by Drew Hayes
A fear unlike any Ivan had experienced in battle gripped his heart. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you and I are a pair of unlikely friends. Best friends, sometimes, when things aren’t so complicated. After everything we’ve gone through with and for one another, I don’t see that changing quite so easily. But you also reminded me why that’s the most we can ever be, no matter how nice these last few weeks have been.”
She didn’t need to explain herself any more than that; not to him. He too had been enjoying their temporary partnership, a facsimile of domestic life that perhaps other versions of them could have enjoyed. Unfortunately, no matter how Ivan and Helen felt, Lodestar couldn’t take up with Fornax. Even their friendship pressed at the edges of acceptable morality. Lodestar was the golden standard the world looked to—a scandal like that could undo literal decades of positive work for the world.
Moving carefully, watching for any sign of resistance, ready to halt, Ivan reached out and lifted Helen’s chin, their eyes meeting in the lonely courtyard. “I understand.”
“I know you do. That’s part of why it hurts.” She put her hand over his, gripping it tightly. “Another world, another life, huh?” Wielding inner strength that had nothing to do with Lodestar, Helen pushed Ivan’s hand back to his chest, patting it once. It wasn’t the first time either had spoken those words to one another, though the occasions never seemed to get any easier.
“Who knows what could have been,” Ivan said, finishing out the phrase. “I’ll give you some space for a while.”
Helen nodded, despite the pained look on her face. “Penelope has a dance recital next month she’d hate for Uncle Ivan to miss. Let’s see how we’re feeling then.” For a moment, she looked over her shoulder to turn before pausing. “Goodbye, for now.”
“See you in a few weeks.” Ivan had wanted to say goodbye, as well; however, his tongue betrayed him, refusing to form the words. Not to her. For Helen, this was the most he could manage.
Ivan stood in his doorway, watching her leave, waiting until the courtyard gate clanged closed, and for five minutes afterward before finally closing the door and heading inside.
Sparks flitted from the shattered television, remote still embedded in the glass near dead center. Professor Quantum paid them no mind. He’d get around to fixing or replacing it when the need arose. For now, the art-piece on the nature of rage soothed him every time he looked at it. How dare that ungrateful little whelp use her position to slander their reputation in an attempt to build her own. Was it not enough that the AHC had given her and that guild adequate room to commit their atrocities thanks to “respecting the law?” Had they not dispatched Lodestar to her aid, in spite of knowing there were resources already willing to save her? This was her repayment? A line of products built on the assumption that the superheroes would fail?
His office door opened without warning, which meant there was one of two people who should be walking in. Only fellow members of the Champions’ Congress were permitted such free entrance, and moments later, he was relieved to see Quorum appear. The last thing he needed right now was one of Lodestar’s tiring speeches.
“Afternoon,” Quorum greeted. “Stopping by to let you know we moved the call with the Defense Department to five—only time we could get everyone you wanted on at once.”
“I am up to date with all emails and changes to the schedule.” Professor Quantum tapped his device—calling it a phone would be a genuine injustice to the amount of technology bundled inside. “I’m also too busy to bother with politeness. What do you need that had to be said in person?”
The brusqueness didn’t bother Quorum—who knew if anything did, really. He was truly impossible to get a handle on, the amalgamation of over a thousand unique voices and perspectives creating something wholly unique, and unnatural. “Very well. I came to tell you not to make any moves against the woman.”
While Professor Quantum briefly entertained the notion of playing dumb, there was little purpose. Quorum might not be a meta-genius; however, he had excellent observation and deductive skills, not that the embedded remote left much need for speculation.
“I could hardly help it if someone anonymously tipped off a few reporters about the new Indigo Technologies spokeswoman living a secret, villainous life. It’s not as if her identity is protected by the Orion Protocols the way that beast’s is.”
“Which would accomplish nothing, at this point,” Quorum explained, having already seen the situation from that and untold more angles. “Tori has no warrants for her arrest; she is at most wanted in connection to a minor museum robbery that insurance has already paid for. If you expose her now, she can pivot, using the chance to come out into the open about just how advanced her creations can be. Building a suit for self-protection already fits into the narrative she’s spinning, and currently, you’d have little support internally for trying to move against her. Hephaestus was on-site helping the New Science Sentries in their battle. None of them will care more about one potential heist than that.”
It was frustrating, being told that what should be such a simple fix would only end in error, but one ignored Quorum’s insight at their own peril. “I suppose you’ll advocate we take the high road and only strike through proper channels.”
“There would be no point in speaking such words to you,” Quorum replied, not incorrectly. “What I am advising is patience. Let her continue working in the shadows, sowing the seeds of her own destruction. There are no warrants for Hephaestus, currently. In time, thinking she’s slipped our notice, chances are strong she’ll take larger risks. Once there is a crime Hephaestus has committed, one significant enough to weaken the public’s approval and her own support within the AHC, then drawing a link between the villain and Tori could produce the results you’re after. Move too soon, lose the chance before it’s ripe. Not to mention, we don’t need the guild angry right now.”
