by Hayes, Drew
“On that point, I never had any doubt,” he replied. “Just take care of yourself, and if you graduate, don’t grow reckless. If you end up in a town with classmates, make sure you keep in contact with and lean on them. While I’ve never done Hero work, I still know the importance of having a good team.”
Professor Fletcher began to rise from his chair, signaling that the meeting had come to a close. Camille did the same, pausing only to shake her teacher’s hand once more. “Thank you, sir. For the advice, and all the years of training. I’m going to do all I can to walk across that graduation stage, though I don’t think I’ll get to make much use of the team advice for a while. Most of my friends have been looking toward Brewster or Port Valins for their internships. My potential mentors are in Kansas and New York.”
That drew a slight eyebrow raise from the older man as they finished their handshake. “Interesting. Was that by coincidence or design?”
“Fate, maybe,” Camille said. “I certainly didn’t try to make it happen, but I won’t be mad if it goes this way. Healers are usually thought of as part of a team more than of being capable in their own right. If I really want to be my kind of Hero, then a few years away from my support network will do me good. I leaned on the strength of others for too long. This will be my chance to see what I can do on my own.”
Professor Fletcher nodded with a quiet smile as he watched Camille take her leave. Easy as it was to overlook her amidst the powerhouses that were her classmates, he had a hunch that once they hit the real world, she’d make quite the name for herself. And a lot of bad people would end up deeply regretting the fact that Camille Belden had decided to walk the path of a Hero.
233.
Roy easily deflected Ashley’s attempt at a punch, slamming an open palm into her ribs, sending her flying across the cell where she thumped against the wall. While he certainly wouldn’t go full-out with his strength, Ashley was one of the more durable Supers he’d seen in the HCP, so some amount of force was necessary to deal with her. Otherwise, she’d ignore small blows and keep on coming.
Spitting curses under her breath, she leapt to her feet and charged right back into the fray. It was strange, watching her stumble, anger clouding her judgment. Roy couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Chad had felt during their first freshman year, seeing an opponent with so much potential unable to focus enough to use it properly. Then again, he might be giving himself too much credit. Ashley’s bout was lasting far longer than Roy had against Chad. The only thing Roy could take comfort in was the fact that Chad had been trying to teach a different kind of lesson.
Another wild punch that Roy could read from a room away. This time he swept her legs as he slammed her in the shoulder, sending her sprawling across the floor. She wasn’t quite as quick scrambling to her feet, which made it the best opportunity he’d seen so far to try and get the conversation going.
“If Professor Fletcher was in here right now, he’d laugh your ass out of the HCP.” Not the most diplomatic of openings, but Roy had decided on tough love and he wouldn’t do Ashley any favors with a half-hearted effort. “You’re near the end of freshman year, past the labyrinth trial. You’ve been fighting your classmates daily by now, so there’s no excuse for being so sloppy – unless maybe you can’t quite clear your head and focus.”
“Shut up.” Ashley was moving again, charging straight at Roy. It was a bold move; however, she had the misfortune of trying it against someone who’d specifically trained to make his charges as dangerous as possible. Part of that training meant understanding all the possible counters to the technique, and Roy employed a few of them himself by side-stepping her move and slamming a knee into her stomach. She dropped to the concrete, coughing and spitting but otherwise unharmed. The lady was tough; he had to give her that.
“Might have knocked the wind out of you with that one. Feel free to take a few minutes to catch your breath. It ain’t like the results will be much different from you attacking. I should have brought a radio or something down here to keep myself entertained.”
More coughing was her initial response before she craned her neck to stare up at Roy. There was nothing subtle about the anger blazing on her face, yet even as she glared at him, Roy could see her pushing other things down. He didn’t know what the rage was masking, though he could make a few educated guesses. The trouble was that Roy’s guesses were useless; the only way this helped was if Ashley was the one to talk about it.
“You’re a real big man, beating the shit out of a freshman girl.”
