‘I think we should bring Red in on this, yes.’ Twilight frowned. ‘We need to catch this one fast, partner. He’s one really sick puppy, he’s going to do it again, and this is not exactly our raison d’être.’
3rd April.
Andrea opened the door of her apartment on the third knock and found herself looking at Mrs Petrowski, the landlady. She was an overweight woman with an overbite and a perpetual scowl, but Andrea had always got on fairly well with her.
‘Mrs Petrowski, to what do I owe the pleasure?’
‘Yeah, well, it’s not going to be a pleasure for either of us.’ The woman made no move to enter, which seemed odd.
‘What’s up?’
‘I’m going to have to ask you to leave. The building insurance doesn’t cover having an Ultra living here, see? I’ve had a couple of complaints, but I could ignore that…’
‘I’m thinking she’s not ignoring that at all,’ Twilight remarked sourly.
‘The insurance though… No, if anything happens they could hold you up and say it was someone trying to get to you. You’ve got to go. A week. Yes, a week and then you’re out.’
‘But–’
‘A week!’ The heavy woman turned, her face flushed, and hurried away down the corridor.
Andrea slammed the door and then fell against it. ‘Well… fuck!’ she said. ‘What am I going to do now?’
~~~
‘Easy,’ Cygnus said from the shelter of the radio mast on the top of the Trade Tower, ‘you move in with us.’
Twilight was less bothered by the steady drizzle falling on her. Her suit and cowl covered far more skin and the cold did not bother her at all. She sat with her back against the metalwork, looking morose.
‘Andrea’s not keen. She’s saying it’s an imposition and it was fine for a few days while we were getting used to this, but–’
‘Stuff that. We’re friends as well as partners. You’ll never find another apartment in a week. Not one you’d actually want to live in anyway. Your room’s free, and it’s just about as big as your apartment is. And it’s got its own bathroom.’
‘You should talk it over with June…’
‘She enjoyed having you there as much as I did, but if it makes you feel better, I will.’
Twilight giggled. ‘Andrea says she can see the headlines now: “Ultrahumans in Lesbian Love Nest.”’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Cygnus replied, all seriousness, ‘June’s not an Ultra.’
4th April.
‘You know,’ Jacob said, ‘they let me out of the hospital because I’m fit to leave.’
Andrea continued to hover as she walked him to his door. ‘Maybe, but you’re still on medical leave and you’re going to rest. Heather said she would drop around later and bring you up to speed on the work stuff, but you are not to get too worked up over anything.’
‘There’s something to get worked up about?’
‘Actually… no, not that I can think of.’
‘So, nothing to worry about then.’ He opened the door. ‘To be honest, I’m still tired and I’m going to sit on my chair and watch… I don’t know what I’ll watch, but something mind-numbing. Want to come in?’
Andrea paused. ‘Yes, but if I do, I’ll probably put your recovery back.’
He gave her a grin. ‘Want me fit and strong before you molest me?’
She grinned back. ‘Basically, yes.’
~~~
‘Your landlady may be a bigoted piece of cat shit,’ Red stated, ‘but she has a point, in a way.’
Andrea frowned at her and took a sip of wine before replying. ‘I’ll agree with the first part. What’s she got right?’
‘You need somewhere with better security. You’re out in the open now, like I am and Bobby was. Moving in with Cygnus is a good idea. Her place has excellent security.’
‘That’s settled then,’ June put in. ‘We can move you over tomorrow. There’s no point in staying where you’re not wanted. And by “we” I mean you and I can supervise Cygnus while she does all the heavy lifting.’
Andrea giggled, and then went back to sober very quickly. ‘What about that other matter? The one in Churchton.’
‘My contacts are getting me the police reports,’ Red replied. ‘I’ll go over them when I get them. You’re right, that one needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible, but that’s not a conversation I want to have now.’
Andrea nodded. ‘Sorry, it just came to me.’ She glanced at her partner standing beside her. ‘I think we both want that one nailed as soon as possible.’
Cygnus nodded. ‘And that’s one case where someone else is going to have to do the heavy lifting.’
5th April.
