by Hayes, Drew
“Yet I’m sure there are a few still up your sleeve.” Hershel’s tone was light, but they both understood the truth in his words. They were all friends and would willingly lay down their lives for each other, but that didn’t change the fact that they were also competitors. Eventually, they might be pitted against one another, and if they didn’t have a plan for how to deal with that, then they would be the one at a disadvantage. That didn’t mean they couldn’t still help each other, though.
“Actually, Vince, if you really want a good opinion on what your weaknesses are and maybe on how to train, you should talk to Chad,” Hershel suggested. “He helped Roy see a lot of his failings when they started fighting, and honestly, I think that’s part of why Roy’s been able to improve so much. I would be genuinely shocked if he couldn’t do the same analysis for you.”
“Sounds like a good idea. But would we have to fight each other?” Even as he asked, Vince was getting back into position to resume their match, training overtaking all other concerns.
“Maybe. I’m sure he’s already got some ideas, though he might need a match to test them,” Hershel said.
“Then I’ll have to think it over. Even sparring, the sons of Globe and Intra having a match could be taken the wrong way by a lot of people,” Vince replied.
“Well then, I guess let’s just focus on the one between the sons of Globe and Titan.” Hershel put up his fists, gave the nod that he was ready, and braced for the onslaught.
46.
“I have gathered you all here to discuss a matter of grave importance and personal safety.” Nick made this declaration as he set down a twelve-pack of sodas on his cheap dining room table, around which Mary, Hershel, Alice, and Vince were already seated.
“It’s Wednesday night,” Vince reminded him. “We came over to hang out and play board games.”
“Come on, man, let me have a little theatricality now and then.” Nick coughed lightly to clear his throat and resumed the more somber tone. “Our group faces an imminent threat on the horizon, and while you all may be content to ignore it, I for one prefer to meet my enemies head-on with a plan of battle.”
“Mary, will you please tell us what’s going on in that head of his so we don’t have to sit through twenty minutes of this one-man play?” Alice demanded.
Mary looked up at Nick, who met her gaze with a dastardly smile. “As much as I hate to admit this, and he knows it, Nick’s building up to a point that I somewhat agree with. It’s already September, which means our yearly ritual of something going horribly wrong is just around the corner.”
“Halloween,” Hershel muttered. Between Vince getting jumped, Alice having an emotional breakdown, and Vince’s reunion with Eliza in a crowded bar, the last day of October had a history of throwing them all for a solid loop. Granted, sometimes the after effects weren’t so bad—Alice had also first discovered her true power that night—but few of their group looked back on those evenings with pleasant feelings.
“Exactly what I was building up to, you freaking show stealers,” Nick said. “Seeing as our track record is so spotty, I thought perhaps this year we should get out in front of it and pick a way to celebrate that has the least chance of blowing up in our faces.”
“Screw that.” Alice crossed her arms and adopted a harsh glare. “Tried to get ahead of it last year, rented out private areas, minimized the chances of us getting into trouble, and things still turned messy. I’m going to vote that we lock all the doors, hang some crosses on the windows, and go to bed at six that night.”
“Granted, that’s probably the most sensible plan, but I don’t see it happening,” Hershel said. “Halloween is too much fun; if not for me, then certainly for Roy. History be damned, when the night comes either he or I will be in a costume and out on the town.”
“I sort of like it, too,” Vince added. “It wasn’t something I really got to do as a kid, and it’s still been interesting, even if we do tend to pull in more tricks than treats.”
“Pretty much my assumptions when we started this conversation.” Nick popped open the case of soda and began doling them out around the table. Much as he might have enjoyed a cocktail on these nights, Wednesday meant school and training the next day, so none of his guests would touch the hard stuff. The only thing worse than drinking alone was drinking alone in a crowd.
“So, let’s go over our options,” Nick continued. “There are bars, the yearly frat party, and Screamtopia, if we want to repeat any of the Halloweens past.”