Professor Quantum had been looking over the same reports, and the data was almost undeniable. Between the guild’s threat, Lodestar’s showy battle, and the AHC’s exceptional response to the alien invasion, crime was trending down once more. Even the misconduct still being committed was generally more low-key—the New Science Sentries had run down the first bank robbers of the week earlier that day. Peace was good. It kept the AHC looking effective and made the public more docile, easier to manage. The current situation was tenuous; tipping the guild to retribution could indeed cause more harm than momentary vengeance would be worth.
“Very well. I’ll wait for a better opportunity to strike with her identity. Until then, I’ll have to busy myself by checking each and every one of her devices for the slightest violation of federal defense statutes. Perhaps we can get them all recalled.” Hitting his keyboard without delay, Professor Quantum pulled up Indigo Technologies’ website, now with Tori’s face and new product line splashed across the front page. A few clicks, and suddenly, a distinct frown settled on the usually distinguished face.
“Something wrong?” Quorum asked.
While still professional, it was impossible to miss the terse annoyance sliding through Professor Quantum’s voice. “It seems the launch announcement struck a chord. There’s already a two week backorder.”
The guild was bustling. Tori had no sooner walked up from the teleportation chamber than she nearly collided with Gork, who pivoted her tremendous mass with delicate grace, stepping to Tori’s side at the last moment.
“Whoops, sorry,” Tori quickly sputtered.
“Happens to everyone.” Gork readjusted her position, revealing Stasis and Arachno Bro, who’d both been blocked by her substantial size.
Pointing up to the ceiling, Stasis gestured. “We need to get one of those office bubble-mirror thingies installed there, make it easier to see who is coming from every angle. Also, going to need a high-five from Hephaestus over here. Caught your commercial this afternoon and loved it. ‘Save ourselves,’ that’s going to piss the capes right off.”
“Thanks. I tried to walk the line and not seem like I was coming after them. Figured that would bring down more heat than we wanted.” To say nothing of how it would impact the friends she had in that organization, hearing her speak those words. In the end, Tori had found her peace with the marketing strategy in the simple facts of the matter: everything she’d said was true. The AHC had failed to save her, because they couldn’t be everywhere at once. Beyond that, Tori sincerely did believe her inventions could help others from ending up in the same situation. If the capes had a real problem with the fact that they weren’t able to protect everyone, then maybe they should take it as a sign to step up their game.
Gork gave her a slow, unmissable nod. “Doc wouldn’t let you cross any lines. With apologies, we have a facility appointment to keep.”
“That’s right!” Stasis slapped the metal box in Arachno Bro’s arms, causing an unexpectedly harmonic note to ring out. “We hired the Bytes to play around with some of the Wrexwren tech so handily left on their corpses—need a place with special shielding to test this out.”
“Gonna be loud,” Arachno Bro added, adjusting his many-armed grip to ensure the device was perfectly snug. He was putting in enough effort to make Tori wonder what would happen if it was dropped, and how close she should really be standing.
With a wave, Tori opted to take the graceful exit they’d presented. “Have fun! I’m off to go do some tinkering myself.”
The trio headed out, barely missing getting run into by Pod Person and Killcitate as they emerged from the teleportation chamber, proving that Stasis was indeed right about the need for a bubble-mirror. Tori went another way, winding her way along the exterior path even though there were more direct routes inside.
It was startling to realize how much the island had changed just since its unveiling. New buildings were added to the town, a fresh green bubbling pit of unknown goop had appeared to the north, and it appeared that some sort of trees with faces were beginning to dot the nearest shoreline. The rest of the guild had been busy with their own activities and projects, most of which were likely even more bizarre than her own. Perhaps it was time to start spending more time around her fellow villains. The bonds formed here wouldn’t necessarily be any less complicated, but at least they’d be on the same side. Unless another insurrection formed, anyway.
Rounding a corner, Tori caught sight of Lance and Warren, or maybe Pest Control and Glyph. She needed to start thinking of them in their villainous roles with or without the costumes, but it wasn’t as if the other guild members weren’t familiar with one another. Maybe she’d just ask if they cared; sometimes, there were upsides to a reputation for bluntness.
The duo were part of a quartet hauling a giant red cube lashed onto a hefty cart, with one person manning each corner, shoving it along. Both offered a sweaty wave, forgoing verbal greetings due to their gulping breaths. Tori walked a bit further and found herself looking at an identical cube, only this one was being pushed by a single meaty hand belonging to Thuggernaut.
“Looky here, we got ourselves a celebrity.” Johnny Three Dicks poked his head around the side, making no pretense that he’d been in any way helping with the task. “What’s the going rate on one of those handbags paired with your signature?”
“I’m going to shoot straight with you, Johnny: you don’t have the shoulders to pull off that model.”
He clutched his chest, reeling back as if struck. “I like the attack, but you’ll have to pick a target other than these perfect shoulders if you want to land a blow. Besides, the design is a bit too splashy for me. I like clean lines. I was going to sell the thing online—you do know there’s already a backorder, right?”
“What Johnny means is congratulations on your new endeavor. It sounds like it’s already been very successful,” Thuggernaut stepped in to add.