Mrs Petrowski had not looked especially pleased to see Cygnus, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, carrying Andrea’s stuff out of the building. Considering that she had wanted her tenant gone, that seemed odd. As a couple of other tenants turned up to glower at the two Ultras and June, it became a little clearer: several of the people in the building, including the landlady, were simply prejudiced.
On the other hand, a couple of people stopped by to say goodbye to Andrea. She barely knew them, but they seemed genuine. They all said that Petrowski was wrong kicking her out, which made Andrea feel better but it just made Cygnus more annoyed. They seemed to know that the woman was doing it to be rid of an Ultra rather than because of the insurance.
They had been working for about forty minutes and were almost done when a van pulled up beside the one they were loading. The ACPN logo was painted on the side and Cygnus frowned at it, wondering what was going on. A blonde man holding a microphone emerged, followed by a shorter woman with a camera. They headed straight for Cygnus.
‘Jackson Sanders,’ the blonde said, ‘with ACPN. We heard you were here and we hoped to get a small piece for the “Ultras About Town” segment…’
Cygnus glanced at Andrea, seeing her shake her head slightly, and considered telling the man exactly what was going on anyway, but… Smiling, she turned back to the camera. Sanders waved his hand in a ‘roll it’ motion.
‘Cygnus,’ Sanders said, ‘you’re normally seen fighting muggers and other criminals around the city. What brings you to Friendship this morning?’
‘I’m just helping a friend move house,’ Cygnus replied, keeping her tone light. ‘Super-strength isn’t just useful for throwing Tower Block into the bay.’
‘We don’t see Ultrahumans doing normal things too often.’
‘Because it’s not really that exciting, Jackson. Ultras don’t become different just because they start exhibiting powers. We’re just like everyone else, really. I go shopping, I go to clubs, and I help friends when they need it, just like anyone else would. Most Ultras aren’t freaks.’
‘So you have a life beyond saving people?’
‘Of course. But my private life got far too public before Christmas and I prefer to keep it to myself, when I can. I’m sure no one’s really interested in what kind of beans I buy at the store.’
Sanders gave a chuckle which was distinctly insincere. ‘Thank you for your time, Cygnus, and good luck with the move. And that’s a wrap. Thanks, that was great.’
‘Uh-huh,’ Cygnus replied. ‘How did you guys know I was here anyway? You have psychics on the payroll?’
‘Anonymous tip. Ultra fans call in sightings all the time, though they usually leave a name so we can drop them some credit in the broadcast. Who’s your friend anyway?’
‘Just a friend. I better get back to work.’
Sanders nodded, his gaze drifting toward Andrea, her face half-hidden behind dark glasses. Then he turned and headed back to his van.
Cygnus carried the TV she was holding across to the van they had hired. ‘A little weird,’ she commented.
‘It’s the press,’ Andrea replied, ‘I always think they’re weird. That’s why I prefer it when you handle them. On the bright side, Petrowski looks like someone fed her dog shit. Maybe reporters are useful for somet
hing.’
Unity Base, Antarctica, 6th April.
Andrea stood naked in a room full of brilliant white light. It was not the most comfortable of experiences, but letting Doctor Ultimate check her out seemed like a good idea and this was how he was doing it. So she stood there with her eyes tightly closed, feeling as though the light was burning into her heart…
It came as something of a relief when the world outside her eyelids dimmed and Ultimate’s voice said, ‘You can come out now, Twilight.’
Still seeing ghost images of the light swimming before her eyes, Andrea edged toward the huge door of the scanning chamber. Cygnus was there, holding out a rather utilitarian wrap, and then helping to steer the way to where the world’s most intelligent man was hunched over various displays.
Alice was there too, giving Andrea a smile. ‘He’ll be up for air in a few seconds,’ she said.
‘He was doing a lot of cooing over the data feeds,’ Cygnus added.
‘Generally that means he’s found something interesting,’ Alice explained. ‘It isn’t always a good sign, but I don’t think he found anything to be worried about.’
‘Worriednobutveryexcitingand…’ Ultimate rushed out.
‘Hugh,’ Alice interrupted.
