by Drew Hayes
“I see.”
“No, you don’t. You don’t believe me, and that’s okay. I’m not here to convince you. I’m just here to get you drunk and help you come to terms with last night’s fiasco.”
“I don’t get drunk. I’ve always just sent the alcohol directly to my bladder.”
“Maybe give the bloodstream a shot this time,” Roy suggested. “Or don’t. Your call.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, the sun making the shadows shift as it descended through the sky. Eventually Chad spoke up, realizing there something they had touched on in the discussion he was still curious about.
“I just realized: you implied your dad was a well-known Hero as well. Who was he?”
Roy had a nearly full glass, which he drained in a single swig before replying. “Titan.”
“Your father was Titan?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh,” Chad said softly. “I can see how that would leave you feeling a bit fucked up.”
107.
The others had left the office after the meeting was done, but Professor Pendleton lingered. Dean Blaine didn’t admonish him or even encourage him to vacate. Instead he poured two healthy glasses of dark liquor and slid one to his employee. The day’s revelations, real or not, struck home for these two in a way the others couldn’t truly understand. Globe might not be dead. That was a game changer. Especially for his former classmates.
“I always said it was fishy. We’ve been around too long to know that you can never confirm a kill without the body.”
“Localized gravitational vortexes don’t leave much evidence,” Dean Blaine pointed out.
“They also shouldn’t affect someone with Globe’s power.”
“I think having his arm torn off would distract even the most focused of minds.”
“Maybe,” Professor Pendleton conceded.
“Maybe,” Dean Blaine agreed.
Both men sipped their drinks in silence for a few moments. Professor Pendleton shifted uncomfortably. “You know what gives me the shivers? I mean, the real, deep-down-in-my gut quake of fear that it might be him?”
“Do tell.”
“The kid. Vince. If Globe did somehow survive and go live off the grid as a hobo, the smart thing to do would be staying alone. Minimize exposure. Picking up some child, some Powered child at that, and raising him as your own, tactically it makes no sense. It would be a tremendous risk with no logistical upside.”
“All true,” Dean Blaine concurred.
Professor Pendleton took another gulp of his drink. “And it’s exactly the kind of thing Globe would do.”
“He was always the best of us.”
“Until he killed Intra,” Professor Pendleton pointed out.
“There is one upside to this if he is alive, you know. We have a chance to get answers, to find out why he did it.”
“I’m not sure that’s really an upside.”
“How so?”
“Because if whatever it was could drive someone as decent and powerful as Globe to do all this, I’m afraid those might be answers we don’t want.”
Dean Blaine didn’t have a reply at the ready for that. Instead he topped off both their glasses. Staring into the swirling brown depths, he realized how little sense his world made anymore. Things had been so different only a few decades ago.
“Globe,” he muttered to himself.
* * *
“Globe?”
“Yeah, because of how my powers affect things in a radius,” Blaine explained.
“They do, but you also have that direct attack thing you can do. I remember when you made Victor spend a whole weekend as a human. I thought he was going to climb the walls by the time his power came back,” Joshua chuckled.
Blaine laughed too. It might have been a bit harsh, but Victor had downed all of their beer and thrown up on the sofa. It seemed like a harmless way to get some revenge.
“So you don’t like it?”
“It’s not that; I guess it just doesn’t seem like it fits you,” Joshua explained.
“Well, let’s hear the one you've been kicking around then.”
Joshua flashed him that award-winning smile. “Intra,” he said, spreading his hands out as if he was framing the word.
“And you gave me guff over Globe?”
“Think about it. Intra literally means ‘within.’ What better way to encapsulate my abilities?”
“I don’t know, how about Molecular Control Man?” Blaine tossed out.
“First off, I control my body down to a molecular level, but it’s more than just shifting atoms around. Secondly, there already is a Molecule Man.”
“There is?”
“Yeah, new guy that works in Seattle,” Joshua elaborated.
“I’m out of touch.”
“Most seniors have bigger stuff on their mind. Only reason I remembered is because of my recall.”
Blaine nodded. He hated Joshua a bit for that aspect of his abilities. Being able to conjure any memory perfectly at will made school almost a waste of time for Joshua. He could read the textbook on the first day of class, skip the rest, and still ace every test. Not that he ever did: he was prompt and studious in every endeavor. Somehow that just made it worse.
“Well, if Globe is so bad, what would you recommend?”
“Again, it’s not bad, it’s just not right for you,” Joshua protested. “If I had to think of a good name for you I’d go with something like Zero.”
Blaine’s eyes narrowed and his good humor began to evaporate.
“Oh, don’t give me that look. I don’t mean as an insult. I mean it like a mathematical zero.”
“Explain.”
“Basic multiplication,” Joshua said, turning and taking in the view off Clarissa’s balcony once more. “Anything you multiply by zero becomes zero. It turns any number, no matter how large, into an empty theoretical hole. That’s kind of what you do to the rest of us.”
“By that explanation I’m also an empty hole, seeing as I am the zero they interact with.”
“Somebody is feeling sensitive tonight. It’s just supposed to be symbolic.”