“First, don’t lean on the girl part. I’ve been in this program long enough to know there are plenty of women who can whip my ass up and down this whole campus. Second, I think we both know this isn’t about me or my ego, neither of which really need any help from stomping a freshman.” Roy hunkered down a little, getting closer to her eye level. “And lastly: you’re better than this. I’ve sparred with you enough to know what you’re capable of, and it’s worlds above the piss-poor display you put on here. See, you think anger makes you stronger, so you’re holding on to yours for all it’s worth. But anger alone won’t do shit for you in battle. You have to focus it, channel it, be in control, and that ain’t happening until you can own your rage. You have to be its master, understand it and accept it for what it is. I hope you learn that lesson, Ashley. Maybe you still need someone better to teach it, but I did the best I could.”
Roy rose back up and walked over to where he’d left his uniform jacket. In a smooth motion he scooped it up and slid it over his shoulders. “For your sake, try and think on what I showed you here today. If you don’t, I have a strong hunch this is the last year you’ll spend in the HCP.”
He turned, intent on heading back to the door, but Roy noticed Ashley’s head had lowered while he was getting his jacket. From across the room, he could just make out the small droplets falling from her face to the concrete below. Despite the initial urge, he didn’t rush over. Instead, he walked there slowly, taking his time so she could compose herself if she wanted to. When he arrived, Roy sat down next to her and waited silently. He knew too damn well that in these moments, it often took time to find one’s control.
“My sister was here last May.” The words echoed around the battered cell, hanging in the air like a dark mist. “She was human, came to Lander because they offered her an academic scholarship. She was… I won’t say the family favorite but definitely the golden child. Smart, moral, lots of ambition, all the things parents are inclined to be proud of. Me, not so much. I didn’t like the fact that being Super made people treat me differently, so I shoved them away. Made trouble. Nothing big enough to get me arrested, but plenty to make sure my parents saw me as problematic. Leanne was always on my side, though. Until the day she left for college, she tried to keep peace between me and our parents. Then she was gone, and things got harder. And then… she was gone.”
It wasn’t the exact story Roy would have guessed, although it did hit most of the notes he’d been expecting: the way she tightened up anytime someone talked about the attack on Lander, how green she was when she first got here, even the way she seemed so driven to rise up the ranks. Ashley had an axe to grind, probably into someone’s skull, and everything she did only served that goal.
“I’m sorry about your sister.” The words meant little, yet they were all he could offer.
“Thanks.” Ashley sniffled slightly and covertly tried to wipe her face on the back of her forearm. “I was keeping things in check pretty well until The Sons of Progress got arrested. I’m glad those bastards are behind bars, I am. But I wanted to be part of taking them down. I wanted to show them firsthand what they’d called down upon themselves. I wanted… I don’t know. It was a fantasy, I get that, a stupid power-trip revenge fantasy that was never going to happen. Still, it was something. It kept me going. Kept me connected to Leanne. Now it’s suddenly gone. This was never the life I wanted for myself, before. I’m not sure I’m a good fit for it, or it for me. I j
ust feel lost. And even though The Sons of Progress are in jail, I’m still so damn angry, only now I don’t know where to point it.”
“That is a lot to deal with,” Roy said. “I’d give you answers if I could, but between you and me, I’m barely keeping a handle on my own issues. I sure as shit ain’t qualified to teach someone else how to deal with theirs. We’ve got people who are, though. If you want, I can walk you down to Dr. Moran’s office and make an appointment. Or we can sit here and talk. I will offer just one bit of advice, though, and technically I didn’t even come up with it.”
Roy wasn’t entirely comfortable with how much he’d found himself quoting, paraphrasing, or reflecting on the lessons that Titan had given him in childhood over the past year. It made clear just how much of who he was, and what he’d learned, had come from his father. All those years lost between them, and Titan had still had a visible hand in shaping his sons. But this moment wasn’t about him, or Titan, or their strained dynamic. It was about trying to give a little hope to someone that desperately needed it.