‘…somewhatperp… I was talking too fast? My apologies. I’m…’
‘Excited?’ Andrea suggested.
‘Very! The UID are going to ask me about your reclassification and, frankly, I’m at a loss. Magnitude four, at least. Elemental possibly, but I suspect they’ll stick with A-class. I wouldn’t argue; you are not a normal E. And then there are the EEG readings.’
‘Brainwaves?’ Cygnus asked.
‘Quite.’ He turned and tapped at his keyboard at break-finger speed. Four screens lit up with different graphs showing patterns of wiggly lines. ‘On the left is my baseline, which happens to be my lovely Alice. She has a beautiful mind.’
‘And now you see why I married him,’ Alice said, smirking. ‘He says the nicest things.’
Ultimate gave her a smile and then went on. ‘Beside that is one I took from Cygnus when she was in the scanner.’
‘They don’t look that different,’ Cygnus noted.
‘If you look closely,’ Alice said, ‘you’ll see a relative increase in gamma waves, the higher-frequency ones.’
‘They tend to be associated with cross-hemispheric activities,’ Ultimate explained. ‘This is one of the usual characteristics of Ultrahumans. I have it, Brightstar and Adamantium do, and I’m sure Twilight was showing it before her accident.’
‘And now?’ Andrea asked. She was looking at the last two screens which looked a lot more complicated.
‘Gettingtothat. On the right is me.’ The right-hand screen showed a huge jumble of overlapping brainwaves, a tangle of lines which made no sense. ‘I tend to be running several different thought processes at once and it shows in my EEG. That, of course, leaves us with Andrea’s EEG, which lies somewhere between the two extremes.’
‘So,’ Andrea said slowly, ‘it’s not just some kind of mental illusion? Twilight is really a different personality operating at the same time in my head?’
‘You demonstrate the same sort of compartmentalised thought patterns as I do,’ Ultimate stated, ‘just on a smaller scale. Yes, your two personalities are real, and they coexist.’
‘Never doubted it,’ Twilight commented.
‘As for your powers…’ Ultimate went on. ‘Truthfully I’m at a loss. I’ve called in our expert.’
‘Expert?’ Andrea asked.
Ultimate gave a nod. ‘She’ll be here inside of an hour.’
‘Who?’ Andrea and Cygnus chorused.
~~~
‘Viviane,’ Cygnus whispered as the woman in the red tabard walked into the room.
Once upon a time, the name ‘Viviane’ had struck fear into a substantial amount of the British population and it had taken a team of mystics and the Union to bring her down. She was still feared as much as respected, even though she worked as the principal magic advisor to the Union. Her power was more or less legendary, she was supposed to be immortal, and the gaze she immediately turned on Andrea held the cold distain she was famous for. On the other hand, she was beautiful, in a cool way, with a slim body which her nearly non-existent, tabard-dress showed off to perfection. Her thick, black hair fell over her left breast to her waist. Under it was an angular sort of face with highly arched eyebrows and icy blue eyes.
‘I see being dragged to this Goddess-blasted hole was not without good reason, Hugh,’ Viviane said as she walked toward Andrea.
‘We know you hate confined spaces, Viviane,’ Alice said. ‘We wouldn’t have brought you down here if we didn’t think your talents were needed.’ That explained meeting in the lab; the ceiling there was very high.
‘She’s a bit of a mystery,’ Ultimate stated. ‘The power signature is definitely more like yours than, say, mine.’
Viviane gave a grunt. ‘Come, child,’ she said to Andrea, ‘stand up, let me have a proper look at you.’
Andrea got to her feet and, after a second of hesitation, pulled herself up straight. Viviane reached out a hand toward her, light flickering around her spread fingers as she worked some form of magic.
‘There is inherent power,’ the witch said after a few seconds. ‘She was an Ultrahuman before this… shadow came upon her. I sense animal… sensuous… a cat, but then…’ She stopped, closing her eyes, and her brow furrowed as she concentrated. ‘Something ancient… dark, but only a part, a fragment…’
Viviane stepped back, lowering her arm and looking almost scared. ‘There is something very powerful and very dark inside you, girl. I can’t tell exactly what it plans. I don’t know why it’s there, but I believe it has always been part of you. It feeds on fear… The sword, keep it with you, especially at night.’