“It seems like a stretch.”
“Better than going literal. Or do you fancy being known as The Deactivator? Perhaps something a little sportier, like Power Down?” Joshua suggested.
“Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. I still think I can do better than Zero.”
“Find what fits you best,” Joshua said. “Then ignore anybody who doesn’t get it. That's what I'm trying to do.”
“So I should stick with Globe?”
“God, no.”
They shared a laugh at that, and Joshua turned to head back inside. Miriam would be waiting for him with a warm kiss that tasted like peppermint. Blaine still remembered that flavor; there were nights he woke from a good dream and swore he could taste it on his lips. Those kisses belonged to Joshua now. The only ones Blaine could still enjoy were in the better-preserved portions of his memories. He tried very hard not to be bitter about the happy greeting that Joshua was going back to. Sometimes he almost succeeded.
“Hey, let me know if you do decide to use something other than Globe,” Joshua tossed over his shoulder as he reached the door.
“Why?”
“Well, it’s a bad fit for you, but I think it would be perfect for someone else.”
Blaine didn’t have to think hard to figure out who Joshua meant.
“Tell him he can have it.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll find something that feels more like me.”
“Thanks, Blaine, you’re a solid guy.” Joshua shut the door carefully behind him, leaving Blaine alone with the balcony once again.
He stared off at the California sky and tried not to think about how right now the woman he loved was wrapping her arms around that blonde bastard’s shoulders and pulling herself close to him. Part of him wanted to kick the door down and scream about how she had
made a mistake. Part of him wanted to leap off this balcony just so he would feel like he was doing something. Part of him wanted to cry. Instead he just kept staring at the sky.
“Zero.” Blaine tested the word on his tongue. It seemed curiously appropriate, because at this moment that was exactly what he felt like. A nothing. A forgotten, empty hole.
A zero.
108.
By Wednesday things had calmed down a bit for Nick. He’d gotten his plan outlined for Mary, who was finally beginning to warm up to it; he had helped explain their theory of his new power to Vince, who was confused but open-minded; and he had turned in his tailing assignment for Professor Pendleton’s class. He’d done nearly all of the legwork before Camille’s party, yet it still felt good to have the papers handed in so they could be marveled at. Nick enjoyed the written assignments; they were the one area where he didn’t have to diminish his own performance for the sake of keeping character. Sometimes the professor would even call him in to talk about the methods he’d used to achieve such results. Therefore it didn’t surprise him when he noticed his daily cipher instructed him to be at class half an hour early. What did surprise him was when he arrived to find both Professor Pendleton and Alice waiting for him.
“You know, if you’re going to stage an intervention, I think you need more than two people,” Nick pointed out.
“Can you throw an intervention because someone is a douche? Damn, I’d have put one together for you in our first week if I’d known that,” Alice countered.
“Cute as your verbal dry-humping is, I think you both know why I’ve called you here,” Professor Pendleton interrupted. He pulled two stapled stacks of paper from his desk.
“No idea,” Nick replied, for once, honestly.
“It’s because we turned in the same tailing assignment,” Alice said.
“Wrong, it is because you both turned in the same... wait, what?”
“Well, virtually the same, I mean. Nick probably had a few Watches I didn’t, and I know I had a bunch of Spots that weren’t on his.”
“I am just so very confused,” Nick said.
Professor Pendleton held up the twin stacks of paper, which Nick now recognized as their respective tailing assignments. As he looked at the first page he realized something; Alice’s was identical to his own save only for name and penmanship.
“I know you two are teammates, and I do respect a desire to help each other out; however, you must know that even in a class as morally grey as mine you cannot allow another student to copy your work. This undermines the act of learning, which is what you are here to do.”
“Professor, I didn’t let Alice copy my work,” Nick protested.
“He really didn’t,” Alice confirmed.
“Oh? Then how did you happen to provide near identical Watches to his?”
“I stole them.”
“You stole them.”
“I stole them,” she repeated.
“How the hell did you steal my answers?” Nick asked.
“Remember when you left me alone to clean the boy’s bathroom this weekend?”
“Yes, but I only let you into the bathroom. All of my notes were in my bedroom,” Nick pointed out.
“Yeah, fun fact. When your father pays for, facilitates, and largely lets you design the building you live in, getting universal access on all the doors actually isn’t that hard.”
“Then how... oh, you wily girl,” Nick said, realization dawning at last.
“Would someone care to explain the rest of this to me?” Professor Pendleton said.
“Friday night Nick pretended he was bad at singing so I’d beg him to get on stage and do karaoke,” Alice summarized. “In return he wanted me to do something humiliating as well. I floated the idea of cleaning the boys’ bathroom, and he accepted. When it turned out he could sing, I pouted and acted pissed, so he felt good enough about his little trick that he never thought twice about leaving me on the boys’ side unattended. I also took the precaution to make sure he’d leave by reminding our captain she hadn’t gotten his plans for the upcoming match yet. After that, it was just a matter of opening the door and taking a few photos with my cell phone.”
“So you knew I could sing?”