“My... trainer… used to say that revenge is a hard way to live. It’s like living with a fire in your stomach. As long as you feed it, you can keep it burning, but eventually it will torch you from the inside. If you want to honor someone, to turn their loss into something good, then you fight on for them. Some people start charities or causes in the names of those they lost. People like us who are only good at destruction, we can use that power to keep others safe. To make sure that next time some bastards come to a college with death on the mind, they find mean fuckers like us waiting to make them regret it. I’m not saying you should be a Hero. It ain’t for everyone, and there’s no shame in walking away. I’m just tossing out the idea that there might be other ways to honor your sister besides blowing up the heads of The Sons of Progress.”
Ashley’s head bobbed in a slight nod as she wiped her face again. “Other ways, sure. But will any of them be as satisfying?”
It took Roy a second to realize that Ashley was making a joke, or as close to one as she could get given the mood. He chuckled, then reached over and softly patted her on the back.
“You’d be surprised. I got a taste of what it was like to help people that night, to save lives that would have ended right in front of me, and it’s pretty damn satisfying.”
234.
“… and I told him I’d think about it. Which I have. A lot. And the more I turn the idea around in my head, the more I can see all the reasons I probably shouldn’t do it. Learning from a Subtlety Hero might not offer me the best possible education, and given the way people feel about that specialty, it won’t help with the suspicion I already get from Globe being my father. Then there’s the fact that I know almost nothing about Jeremiah’s team, what they can do, or how they operate. You know me; I’m not good at blending in or being subtle. What if I end up slowing them down or putting them in danger? Sure, Jeremiah said he wouldn’t try to make me a Subtlety Hero, but there’s bound to be some of that if I’m on their team.” Vince finally paused, taking a drink of water from the glass on Nick’s coffee table. “There are so many reasons why I shouldn’t take this internship.”
“But you’re obviously still thinking about it,” Nick noted. He’d been a little surprised when Vince turned up out of the blue, or rather when Jerome radioed in to let Nick know that Vince was approaching the apartment. Once his best friend was inside and seated, though, it became immediately clear why he’d trekked over on a Saturday afternoon. The poor guy was torn up over the internship offer, trying so hard to make the “right” choice that he’d twisted himself into knots. Uncertainty and doubt were Vince’s biggest weakness – he could lose himself for days when he wasn’t sure what the right next step was – but once he had a goal in mind the guy was damn near unstoppable.
“Yeah, I am,” Vince admitted. “Is that crazy? All these reasons not to take it, but I can’t shake the idea from my head.”
It was definitely crazy. Logically speaking, the cons outweighed the pros considerably. The rational move would be to thank Jeremiah politely for the interest then sign on with a beloved Hero who could lift Vince’s reputation past the point of suspicion. However, it was also plain to Nick that logic wasn’t really the thing on trial here. Vince liked the idea; he wanted to take the internship. This was him looking for someone who would make him feel like it was a good plan.
“Taking the internship with Jeremiah is a terrible idea.” Nick didn’t particularly enjoy watching Vince’s face fall at his words, but this was a necessary step to get the conversation to its appropriate conclusion. “Sorry, but it is. All the things you just listed are spot on, and there are plenty of other issues you haven’t considered. If you want me to tell you I think it’s a sound move, I have to disappoint you.”
“Oh.” Vince’s eyes wandered back to the coffee table, watching condensation move slowly down his glass. “Yeah. I knew that, I guess. I just wanted to see if there was some angle I wasn’t considering.”