Andrea blinked, her hand lifting the hilt of her weapon. ‘This? Why?’
‘You don’t know? Ah, well, perhaps not. It’s old, hand-crafted, ritually blessed to protect the one who bonds with it as you have done. I sense magic which fortifies the spirit, perhaps more. If you don’t know it does that, it is possible that you have not yet tapped its full potential.’ Viviane’s gaze snapped to Ultimate, sitting on a stool and watching the interplay. ‘We need to watch this one, Hugh. She’s dangerous.’
Andrea raised an eyebrow.
‘Tactful as ever, Viviane,’ Alice commented.
‘Darkness is something I have some familiarity with, Alice,’ Viviane replied. ‘From the inside, if you will. I know what I’m talking about.’
Ultimate coughed. ‘Yes, well, I have some additional tests to run. Viviane, I’d like you to observe.’
The witch nodded, her gaze never leaving Andrea, as though the darkness might choose any moment to come out and attack them.
~~~
The snow came up to her mid-calves. Below that it was hard-packed permafrost and quite able to carry Andrea’s weight. It was night, but she could see perfectly. The sky overhead was clear, far clearer than anything she had ever seen before, but the stars were partially obscured by the brilliant green of the aurora as it danced overhead. Alice had said it was brightest in April and October and it was certainly giving a good display now.
‘Aren’t you cold?’
Andrea did not look around at the sound of the voice; she had heard someone trudging through the snow. ‘Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Assuming you’re still in that same nothing dress.’
‘Resisting low temperatures is a simple spell.’ Viviane stepped up beside Andrea, her gaze on the sky. ‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah… I came out here for the dark, but… Yeah, it’s beautiful.’
‘Darkness calling to darkness?’ Viviane asked, though Andrea got the impression it was an attempt at a joke.
‘I’ve been staring into bright lights all day. I’ve got a headache.’
‘Ah…’ For a second the aurora seemed to be flickering around Andre
a. ‘Better?’
The pain behind Andrea’s eyes was already easing. ‘Uh… yes, thank you. If you don’t mind me saying, you seem to have lightened up on me. You were…’
‘Harsh, tactless? Yes, I often am. Alice pointed out a few things. You are, as I said, dangerous, but… Alice reminded me how much effort they had to put into turning my life around and you’re starting from a far better place than I was.’ She sighed. ‘We’re likely to be seeing more of each other and we should probably try to be friends, or at least not enemies.’
‘We are?’
‘I’ll be dropping in now and then, checking up.’
‘Oh. Well… I suppose I should expect that.’
Before Viviane could answer, Cygnus dropped into the snow beside them. ‘Aren’t you guys cold?’ she asked.
‘Inner core of icy space,’ Andrea replied.
‘Possibly the most powerful Wiccan on the planet,’ Viviane said.
‘What’s your excuse?’ Andrea added. ‘You’re standing there in a tiny, plastic swimsuit.’
Cygnus frowned, looking up at the sky. ‘Uh… Actually it was cold for about a second when I stepped out and then… I guess I adjusted.’
‘Hugh mentioned that you had a rather unusual power, not unlike my magic,’ Viviane said.
‘You know,’ Andrea said, her tone a little wary, ‘I still don’t really believe in magic.’
Viviane gave a throaty laugh. ‘For someone who does not believe in it, you have a lot of it hanging around you. Besides’ – and she pointed up at the sky – ‘look at that and tell me there is no magic in the world.’
‘Well… I mean it’s not magic, it’s… Yeah, I guess you have a point. Sort of.’
Silence fell in the green-lit darkness as the three women stood watching the light show above them.
Part Two: Rough Diamond
New Millennium City, MD, 11th April, 2014.
Rex stood beside the bed in the largest of the suite’s rooms. On the bed, between him and the woman in red, was a map of the city he had picked up at a tourist advice shop in Uptown. It lacked detail, but it showed the main areas of the city and was not particularly large.
Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) Page 10