“I’m going to say a firm no to the frat party,” Mary told them. “Wasn’t my scene then, even less so now.”
“Screamtopia was a lot of fun,” Hershel said. “And really, nothing bad that happened was on them. Other than the thing with Rich, it was an enjoyable night all around.”
Alice let out a long breath, her eyes dropping a few inches. “Screamtopia might be a good one to visit again, but I think I sort of ruined that for us. Given the scale of the scene I made, there’s a chance someone could still be working there and recognize me. If it were just the crying, that would be fine, but with me also crashing those lights and causing people to evacuate… the risk of someone connecting the dots just seems too great. Though it’s possible I’m being paranoid.”
“Even if you are, that doesn’t mean you’re wrong,” Nick told her. “The odds of that biting you are slim, but present. Given that it’s your senior year, probably better that none of you take bold chances just to revisit a haunted house.”
“Nick’s right,” Vince agreed. “Which leaves us with the bars, I guess. They’re not really my favorite, but if it’s what makes everyone else happy, then I can still have fun.”
Hershel looked over the table, taking a quick and easy read on what the response to that thought was. It was a simple task; aside from Roy—and Nick, when he was in the right mood—none of them were big on the bar scene. Given their track record, it was hard to blame them for that.
“I don’t think that’s the best fit for everyone, either. Maybe it’s time to revisit Alice’s idea,” Hershel suggested.
“Skip Halloween?” Mary’s expression was quizzical in her confusion, a rare sight on the telepath’s face and something Hershel considered to be a gesture of love. Even after years together, she still made a point to avoid reading his mind.
“Not that part. I meant about locking the doors and hanging the crosses. Except we also add some spider webs, plastic skeletons, and other decorations. Basically, I’m saying we have a Halloween party. Invite our friends over and watch scary movies.”
“Good scary movies.” Alice snapped the words before Nick could so much as get a syllable out, though everyone could see the excitement shining in his eyes. “I’m not saying I’m totally on board, just putting that requirement out there before the talk goes any further.”
“Didn’t we throw that idea out last year and decide that, with our running luck, Melbrook would burn down?” Vince asked.
“Something like that. Yet we saw how well taking it off-site went,” Mary reminded them.
“That was our first year no one got punched,” Alice pointed out. “I think we can sort of claim that as a victory.”
“I’d bet money that Roy would disagree.” Nick dropped the case of drinks to the floor and pulled out tonight’s board game—one of Hershel’s, of course. Evidently, this game required them to be train robbers in the old west, trying to collect the most stolen loot while evading the law. “But there is still the logistical issue of space. If everyone from the class shows up and brings no other friends, that’s eighteen people in the common area. You don’t have any outdoor space, and the lounges require thumbprints to let people in, so that’s tight quarters. Plus, we’re assuming the suits will even let you throw one in the first place.”
“So we’re back to not having any ideas?” Vince said.
“Well, not entirely,” Nick told him. “I don’t disagree that a controlled area might be best, just that yours might not be the
right one. I, on the other hand, don’t live in a dorm under constant DVA surveillance. Plus, my apartment building has a big room we can reserve with enough notice, and I’m certain no other resident is paranoid enough to be thinking about Halloween already. Granted, some folks might not want to come to a party thrown by a washout for very practical reasons, but if we make it a masquerade, that might alleviate some worry.”
“That is a very kind gesture.” Despite her words, the gleam of suspicion in Alice’s eye was unmistakable. “But in this room, would there happen to be a place for watching movies?”
“There may be a giant flat screen and DVD player where I could have a constant stream of classic horror gold going at all times,” Nick admitted. “But it will still be a party, so people need only pay as much attention as they want.”
“Well, I’m in,” Vince said. “He was probably going to try and make us watch bad scary movies, anyway; at least this way, we know the circumstances upfront.”
“Vince makes a good point. Plus, it would be nice to have something more relaxed,” Hershel agreed. “I’m in.”
