Citadel (Book 1): Training in Necessity (19 page)

"I didn't know what was happening, but I liked it.  My parents were worried, though.  They knew I'd been unhappy but not what to do about it.  When it changed so quickly, when my personality changed, they thought it was drugs or something.  Searched my room, gave me all the lectures, you name it.  I'd have been upset, but I was still at that stage where I thought it was cool to have a reputation as a 'bad girl,' just a little.  Them thinking I was up to something, without me having to actually do anything dangerous?  That was perfect."  She moved a little closer, just a few inches.

"A few months after they gave up on the drug thing, they saw one of those public service announcements.  They had me tested and, obviously, it turned out I was Empowered.  I don't really fit any of the classic types, closest thing is a probability manipulator."

"A rare ability." he said.

"Fucking unique, in my case.  It was great, when I didn't know what was happening.  After...  My power wants people to like me, to be excited, impressed.  It twists things around to make sure that happens.  I get lucky, sometimes.  Mostly, situations just sort of come up where I can shine.  And, of course, the easiest thing for it to affect is me.   What I do or say, what I feel and sometimes even what I think, it twists everything so that anyone watching will think I'm awesome."

"I am not sure I see the downside.  Did you not say that that was exactly what you wanted?" Jason asked.

She almost snarled her answer.  "Yes.  It's exactly what I wanted."  The snarl twisted to disgust.  "I was an idiot.  They don't like me, Jason.  They just like this image of me, the one in their heads that does whatever they think someone cool would do, all the time.  I used to just go along with it, when I didn't know.  Now it feels more like... like I'm being pushed.  My power, it could make me do anything.  I'm always on stage and I don't even get to decide whether or not to speak my lines.  They just come out, whether I want them to or not."

"Ah.  I suppose that could be unpleasant." he acknowledged.

"Jason, I hate Kerry."

"What?  I do not see what that has to do with-"

"She's smug, entitled and she's a fucking slob.  But she's also the strongest girl in our class and that means a lot to everyone else.  So I'm nice to her.  She thinks of me as some kind of a mix between friendly rival and best friend and I wouldn't even be in the same room as her.  Not if I had a choice."

"Oh.  I believe I understand."

"So yeah, that's why I hate being around people."

"So why do you not just spend your time alone?"

She laughed but did not seem pleased, or amused, by his suggestion.  "I can't.  That wouldn't be cool enough.  Awesome girls don't spend time hiding in their rooms."

"But if you are alone, whose perception is pushing you into that mindset?"

"Mine." she said, quietly.

They sat there, neither saying anything, for a short time.

"You said you did not feel anything from me."

"Yeah."  He could barely hear her.

"You fear being alone, you fear being around others, but not me.  Because I do not find anything exciting."

"Yes." she answered.  "Please, like I said, I'll do anything you want.  Just... just let me spend some time feeling like myself."

Jason smiled.  It was rare for him to show emotional reactions so honestly but, in this case, it did not matter.  Jenny was no threat to him and never could be.  She might become his best friend of all.

"I have never done this before.  Is this the right way?"

"You're doing fine, Jason.  There's not really a right way or a wrong way."

"I must admit, I am enjoying it more than I thought I would."

Jenny smiled.  "Well, it's not exactly what I thought we'd end up doing, but I guess it works.  Of course, I didn't really have a firm plan or anything, so..."

"What does this mean?"  Jason asked.

"Oh, you finished the origin part.  Now that you have your starting powers, you have to pick your faction."

"Hero, villain or Citadel operative?  Is that correct?"

"Right.  Just move your guy to whichever banner you want, then you can enter your name and design your costume." she explained.

"What are the ramifications of each?  Is there some advantage to one over the other?"

"Well," Jenny paused before continuing, "Citadel unlocks a bunch of training style quests.  You end up with better skills and stuff.  Oh, and most of the vendors give you a discount so you'll have better gear than otherwise.  Heroes get a popularity boost in the front end.  NPCs are more cooperative.  That can open up a lot of different options but if you fail a quest you get a huge penalty to your approval.  I think villains have some extra power options but you shouldn't take that one."

"Why not?"

"Anyone from the other two groups can attack you on sight.  It means you'll end up dying all the time, makes the front end of the game really tough.  I think some of the best players go that route but since you're just starting out..."

"Very well, hero, I suppose.  I will likely find out what the operative path is like soon enough." he said, using the game's controller to move his avatar to the correct location.  He entered the name he had chosen as soon as the prompt appeared.

"Paragon?"  Jason was able to recognize the gentle amusement in Jenny's voice.  They had spent only a few hours together, so far, but he could tell he was already getting better.  Her public expressions had always been easy for him to decipher but he had found that, when they were alone, that was not always the case.  Initially, this had concerned him but he was beginning to see it as an opportunity.

"Is that not an appropriate name?  I realize that most vigilantes are no different than regular people, aside from the obvious, but do they not often see themselves as such?"

Jenny laughed and he found himself smiling in response.  "I can't believe you put so much thought into something like that and still came up with something so cliché."  Strange, he hadn't meant to display his happiness.  Such unintended actions were very rare for him.

"I do not understand.  Why would I prefer Paragon three two seven?"

She laughed again.

"It's cause the name's already in use.  If you want one without the extra stuff, you'll need to come up with something more original."

"I... my choice... it was the same as many others'?"

