Summus Proelium

It was around the middle of the afternoon when I finally came awake. Saturday afternoon, just a little after three o’clock. No one had bothered us all day, apparently. Which was good, considering how badly we had both needed that rest. I actually felt somewhat human again. Not that everything was hunky dory, of course. There was still so much to do. But it didn’t feel quite so overwhelming. It was amazing how much good getting some actual sleep could do.

Hearing my phone vibrate on the nearby table, I shifted just enough to pick it up, not wanting to disturb Izzy if I could help it. Then I looked at what turned out to be a lot of notifications. Seriously, there must have been forty or fifty messages. Most of them were from my team, telling me to check out several links to what were apparently various versions of the video of the fight I’d had with Pencil, along with some updates from Wren more recently about starting to work on the machine again. There was also a message from Tomas reminding me that we were supposed to have dinner with his family that night, a few updates from Amber, and other random bits.

Izzy shifted against me, turning her head to quietly ask, “You gonna watch that video?”

Exhaling, I shrugged a bit while squeezing her closer. “I lived it, I’m not sure how much I need to see it.” But, under her squint, I relented and brought up the first link. There were so many comments on the video, and it had a… a truly staggering amount of views. This was just one of several links? Oh God, how big was this whole thing?

Together, we laid there and watched how that fight had gone. She, of course, kept twisting to stare at me now and then. Once it was over, she shook her head slowly. “Are you okay?”

“Better now,” I promised. “And hey, he’s not… not gonna hurt anyone again.” Even while saying that, my throat went dry, a lump forming in it. Amanda. Cup. She’d killed her own brother after all that just to make a play for saving herself from the worst consequences. And worse, she might just get away with it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really have the time or capability to focus on that. The authorities would have to figure out how to handle Amanda Sanvers. For now, everything I had was going to go toward dealing with Pittman and fixing our parents, Irelyn, and the rest of his victims. Not to mention handling sitting through a whole dinner with the man who had originally erased the memory I so recently regained. Which didn’t exactly feel like my idea of a good time, no matter how great the food was. I just had to pretend to be the same clueless little child (okay teenager but still) they were expecting and not give them any reason to be suspicious.

Because I was pretty sure if I even suspected that Kent might be trying to do something with my memories, I would kick the fucker as hard as I could in the junk, then punch him in the throat as he doubled over. And that might be a little difficult to explain away.

Izzy and I watched a couple more videos. They were mostly the same as the first one, with some edits done to add sound effects, music, or other bits. And all of them had even more comments than the first. There were people from all over the country watching the video of my fight with Pencil. Apparently these clips had been shared on the SPHERE forum and were getting a lot of traction, which was just… just… overwhelming, to say the least. I honestly had no idea how to react to any of it. This was even bigger than that joke video where someone had stuck Yakety Sax onto that clip of Cuélebre and me. Apparently they were playing select clips from the fight on the national news.

“Caishen was right,” Izzy murmured after I set the phone down and laid my head back against the pillow once more to let it sink in. “There’s gonna be more bad guys gunning for you to make a name for themselves. You… you’ll be careful, right?” She shifted to focus on me, worry evident in her eyes. “You have to be careful, Cass.”

Swallowing hard, I gave a quick nod. “I’ll do my best, I promise. And hey, I have a lot more help now. Which… which is also scary.” The last bit came in a soft murmur as a cold shiver ran through me.

“Because they could go after them too,” Izzy murmured, a slight grimace crossing her face before she focused on me once more and brought her finger up to my nose pointedly. “Yeah, but don’t you dare pull away or do anything stupid like go off by yourself just to draw someone out. You know what’ll happen if you do something like that?”

My head bobbed up and down quickly. “Yup, you, Paige, and probably a few others will take turns kicking my butt. Don’t worry, I… I know better than that, I promise. If I find out anything about someone coming for me, I’ll let you guys know. I need as much help as I can get.”

We talked a bit more about that, just lying there together without being in any real hurry at the moment. Sure, there was a lot to do, but we needed these few minutes together just to maintain some semblance of sanity. Especially after everything that happened yesterday.

Finally, however, we picked ourselves up and took turns getting cleaned up in the bathroom. Then we took a quick breakfast/lunch downstairs (thankfully Chef Claudio was here so it was much better than anything I could heat up) before heading out. Dinner with Tomas and his family would be around seven, so I still had time to drop by the shop and see if I could help with anything else. Anything that had to do with fixing the machine, that was. I wouldn’t be going out patrolling as Paintball, considering how serious Caishen had seemed about threatening to throw me in a cell for a few hours if I tried that. But that didn't mean I couldn't still help get some important things done. There was a lot of work to do on that machine, and very little time to do it in. At least, if we wanted to get all of Pittman's victims back on their feet anytime soon.