“No bar and in walking distance of the dorm? You have me sold,” Mary added.
“I’m going to agree with this, but I want it officially on record that I think Nick’s up to something,” Alice told them all. “This is a little too easy, and I don’t trust it.”
“Would I ever do something like that?” If Nick’s history didn’t already tell them the answer to that question, the mischievous grin on his face certainly would have.
47.
“Today, we’re going to discuss an aspect of Supers that is more theory than science. One that a scarce few of you may have experienced, even if you didn’t know it at the time. If I remember correctly, the term used by those who study it is Concurrent Effect Dominance, but most of us just call it ‘authority.’”
Dean Blaine had barely waited until the students were in their seats before launching into the lecture. After witnessing so many dry discussions from the head of the HCP, it was impossible not to notice that he seemed a bit more energized than normal. Whatever this topic was, he was excited about sharing it with them, which made every one of the seniors both more intrigued, and more wary.
“Authority is a hard concept to explain to most people, which is why you very rarely hear it talked about outside of Hero circles.” Dean Blaine walked over to his desk and from a drawer pulled out two objects—an apple and an orange—setting them both down on the desk’s surface. “In its simplest terms, authority is who, among two Supers, has the more dominant ability. Not more powerful, mind you, more dominant. This is only measurable in scale to other abilities, since it can’t be seen unless two powers have conflicting functions. For some of you, this is already beginning to sound like nonsense, which is why I brought my learning aids out. Now, I need two student volunteers… Mr. Murray and Ms. Smith will do; please come up here and join me.”
Will and Mary slid from their seats and approached the dean warily, unsure of what was about to happen. He took Will by the shoulder and led him to the far end of the desk, nearest to the apple. Then Dean Blaine took Mary to the other end, where she was slightly closer to the orange. Only when both were installed on opposite sides of the desk did Dean Blaine turned back to face the class.
“For this example, we will assign both of our students new powers. Mr. Murray now transforms all fruit within twelve feet of him into apples, and Ms. Smith turns all fruit within twelve feet of her to oranges. As you can see, they are both easily within twelve feet of both the fruits on my desk. In this situation, all of my statements cannot be true. The fruits cannot exist simultaneously as both oranges and apples. If they both use their abilities, only one transformation will occur. Does anyone have a guess at which it will be?”
A few tentative hands went up, and Dean Blaine pointed to Violet’s. “Ms. Sullivan, if you please.”
“The one who got there first, right? Will walked over a little before Mary, so if they have the same range, then his should turn first, and then she won’t be able to use hers.”
“Why not?” Dean Blaine asked. “She is still within twelve feet of the fruit, and she still possesses her ability. What stops the fruits from being transformed when she draws near?”
“Will’s power,” Violet replied. “His is still going, so that’s what makes them stay apples.”
“You are on the right track, Ms. Sullivan, but took a wrong turn,” Dean Blaine told her. “The truth is, who arrives first is irrelevant in this example. When two conflicting powers are used concurrently, one will always work over the other. That is what I mean when I say that abilities have authority, and that authority exists solely in relation to other powers. What I’ve shown you here isn’t just an example, it’s a test. We would create exactly this situation and send our Supers over to see who had the higher authority. If the fruits turned to apples, then it would be Mr. Murray. Oranges, and its Ms. Smith. Obviously, this is a mundane example, but there are times when authority can play a large role in the field, so it’s something you need to be aware of.”
Dean Blaine gestured for Will and Mary to return to their seats and continued. “Take elemental manipulators, since they were our reason to first begin formulating the theory of authority. Elemental manipulation is one of the more common powers seen in Supers, which means there is bound to be overlap in confrontations with Heroes and criminals. If two Supers with the power to manipulate water try and take control of the same pool, only one will succeed. Thus, Heroes who have tested themselves against others and know they have a high authority are often called in to cut off those with matching abilities. If we can take control of all the water an elemental user is wielding, then they are functionally human and can be apprehended easily.”