The eye roll of Johnny Three Dicks was so perfect, it very well might have qualified as a superpower in itself. “Spoilsport. Anyway, nice to see you, but we’ve got to get these... materials to... a place or something will... are meltsplosions officially a thing? Can’t remember how the voting went.”
“We’re on a schedule. Good to see you, Tori, and congratulations from me, as well.” Thuggernaut resumed pushing the block, which had darkened slightly in hue, unless Tori was mistaken. She gave them a wide berth to head past her.
Watching the odd pair wander down the slope, Tori momentarily marveled at how normal the whole exchange had felt. Less than a year with these maniacs, and she was already getting accustomed to the madness. Craving it, at times, especially when normal life was fraught with more complex problems. Dealing with a meta-suit that wasn’t strong enough: simple. Start upgrading one piece at a time until one reached the desire level. It was people who made things complicated.
On her phone, an unanswered text from Donald lingered. A simple, short message: “Saw the commercial, congratulations on starting your new business. Let me know if you want to go celebrate.” She’d implied the entire enterprise he was devoting his life to wasn’t adequately doing its job, and he’d responded with an olive branch. That was the trouble with capes—they took the higher path, which made her feel all the more shitty about the slight. Were they just going to ignore it? Because her gut said the rest of Cyber Geek’s team might have different words the next time they all hung out. She didn’t know what to say back, which was why the message lingered, every passing minute potentially making the reply all the more awkward.
Suddenly looking around, Tori realized she’d taken a wrong turn. Instead of her initial destination, she’d veered off toward the council offices, where one might find Pseudonym when he was around. Of course, Ivan didn’t have an express reason to be here, so he wouldn’t be. Tori spun around, absolutely secure in that knowledge right up until she nearly collided with Ivan’s elbow.
He didn’t dodge, merely vanished and reappeared in a different point. Sometimes, she forgot he could do short-range teleports at will—one more talent piled atop so many others. If she wanted to climb into that league, the world where people like Alfred Settler couldn’t make her feel powerless, then there was very long trek ahead, and today was only one step of countless.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Ivan greeted, stealing her own line quite effectively. “Don’t you want to go out and celebrate the new endeavor? I imagined Beverly would have put together an enjoyable outing for you all.”
“Fancy dinner and unfancy drinks at some swanky place uptown.” Tori was already annoyed by the dress code, but it wasn’t as if she hadn’t gotten accustomed to office attire at Vendallia; she could certainly muddle through for a high-end meal. “It’s on Indigo’s dime, at least. Now that I’m a public figure, Wade wants me seen around town more, flaunting the merchandise.”
“Making yourself a target for anyone who wants to give them a test,” Ivan pointed out.
The idea had occurred to Tori, and she responded with a mild shrug. “I was a target before, I’m still a target now. The difference is, if the AHC lets me get attacked, they give me a chance to show off while also proving that they can’t always be there. The smart money is I’m going to be very protected by the superheroes until they figure out a countermove.”
“Which means it will be dangerous to act as Hephaestus.” Lifting his hands, Ivan gestured around them to the villainous volcano lair in which they stood. “Part of why I thought you might take a little time to lay low. There are a lot more eyes on Tori Rivas than there once were.”
“But only a fraction of the ones on p
eople like Wade Wyatt,” she countered. “You are sort of half-right. I’m planning to lay low on the villain stuff for a while. The suit is due for an overhaul. Between everything I’ve learned and the new resources I’ve got access to, it no longer represents my best efforts. Doing a new build right takes time, so Hephaestus can take a breather while Tori gets her empire running.”
Ivan let out a half-sigh, half-chuckle as he shook his head. “It’s my own fault for expecting anything less. I’ll let you get to it then.”
He started to step past her, but Tori shifted her weight to block him. Despite the fact that he’d moments ago proven that she was no obstacle, Ivan still allowed her to halt his progress. “Hang on there, bucko, what are you doing here? There’s no council meeting I’m aware of, not with Gork and Stasis on some weird weapons test, and no pressing emergencies to handle. That tends to be all that draws you to this place.”
It was bizarre, seeing Ivan look uncertain, like watching a mountain crack a joke. He shifted back slightly, scratching under his chin. “In truth... I was a bit bored. The kids are with their mom, no Starscouts work to do, and even the office is still closed until next week.” Although Ivan didn’t mention the other friend he might have wanted to spend time with, Tori already knew things were tense with Helen; no need to rub salt in the wound. “I thought perhaps there might be tasks to do around here, get ahead of things for a change.”
Whether or not it was wise for Ivan to spend more time here, Tori couldn’t be sure. He clearly needed to keep himself busy, and being around friends was a good move in rough times, but this place had a way of drawing people deeper in. Ivan himself had been the one to warn her about that. Still, if anyone could handle the balance, it was likely to be one of the guild’s own founders. There were surely better places to direct her concern.
“You know I’m not going to be coming into the office anymore, right?” Tori had already been transferred off Vendallia’s payroll—though since it was an Indigo Technologies subsidy, she was technically getting heavily promoted rather than changing companies.