Izzy, meanwhile, needed to go in for a Minority meeting. Something about dealing with the aftermath of losing Whamline, him turning out to be a traitor, and Amber being responsible for his death. The people in charge wanted to find out if they were going to be lingering issues with Amber being part of the team. And, more importantly, they were going to set up counseling for all of them, including Amber herself. It was mandatory counseling, which was probably for the best.

In any case, I wished Izzy luck and told her to text me about anything. Then we split up and I headed to the shop. I had already sent messages back to the others, and let Peyton know that no one expected her to show up today. She had almost lost her mother last night, so taking some time off was completely understandable. Something made me doubt her mom would let Peyton out of her sight anyway, even if she tried.

Sure enough, Peyton wasn't there. Neither were Murphy or Roald, apparently because they were getting set up with Rubi in what would be their new home now that the older girl was going to be part of Ten Towers.

“Wow,” I remarked to Fred after getting a text from Murphy passing along that news, “those people work fast.” I’d waited a minute for him to finish selling a box full of assorted electrical parts and some sort of half-built microwave to an excited-looking older woman, before speaking up once she bustled her way out. He and I were the only ones downstairs, while Paige, Qwerty, Sierra, and Wren were up in the main workshop. It turned out the two Biolem girls had shown up a few hours ago. Easy, when you didn’t need much sleep, I supposed.

Still focused on recording his latest transaction, Fred absently asked, “Who works fast? The kid?”

My head shook. “Ten Towers. They've already got Rubi and the others moving into a new place. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours. Hell, I don't think it's been twelve hours yet since she accepted the offer. Yet they already found a place for them, leased it, and now they've got a moving company taking all their stuff over there. Apparently their rent and utilities are comped, in addition to what was supposed to be a salary five times over what she was making before. Also it sounds like there may be something about a car. Which, again, it hasn't even been twelve hours since she agreed.”

The man grunted a bit before looking up. “You mean the people trying to solidify the recruitment of a powerful Touched jumped on the chance to make sure she signs on the dotted line by plucking her and all the people who depend on her out of a little apartment they can barely live in and put them in something nice? They're wooing her. Well, I suppose they're wooing all of them. Easier to convince the one you want to jump on the offer if she's got all her siblings gushing on and on about how great everything is.”

It was a good point, of course. And I really couldn't blame the Towers people for being eager to make sure Rubi signed up with them. After all, it really was an incredible power. And on top of that, she had been the one to discover Pencil’s weakness in the first place. She was, in so many respects, the reason he had been stopped. And, more personally, she was why I was alive. I couldn't even imagine what would've happened if I didn't know he could actually be hurt if you hit him enough times. Sure, I would've kept trying, but knowing that it was possible had given me confidence that probably wouldn't have been there otherwise. Up until that whole thing with Rubi everyone had thought he was completely invulnerable to everything. I might've focused more on trying to find a way out, or just been distracted by the supposed impossibility of the situation. Either way, I was pretty sure it would have gone poorly.

With that in mind, I passed Fred an envelope of cash I had taken out. When he looked at me uncertainly, I explained. “There's five thousand and four hundred dollars in there. Use five thousand to get Wren some new tools and other things she needs around here. We already put money into supplies, she deserves to have some good equipment to use on it.”

Fred nodded slowly, looking at the envelope like he was still baffled by the presence of so much money. “And the four hundred?”

I smiled a little. “Make her take a break at some point and go out for some nice things, just the two of you. I mean, go to dinner, see a movie together, and maybe get her some new clothes she'll like. Just make some good memories with her. You're the only person she's got in her family, so I think she needs to have some moments that aren't about work or superhero stuff. She deserves to have some fun too. Actually, here.” Reaching in my pocket, I took out one more hundred dollar bill and put it on the counter. “This one is special. You only take this one if you promise to exchange the whole thing for tokens at one of those arcades and let her blow all of it on games and ice cream. Maybe popcorn too. No responsibilities, no saving it for something useful. Go and blow all of it on having the best couple hours she can possibly have.”

The man stared at me in silence for a moment, his mouth pressed tight together. But he gave a short, jerky nod and blinked a few times. I took my hand off that last bill and turned to head upstairs. But I stopped when he spoke. “Cassidy.”

