Isolation

by Kevin Hardman

  “A magic fox, actually,” she replied, laughing. “Still, that’s pretty good. According to legend, a kitsune is a fox or fox spirit with various powers, such as shapeshifting, flight, invisibility–”

  “Are you serious?” I interjected, suddenly feeling odd because she was actually rattling off a list of my powers. “You can do all that?”

  “That’s what the kitsune of legend can purportedly do,” she explained. “They can also, supposedly, draw on the life-force of others.”

  “And that’s what you can do,” I realized. “And if they have superpowers, you can siphon those, too – gain their abilities for yourself.”

  “Only temporarily,” she clarified. “But typically, it only works on the opposite sex. And if I take any of their life-force, guys have a tendency to become obsessed with me. They’re basically fixated on and drawn to me because, on some level, they know a part of them is inside me. But – unless I draw from them on a regular basis – eventually it fades, for lack of a better term, and everything goes back to normal.”

  I spent a moment mulling over what she’d just said and reflecting back on the period of time after I’d first felt her power. Back then, I actually hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Cat and her abilities for hours.

  “My mom says it’ll pass,” she continued. “She says it’s just a phase – this fear of people knowing about me – and things will be better when I’m older and in full control of my powers.”

  “She’s like you,” I stated.

  “Yeah, but why do I get the feeling you already knew that?” she inquired.

  Ignoring what I assumed to be a rhetorical question, I asked, “Do you think she’s right?”

  Cat shrugged. “She doesn’t seem to have any issues with her powers. That said, it probably doesn’t hurt that – under certain circumstances and with proper control – the siphoning can also give an exquisite kind of, uh…pleasure.”

  I stared at her for a moment, not understanding. And then, recalling the conversation between Capri and my father, the truth hit me.

  “Oh,” I muttered, while Cat looked away, slightly embarrassed. “Anyway, I think I understand now why you don’t want people to know about you.”

  “If people knew I could drain their life-force – and sometimes do it slightly by accident – they wouldn’t want to be around me,” she explained. “It’s happened in the past. Family members are afraid to hug you. Friends don’t want to be near you. Guys don’t want to hold your hand.”

  “Not everyone is like that, I’m sure,” I said.

  “Most,” she argued, “so I’ve just learned to keep that part of myself under wraps.”

  “Well, feel free to unwrap that part around me.”

  “You say that now,” Cat retorted, “but after you’ve had a chance to…”

  She suddenly trailed off as I reached over and took her hand. It was an act that took her by complete surprise (and me as well, since I had done it without consciously thinking about it). For a long time, she just stared at our clasped hands, like it was something she had never seen before. I realized then that – perhaps aside from her parents and Vestibule – actual human contact with someone who knew what she was (and the power she had) was something Cat probably hadn’t experienced in quite some time. After maybe a minute, she looked at me and gave me a warm, bright smile.

  ***

  Cat and I stayed outside simply holding hands for perhaps another fifteen minutes. There was nothing romantic or implied in the act – it was a purely platonic gesture on both our parts. However, even without my empathic abilities, I could tell that having human contact in that way – with someone who wasn’t afraid of her or what she could do – meant the world to Cat.

  At some juncture, my phone rang. Noting that it was Mouse calling, I excused myself and hastily stepped away for privacy.

  “Hey,” I said upon answering. “You need me for something?”

  “How quickly can you get to the helipad?”

  “In about a minute.”

  “Okay,” Mouse replied. “But you need to hurry or you’ll miss it.”

  With that, he hung up, leaving me puzzled as to what he was talking about.

  Quickly returning to Cat, I said, “I’ve got to take off for a minute. Will you tell the others I’ll be back as soon as I can?”

  “Sure,” she said. “Be careful.”

  “I will,” I promised.

  Cat then turned to head back towards the embassy, but had barely taken a step before she suddenly spun back in my direction, impulsively throwing her arms around my neck and giving me a big hug. Caught a little off guard, I recovered enough to hug her back. Again, it was platonic, but I understood it was something she needed, especially when she whispered “Thank you” in my ear before stepping back.

  I gave her a short wave and then teleported.

  Chapter 68

  I popped up on the helipad, noting almost immediately that the spot that would normally be occupied by a chopper now had another craft sitting there. It was sleek and streamlined, with a futuristic design that made it look space-worthy. A moment later, I realized it actually was space-worthy. I was looking at a Caelesian shuttlecraft.

  Confused, I quickly scanned the place and saw Mouse nearby talking to two people. One was the Caelesian guard I’d spoken to on the rooftop of the diner. The other was Older Jim – the future version of me.

  Confused, I began walking in the direction of the trio. Seeing me approach, Mouse quickly broke off his conversation with the other two and headed towards me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked when we drew close.

  “The other you is leaving the planet,” Mouse replied.

  I was dumbfounded. “You’re sending him to Caeles?”

  “Why not?” my mentor almost demanded. “This whole temporal issue he has going on is their fault. That being the case, he can go there and screw up their timeline.”

  I frowned as his words sank in. The Caelesians were somehow involved in Older Jim’s predicament? It was news to me, and showed how little I actually knew of what had happened to him. Rather than ask a bunch of questions, however, I simply said, “I’m surprised the Caelesians went for that.”

  “It wasn’t for nothing,” Mouse assured me, glancing at the guard.

  My brow crinkled for a moment, and then the truth hit me.

  “No,” I muttered. “Tell me you didn’t let them bug Alpha League HQ.”

