked her fingers, removing some of the white cream-cheese frosting from the cake bar.

  “What else you got in there?” Aurora scooted over closer to Yuki and they checked out what else was in the stash. From there, the conversation drifted into less intense subjects and the two laughed and bonded under the bright starlight far into the night.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Connection

  Sitting in the small room, BoJack had to admit he was impressed. Unlike most airline lavatories, the ones on the transports were of a decent size, most likely to accommodate larger supers. The ample sink space and large mirror could be an influence of female supers as well. Plus a little privacy was nice after being around people for weeks.

  He liked the brief solitude a bathroom break offered. He’d have to look into a suit redesign as well. He didn’t know what was more of a hassle, the suit getting untucked and exposing his midriff to attack or when he had to take care of business and practically undress to answer the call of nature.

  The transport rocked violently with some turbulence, and he bounced in the air off the toilet. He hit with a loud *clack* as the rim was slammed down when he fell back upon it. His face contorted in revulsion at the sensations that he had felt with the brief bounce.

  “Should have done that courtesy flush,” he muttered regretfully.

  Then the room dipped and he was free falling.

  After healing, BoJack’s second most evolved ability was the manipulation of light into solid constructs. He usually fashioned them into different thin appendages and had worked his way up to controlling six independent constructs. Forming a sheet next to his exposed posterior he pushed away the offensive material and sealed the barrier sheet like cling wrap over the toilet, tying off the construct so he could focus on the next task at hand. He struggled to wiggle back into his suit which was more difficult than one might expect while free-falling. Once his arms were in, a construct arm zipped him up and he burst out of the lavatory.

  “Definitely redesigning this damn thing!” he shouted.

  The wind whipped furiously and the tail of the transport was dipping. BoJack extended more cable-like arms to grab the seats and climb towards the breach as the section of the ship became nearly vertical. When he was four rows from the top, he saw Gus finally wrestle free of his seatbelt and dive out. BoJack kept an eye on him as he propelled himself up and out. He leaned forward, arms at his side like a bullet and was gone.

  BoJack scrambled to get out and follow as he modified two of his constructs to wing-suit shapes on either side of his body. Th
e constructs caught the wind and slowly he pulled away from the falling wreckage. He could hover by using his cables as propellers, but he couldn’t propel himself like other fliers. He wanted to be as far away from the transport as possible in case something decided to explode.

  If only he could have reached Gus first, he could have attached a cable to him like he was water skiing. BoJack threw out a party invite to Gus, hoping that he wasn’t out of range.

  “Act faster next time,” he berated himself. His cheeks began to burn as the air rushing past began to chill him. He extended a construct to cover his exposed skin, as well as protect his eyes. Immediately, without the distraction of the air blasting against him, he could see the snow and trees rapidly approaching below him. He adjusted his posture, trying to slow his fall. When he noticed no slowing, he pushed the edges of his construct out further, hoping to create more drag before he was among the trees. He was managing to stay around twenty feet above the treetops, following the downslope of the mountain below. Suddenly, the forest dropped away and he was over a deep ravine. He breathed a sigh of relief until he saw another wall of trees ahead of him on the opposing rise.

  He leaned hard to one side, trying to turn parallel to the ravine, but he was approaching too fast. He closed his eyes and braced for impact. He barreled into something and found himself spinning in another direction. Expecting a sudden stop and intense pain, he opened his eyes and saw Gus circling around trying to catch up to him. His trajectory was altered and he was spinning upwards, tumbling like a fly ball. Instinctively, he extended four short propeller cables to stabilize himself. They slowed his spin but were insufficient to stop him from corkscrewing toward the tree line again.

  Another jolt and he stopped spinning. Gus held him a bit awkwardly, like he was trying to give him the Heimlich. BoJack vanished the propeller cables that whipped close to Gus’ face and they leveled out. The trees below fell away, revealing a large lake nestled between two steep rises.

  Their descent slowed and with a clumsy landing they both slipped and slid on the round rocks that lined the shore of the lake, but managed to keep their feet under them. Staggering to a stop, they both remained bent over, arms on their thighs as they caught their breath.

  “Thanks, mate,” BoJack said over the mental comm.

  Gus nodded and gave a weak salute. When they had both caught their breath, Gus motioned for BoJack to follow.

  “I saw a large section of the transport go down over here,” Gus motioned towards one particular rise. “There’s no smoke and I didn’t hear it crash so someone must’ve helped it land without damage.” Gus began to fly again as the dense undergrowth surrounding the lake became a thick mass.

  BoJack extended multiple cable arms and used them to climb up to the treetops and held himself aloft as the cables snaked out and found purchase points. Gus was impressed at the super’s skills, appearing like a scuttling spider as the cables bounced him along, swaying to maneuver around trees. Occasionally, one cable would break the branch underneath it and he would dip a bit, but there was enough support from the other extensions that he never seemed in danger of falling.

  “Who do you think attacked us? And why?” Gus asked over the mental link to break up the monotony of travel.

  “Can’t rightly say. Bloody rude of whatever egg decided to attack us though, especially when I was indisposed.” When Gus looked over with confusion on his face, BoJack quickly went on, “Never mind about that. So tell me about yourself, Gus. We haven’t really had a chance to get acquainted, but I think you did right by the team when fighting those wraiths. I think all of us were wondering how you would handle yourself.”