Nick shook his head. “Practically speaking, no. You thought this one through pretty well. This internship is a bad idea. But here’s the caveat, Silver: a lot of the things you do are bad ideas. Refusing to quit believing in a guy like me even after I gave you plenty of reasons to walk away was a bad idea. Telling Dean Blaine that you were going to help people during the attack on Lander even if it meant you’d be expelled was a bad idea. Trying to throw away your memories to stay with me, taking on an amped-up Super by yourself, refusing to denounce your father who is a known criminal even though it would make your life easier: all bad ideas from pretty much any perspective. Yet in what must be the biggest ‘fuck you’ to logic and causality since my power came into existence, you’re still going strong. I don’t always get it, but over time I’ve learned to accept it. While you often don’t make smart choices, or rational ones, you make ones that feel right to you and that seems to be working out so far. So putting aside all the reasons why it might be a bad idea, what do you want to do?”
As seconds ticked by, Nick could see Vince’s doubt slipping away while resolve took its place. That was the real trick to managing Vince, giving him a way around his uncertainties. Once he had that, the guy could pretty much take care of himself. By the time Vince looked up at Nick, his face was almost set with determination.
“I want to take it. I know I’m not as smart as most of you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get smarter, that I can’t learn. In terms of where I sit right now, I’ve probably got as much raw power as anyone else in the class. What I don’t have is the kind of brain that always lets me use that power properly. Camille beat me with a simple trick during our winter final, and that’s not something I can afford to fall for when the stakes are real. I think Jeremiah can make me a better Hero.”
“Well, I certainly don’t want to put words in your mouth, but that sure sounds like you’ve got your answer,” Nick said. “I’ve never known Vince Reynolds to take any path except the one that leads to him being the best Hero possible. And for what it’s worth, your track record proves that you might want to listen to those instincts of yours, no matter what logic dictates.”
Vince let out a short, unexpected laugh. “It’s funny, Jeremiah said something like that. Told me I have good instincts when I get out of my own way.”
Nick’s assessment of Jeremiah’s analytical skills rose by a few degrees. It was easy to throw off Vince’s success as good fortune or him muscling through on raw strength. Recognizing his real potential took someone with more attention to detail. “If I’d heard nothing else about the situation already, that alone would make me think it’s an idea worth considering.”
“Thanks. I needed to hear that. I knew you’d be–”
The sound of the doorbell interrupted their conversation, and moments later the front door swung open as Mary strode through. She had a backpack over her shoulder that was visibly weighing her down but still greeted both of them with a smile. “Hey guys. Hope you don’t mi
nd that I let myself in, this thing is heavy.”
“I keep that door locked,” Nick pointed out.
“And I move things with my mind, things like deadbolts. Truly, how will we ever solve this perplexing mystery?” Mary dropped the backpack to the floor and stretched her spine. “Thanks for agreeing to help with this project anyway. Vince, you take your time, I’ll go make some tea and get out of your hair.”
“No, it’s fine,” Vince said. “I think we pretty much got through what I wanted to talk about. I should go do some weekend training. You two knocking out homework?”
“My economics class wants me to create a plan for a mock business, and no one knows more about making a buck than Nick.” Mary mentally lifted the backpack over to the kitchen table, where it landed with a solid thud. “You’re more than welcome to stay, though. It won’t be fun, but it will be communal.”
“Thanks, but I think I’d rather fight Chad and Roy at once than try and wrap my head around that stuff. I’ll see you back at the dorms tonight.” Vince got up from the couch and paused to glance at Nick. “And thanks, Nick. This helped me out a lot.”
“Anytime. Unless I’m in class. Or on a date with Alice. Or in the restroom. You know what, let’s go ahead and just say most times so I’ve got some wiggle room.” Nick waved to Vince as he vanished through the doorway. From the window, he watched Vince walk down the stairs and head back to campus.
As he stood there, Mary quietly walked over to join him. “If you’re wondering, he bought it.”
“He’s Vince. Of course he bought it. He trusts us implicitly, which is all the more reason we have to keep him miles away from this,” Nick replied. “Now start getting things set up. The next Take Back Lander meeting is in a few hours and we’ve got quite a show to prepare for.”
235.