I turned by the door leading to the stairs and looked that way to find that the man had stood up from behind the counter and was staring at me. He spoke again, his voice a bit rough. “You were wrong a minute ago, when you said she's only got me for family. You and the others, you're all family. At least, in every way matters. Whatever you need, whenever you need it, you just ask. Wren and I, we’ll do everything we can to help. I know that doesn't mean that much, considering all the resources you've already got--”

“Now it's your turn to be wrong,” I interrupted. “It means a lot, Fred. That money I just handed to you, the house I live in, my education, all the people who work for my family, I didn't earn any of it. And it comes from bad places. Places I try not to think about too much. And maybe I feel like if I put that money and resources into a place like this, it can help it be just a little bit better. Turning something bad into something good or whatever. The point is, you and the others are basically the only people I know who I can be completely certain have nothing to do with my family and their business. I can trust you, and that right there means everything.”

For a long moment, the two of us stood there and stared at each other, both clearly feeling a bit awkward and uncertain. Finally, Fred coughed. “Yeah, well, you better get up there and see what the kid needs next. I've got a lot of paperwork and stuff to do here.” His voice rose substantially toward the end, turning a bit high-pitched.

So, I left the man alone and went to join the others. The three girls were busy drawing what looked like an elaborate series of circuits and wires on one of the whiteboards, animatedly discussing their plans back-and-forth with each other. Meanwhile, Qwerty was perched on top of a nearby table, little head stepping back and forth between them like someone watching a tennis match. He had a bowl of peanuts in front of him, which he was popping in his mouth one after another, his beak working to shell the nuts quickly before he scarfed them down. Every once in a while, he would call out a string of words that I had no hope of following, and one of the girls would erase or add something to the board.

Once they noticed I was there, I continued to stare at the board for a few long seconds before nodding sagely. “Yep, still total and complete gibberish. Turns out I did not suddenly become a technological genius overnight. I know, I am as surprised and disappointed as all of you. Really, what do I even contribute to this whole organization? I should probably just pack it in and quit now, right?”

Qwerty and Wren both reacted quickly and decisively to that, flinging themselves away from their work to crash into me together. Wren hugged me around the waist while Qwerty landed on my shoulder and wrapped his wings and paws around my head. Both of them were loudly disagreeing with my assessment while I giggled and returned their embraces as well as I could.

“Okay, okay, I guess I'm not completely useless.” Looking at the board again, I blanched. “Not about other things, anyway. That really does look like ancient hieroglyphics to me. I am really glad I'm not expected to contribute to this part. I guess you guys are working out some of the circuitry or something?”

“Pretty much,” Sierra confirmed. “Speaking of which, I suppose I shouldn't have taken all those advanced placement Differential Equations tests for you while you were gone, huh?” She held that flat stare until I narrowed my eyes, then snickered and turned back to their work once more.

Rolling my eyes and huffing a little (mostly for show), I shrugged toward Paige. “Anyway, I may not be up on the technical stuff, but I am a fresh pair of hands, and I've got a couple hours here. Anything you guys need, just let me know. Even if it's just to go get more snacks. I am very good at getting snacks.”

I did end up doing that a bit later, but mostly I watched and listened to things I had no hope of understanding, in between jogging back-and-forth through the room as well as downstairs and up again to grab things they needed. Gradually, the modifications to the machine were taking shape. It wasn't anywhere near ready, and wouldn't be for awhile. We couldn't rush this. As anxious as I was to grab that son of a bitch and get on with curing everyone, I knew we'd only get one shot. If we screwed up somehow, at best Breakwater would find a new way to block us. At worst, we might just disintegrate Pittman entirely. Which, honestly, at that point might not have sounded like such a bad thing, but it would be if he took the secret of how to cure this shit to the grave with him. Honestly, I felt like he was probably spiteful enough to actually kill himself to stop us from getting the cure if there was no other way to escape. It just felt like something he would do so he could have the last laugh.

Eventually, it was time for me to head out again. Paige walked me downstairs and out through the back alley. Some part of me had worried about people from the other gangs spying on the shop just to find out more about us, but according to Wren, they had already tried. Some gang members had staked out the place a long time ago, and she had made them pay for it with several assorted tricks. Which included teleporting a large bucket full of incredibly nasty-smelling and sticky goo to fall on top of them. She had cameras hidden away throughout the neighborhood, and paid attention to anyone new hanging around.

The kid was a genius, that was for sure. We were beyond lucky to have her. I was beyond lucky to have all of them.

Unfortunately, no matter how helpful they were, they couldn't do anything to get me out of this dinner. I had to go, or risk Kent paying more attention to me than I wanted. I was just going to have to smile and make nice with the man responsible for erasing my memory and setting my own personal development back years.

And hey, if worse came to worst, I’d get to kick him in the junk.