  Gus was unsure of what to say or where to begin. He really had no framework for what was normal among supers in general and what was kept close to the vest. The words of the Oracle about not discussing his unique abilities. Which ones were unique? They all seemed a bit strange and new and, from what he had gathered from Aurora, there seemed to be no cohesive theme to his powers as it seemed like most supers had.

  “You okay, mate?”

  “Sorry, just trying to figure out where to start. I didn’t get my abilities until a little over a month ago. It’s kind of been a whirlwind and I’m still figuring things out.”

  “No worries, cuz. Why don’t we do this: I ask a question and then you ask one and we go back and forth to pass the time. I’m sure you have a lot of questions; I know I did when my powers first arrived. Go ahead, ask me anything.”

  Gus exhaled and he felt his tension drop a couple of notches. He felt awkward opening up to someone who was almost a stranger, but BoJack’s encouraging smile soothed his usual need for privacy. Oh, why not?

  “Well, lately I’ve been feeling kind of overwhelmed,” Gus began, surprised as the words spilled out. “I don’t really know what’s normal when supers interact. I mean, I got along fine when it was just me and Aurora, but I kinda feel like an outsider when everyone is in a big group. I don’t know where I fit in, and don’t really know how to break the ice, so I’ve been staying to myself.”

  “That’s not really a question, but I can see you’re having a mare about this.” Seeing Gus’ confusion he amended, “I see you’re having a tough time with fitting in, which is understandable. Let me tell you our side of the situation and then I get to ask my question of you.

  “All of the Crew went to the Academy years ago, and we’ve all been on countless teams and missions. Some of them I know better than others, but we have a feel for everyone’s abilities and personalities. It’s considered kind of impolite to be too nosy about someone’s powers, but working with people in training and on missions, you get a feel for how they work and how you can support each other.

  “Not having any idea of how you fight or what abilities you possess has made you a bit of a mystery. Up until that last fight, we didn’t really know what to expect when things got serious. Some trainees fold early on and never make it out of the Academy, so we never have to deal with that in the day to day. I think we all breathed a collective sigh of relief with how you managed yourself.

  “Some supers are too reckless and others are too timid. You need the right blend of balls and brains to support the team. I’ll bet you made your dad proud with how you held yourself and weren’t afraid to jump in and help. That says heaps in my book.”

  “Well, thanks, that’s actually encouraging to hear. I think I’m still a bit starstruck being around you guys. You seem to have it all down.”

  “Don’t put any supers up on pedestals, cuz. We’re all just people. Don’t ever let yourself forget that.” BoJack’s naturally ebullient, friendly voice turned serious and severe. “I’m serious about that. It’s kind of in the super handbook to project this aura of control and authority, and for the most part everyone believes it. But just so you know, a lot of us are faking it until we make it.”

  Gus nodded in surprise as BoJack continued, “So what has been the biggest change since you got your powers, Gus?”

  Gus blew out a breath. He knew the answer but was hesitant to say it, but figured, what the hell.

  “I think I’m still trying to find out what I want to do with my powers and how life is going to be different. I won’t lie, I was on cruise control for a long time as a reg and now I’m having all these ethical dilemmas and trying to figure out what to focus on and improve. Lately I’ve been kind of stagnating compared to how I was progressing earlier and it’s a bit frustrating.”

  “What have you been doing? I’ll try to help you out—don’t worry, I’m counting that as my second question, so you get to ask two.”

  “Fair enough. First, I was fighting zombie Dark Nth left on the island and I was gaining skills left and right. Then I was…” Gus almost talked about leeching powers, but quickly revised it to, “…fighting supers to keep the manor. But now that has slowed down and there’s not as much XP to be had.”

  “That’s to be expected. My abilities improved a lot in those early years. Now I have to
innovate and apply my current abilities in inventive ways if I want to gain any XP at all. So if I get this right, you’ve just been fighting and training skills? What about crafting?”

  “I’ve done a little bit making shelters on the island and even making clothes. That’s about it. Unless you count Ether Weaving.”

  Gus kept flying forward and when the silence dragged on, he looked back to see BoJack standing agape, having stopped crawling across the trees.

  “What?” Gus asked, flying back.

  “You’re serious? You have an ability named Ether Weaving?”

  “Yeah. What’s the big deal? I thought most abilities use it to some degree or another for their powers.”

  BoJack looked down at the swaying tree tops below, as if studying something there.

  “Tell me already,” Gus said, worry starting to edge into his voice.

  “Are you really telling me you have no idea?”

  “Does that count as question three?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dream Weaver

  BoJack shielded his eyes as he looked at the sun.

  “Let’s head down and set up a camp. This may take a while and I don’t want to be distracted.”

  They descended through a narrow gap caused by a fallen tree, breaking the dense canopy of trees. BoJack reminded Gus of a lineman working on an electrical pole with how his cables slid down the trunk to the tree.

  The scent of pine grew thicker as they settled to the forest floor, dense with fallen needles. It was also much darker with the branches overhead blocking out the waning light, making it seem later than it was.

  “Okay, long story short, Gus, is that I think we both could really benefit from working together. Are you familiar with mentors as it relates to supers?” BoJack’s eyes were wide with excitement and his eyes darted around as if trying to plan and assess multiple things at once.