  “It’s a small price to pay to get the future you off-planet,” he said. “Besides, they’re not going to hear anything I don’t want them to.”

  I was pretty confident that Mouse knew what he was doing, but still found myself shaking my head in dismay. I simply wasn’t wild about letting someone bug HQ – even if said someone did address and treat me like royalty.

  “Come on,” Mouse said. “Let’s go say our goodbyes.”

  Mouse started heading back to the other two, and I followed. We were just reaching them when their conversation seemed to draw to a close.

  Turning to me, the guard inclined her head, saying, “Highness.”

  I acknowledged her greeting, at which point she simply headed inside the shuttle and took a seat in the cockpit – presumably the pilot’s chair.

  “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Mouse said to the older me, extending his hand.

  “That it is,” Older Jim said, “although I still think a burger and fries would have been fine for the road.”

  “Eat your apple,” Mouse retorted, “and be grateful.”

  Shaking his head in mock frustration, Older Jim looked at me and said, “Try to get him to loosen up, okay? I really don’t remember him being this strict.”

  “I’ll try,” I assured him. “You gonna be okay?”

  “Of course!” he stated matter-of-factly. “I like Caeles, so this will be a nice visit.”

  I asked telepathically.

  “Hey, you two,” Mouse suddenly said. “Let’s
keep this exchange limited.”

  “Chill, man,” Older Jim admonished. “We were just saying goodbye. How often do you get a chance to see yourself off?”

  “One is too many,” Mouse groused. “Now get going.”

  “Fine, I’m leaving,” Older Jim declared in mock anger. “It’s not good to spend too much time around this place anyway.”

  As he spoke, he glanced around at our surroundings, making it clear that his last statement was in relation to HQ. Grumbling something about my mentor being a grouch, Older Jim then went into the shuttle and took a seat next to the guard. He waved goodbye, and within a few seconds, the craft started to rise. Moments later, ascending far faster than I’d assumed it would, it had cleared the roof, and in less than a minute was lost to sight.

  I was still looking up when the roof started to close, presumably as a result of something Mouse did.

  “So,” he droned, “what did you and the other Jim talk about?”

  “Huh?” I murmured.

  “That little telepathic exchange at the end.”

  “Oh, uh, we were just saying goodbye. Also, he called you some names he probably couldn’t say out loud.”

  “Hmmm,” Mouse droned, plainly contemplating something. “Anyway, you should probably get back to your guests.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “This party-hosting thing is more work than I figured.”

  With that, I said goodbye and teleported home.

  ***

  When I reappeared at the embassy, everyone was at the breakfast table, playing a board game that worked in conjunction with a phone app. They offered to start over so I could be included, but I told them I’d join the next game. Standing off to the side, I simply watched, noting that the game appeared to be a lot of fun. More importantly, everyone seemed to be having fun, and it was great having most of the people I was close to here.

  As I was thinking this, Smokey got eliminated from the game. Laughing and joking, he got up from the breakfast table and came over to stand next to me.

  “Bad luck,” I said of his elimination.

  “I’ll get them next time,” he promised. “Since you’re joining in the next game, I don’t suppose you’d be interested in an alliance?”

  “Of course,” I stated with a grin.

  “Cool,” Smokey said. “Oh, before I forget, my car’s in the shop so I had to catch a rideshare here. Any chance you can get me back to HQ after the party?”

  I was about to respond in the affirmative, when I was hit with a sudden inspiration – partially as a result of something Older Jim had said before boarding the shuttle.

  “Why don’t you stay here?” I asked.

  “You mean crash overnight? Uh, sure, that sounds like fun.”

  “No, I mean stay here. Move in. It’s just me and Myshtal, and we’ve got plenty of room. I mean, I’ll have to clear it with Myshtal since it’s her home, too, but I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.”

  Smokey frowned. “I don’t know, man. What would your mom and grandparents say?”

  “They’d ask why I’m letting my friend stay by himself in a cold and uncaring place like League HQ.”

  He chuckled. “‘Uncaring’ is a bit harsh, but it can get a little quiet with practically no other teens around.”

  “You mean it gets lonely,” I stated in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

  “Hey, man – I’m a guy,” he shot back. “We don’t get lonely. We prize our solitude, just so you know.” I chuckled at his statement while Smokey paused to take a breath. “That said, the, uh, ‘quiet’ does get to be a bit much sometimes.”

  “I get it,” I assured him, still grinning. “But it just occurred to me that you really should be staying with family – if not the one you’re related to by blood, then the one you chose via friendship.”

  Smokey appeared to mull this over, then nodded. “Okay, why don’t we give it a whirl on a trial basis – maybe a week – and reassess then.”

  “Sounds good,” I stated. Glancing at the breakfast table, I noted that the game was still going strong. “The others may be playing for a while. If we head to League HQ now, you can grab some things and we can pop back without missing a beat.”

  “That works,” Smokey declared flatly.

  Shouting “We’ll be right back” to the table in general, I wrapped Smokey in my power and teleported the two of us, mentally thanking Older Jim for planting the notion in my brain (and wondering if it had been a subtle hint about the future).

  THE END

  Kid Sensation Series

  Sensation: A Superhero Novel

  Mutation (A Kid Sensation Novel)

  Infiltration (A Kid Sensation Novel)

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  Coronation (A Kid Sensation Novel)

  Replication (A Kid Sensation Novel)

  Incarnation (A Kid Sensation Novel)

  Isolation (A Kid Sensation Novel)

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