“This seems pretty important,” Alice interrupted. “More than ‘fun theory in senior year’ important, I mean. Shouldn’t we have learned about this earlier?”
“For multiple reasons, no.” Dean Blaine’s excitement over the topic seemed to bubble out of him as he picked up the apple and gave it a light toss before catching it in midair. “First off, as important as authority is when it matters, it very rarely matters. The necessary correspondence in a set of powers happens quite rarely in the field; that’s part of why it wasn’t until the last decade or so that the theory was even developed. And the vast majority of abilities don’t ever interact in such a way. A strongman is not going to lose their power when fighting another strongman; they test themselves in a much more upfront manner. Authority generally only comes into play with powers that focus on the external world, rather than augmenting the person wielding them.”
The apple rose and fell a few more times, always snapped from the air by Dean Blaine’s waiting hand. “Secondly, the reason I’ve waited until now to tell you about this is that the concept is not well-known, and we like to keep it that way. As much as we’ve learned about Supers and Powereds since their discovery, there is still a tremendous amount that is a complete mystery to us. Any bit of information is an advantage, and one should always be wary when relinquishing an advantage. But you’re all seniors now, and that means you’ve earned the right to more trust than a freshman. I told you there was still a lot to learn, and this is just a small part of it.”
Silence fell over the room, save for the soft smack of Dean Blaine catching the apple as he tossed it about. Finally, it was broken by Jill, whose voice was an unusual mix of excitement and nerves.
“As Heroes, will we be able to test ourselves against other Supers to figure out if we have high authority or not? I depend on a lot of tech for my combat, so I’d need to know early on if some other Super could just take control of my suit.”
“A very fair question,” Dean Blaine replied. “And yes, those of you who have abilities more likely to meet opposition will indeed be able to test yourselves against others with similar powers. In fact, it’s one of the first things we do with new Heroes, both because it will give you useful information a
nd because more established Heroes are always eager to see who has the higher authority.”
“Seems like a bad system,” Rich pointed out. “If they’ve had years of training, won’t they automatically do better?”
“Actually, that brings us to the final major point you need to know regarding authority,” Dean Blaine said. He caught the apple for the last time and set it down gently beside the orange on his desk. “So far as we’ve been able to tell, it is unaffected by age or experience. Some rookie Heroes have authority that trumps veterans with hundreds of engagements under their belts. Near as we can figure, it’s something innate in Supers, though since the whole concept is still theoretical, no one has found a way to train it, yet. You just get what you get and have to learn to work appropriately.”
There were murmurs throughout the class, and Dean Blaine did nothing to silence them. This was a hard pill to swallow, especially for people this far along in the HCP journey. They’d spent years training themselves to the bone, and they’d just learned there was a function to some powers that couldn’t be changed. They were learning that in some respects, they couldn’t trade blood and sweat to improve. It was disheartening, to say the least. But that didn’t make it any less real, or reduce the fact that they needed to be aware of it.
As much as senior year was about training, it was also about teaching the harsh truths of the Hero world. And, as he’d already told them, this was just a small part of what was to come.
48.
Alice’s head was still swimming from considering theoretical interaction of Super abilities in Dean Blaine’s class as she made her way to the Subtlety room. Truth be told, it didn’t feel much like a class anymore, with only three students left. It was more like a clubhouse, one with a lanky leader who taught them about trickery and subterfuge in between free-study. Will had beaten her there, a laptop open on his desk as he no doubt combed through mock-confidential information streams he wasn’t supposed to have access to. Professor Pendleton had hooked Will into a dummy system designed to replicate the safeguards of real corporations and agencies without actually hacking into them. Breaking that much law for a national emergency was one thing, but it wouldn’t fly if he got caught doing it for training. Not that Will was getting caught much at all, at least from the discussions she’d overheard him and Professor Pendleton having.