“I suspected, but it didn’t really matter. We weren’t making a bet, we were striking a deal, so I was obliged regardless. You were very careful to structure it that way.” Alice flashed him a smile that Nick was quite accustomed to giving and not so accustomed to seeing on other people.
“A daring and well-crafted plan,” Professor Pendleton said. “Sadly, it has nothing to do with tailing, which was the assignment.”
“The assignment was to get information, which I did. Quite a lot of it, actually: well over twenty points, even if none of my Spots count.”
“Yet you stole the vast bulk of it from another student’s efforts. What on earth would make you think that was acceptable?”
In response Alice pulled out and unfolded a slip of paper from her uniform’s pocket then slapped it on the desk. It was the syllabus from the first day of Subtlety class. Her well-manicured nail pointed at the third entry, a single word in bold print: “Cheat.”
“Ms. Adair, this does not-”
“I created a plan with multiple steps, I used a person’s own trick against them, I adapted to changing circumstances on the fly, and I executed it all without my target’s knowledge. The goal of this class exercise was information gathering. Tailing was just the recommended technique. Or is it your contention that methods are more important than results?”
Professor Pendleton looked over at Nick, who could only shrug. Nearly everything she’d said were Professor Pendleton’s own words and wisdom that had been dispersed throughout his class lectures. He turned his attention back to the near identical submissions and took in a very deep breath.
“Fine,” Professor Pendleton said at last. “However, if this ever happens again, I’ll be giving you a zero, Nick.”
“Who to the what now?”
“You heard me. She caught me by surprise with this stunt too, so I can hardly hold you to a higher standard. From here on it’s a different story. If you don’t guard your information then you give your enemy the advantage. So if she manages to steal your stuff again then you’ll get a zero,” Professor Pendleton explained.
“What about the extra challenge to skip the final?” Alice asked.
“After your next team event. I’ll need to get the necessary permissions and, of course, finish grading, just in case anyone else qualified. Now both of you go take a walk before class. I don’t feel like entertaining you.”
Alice and Nick took the hint and retreated into the hallway immediately. As they walked down the concrete corridors, Nick looked at the blonde girl with a new respect. She had played him. Not for anything important, and not all that well by his standards, but she’d still managed to slip one by him.
“Question,” Nick said. “You couldn’t have known I’d give you that golden opportunity last week when you asked all those questions about exceeding the point total on the assignment. So what was your original plan?”
“I had faith that at some point you’d set me up, especially at a nice social setting,” Alice replied. “I did have a backup plan in case you didn’t.”
“What’s that?”
“I was going to sleep with you.” She gave him a wide smile and a wink.
“Real funny.”
“Yeah, it is. Especially if I’m telling the truth and you accidently traded it away for a poorly-cleaned bathroom.” Alice gave him another smile, this one far less festive and vastly more desirable. It came with softly tilted eyes and just a slight flush to her cheeks. Nick stumbled, his feet going stupid as his brain kicked into overdrive. By the time he recovered, Alice was cackling freely at his expense.
109.
Vince was sitting on a bench near the English building when a shadow fell across the open book in his lap. He didn’t need to look up to know wh
o it belonged to. He’d been sitting on this bench for at least an hour after classes all week long just to facilitate this meeting. It would have to happen eventually, and Vince wasn’t one to put off things just because he wasn’t looking forward to them.
“Want to sit?” Vince still didn’t look up, even as he spoke. Eye contact would make everything feel closer, and a little mental distance would be good for both of them.
“Thank you,” Chad said quietly. He took his position a few feet away from Vince. “I think I owe you an apology.”
“I accept. Things got out of hand; I know you didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“I very much did not,” Chad agreed.
“You’re a good guy, Chad. You treat people with respect even though you’re a lot stronger than most of them. Don’t let one mistake overwhelm the whole of who you are. Trust me on this one.”
Chad was tempted to ask for elaboration; however, he suspected Vince would have given some if he wanted to talk about it. “I shall try hard to keep that in mind.”
“Good. You should probably apologize to Camille too. I mean, it was her party, after all.”
“I made my amends with her this morning.” Camille had been perfectly cordial when they spoke. Her two female friends on the other hand, they had been somewhat less willing to forgive. Chad suspected those two would bear a grudge against him for some time. He didn’t blame them for it, either.
“I’m glad,” Vince said. A shuffle of students meandered by the bench, forcing the two into temporary silence. This location wasn’t ideal for private conversations - too many walkways left it exposed to frequent foot traffic. That was precisely why Vince had chosen this spot to wait. They were in full view of the regular students at all times. It was a measure to make sure neither of them allowed their discussion to escalate into dangerous realms.
“So... about our fathers,” Chad said awkwardly once the other students had passed.
“Your father, and his former best friend,” Vince corrected. “I don’t think my father was that guy.”
“He had the watch.”
“Even if it’s the same watch there are still plenty of explanations. Maybe it was a gift from someone that recovered it, or maybe the Super who made them decided to craft some more. I don’t even know who this Globe person was, but I know my father. He wasn’t a Super, let alone a Hero. He was just a guy living the rails who took it upon himself to look after me.”