She nodded, slowly.  "Uh huh."

"That is... uncommon for me."  He felt the smile but, again, it was involuntary.

Jenny did not reply but she did move a little closer on the couch.  At this point, they each had a leg and an arm pressing lightly against each other.

"What did you say the name of this game was?" he asked, accepting the game's suggested changes to his name.

"A Hero's Craft."

"Is it popular?"

"Oh, well, kinda?  I used to play it a lot, back before I… you know.  It was a way to interact with people that felt safe.  No big deal if they didn't like me because they weren't really interacting with me, I guess?  There's a whole bunch of people that play it but it's not really cool.  Except for the people that think being nerdy is cool.  Geek culture, I guess.  That's been getting more popular lately."

"I do not know what that means."

"Oh, well, it means lots of people play it but it's not like football or something where you can brag about how good you are.  Not unless you're talking to other people that play it too.  Most people wouldn't know what you mean and some people would think it's something that you should be ashamed of, or at least a little embarrassed about."

"Ah," he said, "so it is like most niche activities.  Very important for those who care about it but of little interest to others?"

She shrugged.  "Pretty much.  Why'd you pick the power set you did?  Healing and debuff is great in a group but that takes a long time to develop."

On the screen, he saw a woman dangling from the side of a building and moved his character to assist.  "It was similar to my mother's ability.  She has often spoken of the regret she felt that some early mistakes cost her a promising career with the Citadel.  I thought it might be interesting to see what would happen in this game if I picked something reminiscent of her power but made different choices."

"Your mom was an operative?  That's kinda cool, Jason.  I know it's pretty common for Empowered people to have at least one close relation with similar abilities, but I'm the first in my family.  Probably part of the reason it took me and my parents so long to figure out what happened.  Guess it didn't go that way for you."

He climbed a nearby fire escape and pulled the woman to safety.  He read the hovering text, which explained that her boyfriend had gone mad after gaining powers and thrown her off the roof.

"No.  I first used my powers in a way that was quite evident to my parents.  Also, my mother was never a full operative.  She completed the same training that we are undergoing, though her description leads me to believe that there have been significant changes in the curriculum.  She made a mistake during field training which led to her removal from the program."

A red glowing man approached Paragon237, presumably the boyfriend.  He began shouting nonsense symbols and attacked with energy blasts the same color as his aura.

"Oh, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to bring up a sore point."  Jason smiled at the worry in Jenny's voice.  He took no pleasure in her distress.  He was just happy that it made sense to him.

The red man was dealing more damage than Jason's character, but he found that he could easily heal himself faster than he was being harmed.

"Please, do not be concerned.  If my mother was present, she would likely be quite unhappy.  However, the event was a matter of public record and holds little meaning for me."

"Okay.  If you don't mind me asking then..."

The attacker fell and Jason watched, momentarily confused, as his character posed over the defeated foe.

"Is that normal?" he asked Jenny, ignoring the question she had clearly been about to ask.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.  Hero characters always do that after they beat a villain or finish a quest."

"That is... odd." he said.  "Do the others have a similar behavior?"

"Not the operatives, but I think villains have a chance to gloat or monologue in the middle of a fight."

He set the controller down.  "You were asking about my mother?"

"Oh, yeah.  Just wondering what her power is.  You don't see many Healer types that are eligible for operative status, much less interested."

"As I understand it, she is able to speed or slow biological processes in those around her.  She could do some healing by accelerating the body's natural processes but it was less effective than most Healer types.  If she used it selectively, she could impair the function of her opponents' bodies, so it made her quite desirable as an operative."

"So she could make someone clumsy or weaker by messing up their muscles?  Sounds really useful" Jenny said.

"It is my understanding that she more commonly targeted the heart or brain."

"Oh.  I guess that fits your power better." she said quietly.

Rather than answer verbally, Jason tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.  He had seen others do something like it but had never been completely certain of when it was appropriate to use.

"Well, it's just that... your eyes... and Anna forfeited to you.  It's pretty obvious that she can tell what other people's powers are.  She challenged Greg when everyone else thought he was some kind of powerhouse and beat him pretty easy.  Even though she gave up rather than fight Kerry."

"What does that have to do with my mother?" he asked.

"Most kids with powers are similar to their parents." she said.  "I know you haven't done real well in the rankings, but I figured that was because you didn't care or you had something too dangerous to use casually."

"You are not wrong.  I was challenged yesterday, but simply notified Coach Achala that I would not contest it."

"That could be a bad idea.  I mean, with the way my and Kerry's challenges worked, you could end up with a chain of people challenging you at the same time.  What if you get dropped really low?"

He looked at her for a moment, before answering.  Jason had to decide whether or not he should include her.  "I expect that I will be the lowest ranked in our class before long." he said.  "Hector has actually begun to suggest something similar to many of the people that I currently outrank."

They were interrupted by a loud thump from the front of the house.

"What-?" he began, before being cut off by the look of disgust on Jenny's face.

"Kerry's back.  You should go.  I... I'm sorry but you're not very well liked by a bunch of the others and I'm afraid..."

"I understand.  You do not wish to lose your popularity."

"No!  It's not that.  Remember, I literally don't get a choice in what I'll do if I'm around the wrong people.  What if they think it'd be cool for me to make fun of you or something?"

Jason considered that.  "You... wish to protect me?"  She nodded.  "Then I will go."