by P. S. Power
The man across from her just smiled.
"Help with the props. Someone that can get things set up without messing with the camera shots is worth their weight in gold. There are always a thousand things that need to be done. Say... Do you think anyone else with super powers will be willing to help out? That could potentially save so much on the special effects budget. According to Brian Yi we don't actually have one of those, so it might not be a minor thing."
Penny shrugged and asked the men to hold on for a few seconds, going to the front, the plane still sitting on the ground, and digging into Lancaster's stuff for the pair of sweats she'd brought with her. They were standard IPB issue, and her tennis shoes were the same kind almost everyone on the base wore. She'd stolen them from the stores there after all. Her clothing didn't get delivered like everyone else. It did get picked up for cleaning though, which was nice. She just had to lift what she wanted from the tenth floor laundry facility a few times a week.
After she settled back into her seat she started talking again, which got both of the men to jump.
"Gah!" Alan smiled as he moved, his eyes going wide. "I hate to say it, but I forgot about you Pen."
"You and everyone else. Don't worry about it, that's just my power. I just put some clothing on. In case you're wondering, I look hot." She did too. Or at least trim and like she had a decent figure. A little lean and sporty maybe, but not too much so. That didn't take into account her face, which she only knew from memory. She couldn't see herself in a mirror or anything. It made cutting her hair a chore and a half.
"Now, as to people with powers, that's pretty likely really. You should make a point of asking for volunteers. Most people won't, past the obvious ones, but there are some talented people at the IPB. Not just special abilities either. Singers, and people that can dance really well. People with physical powers are good at that kind of thing. Prime and Argos are really good looking too. Karen can do gymnastics and stuff. I don't know how that fits in, if it does, but she's really good."
Glen nodded.
"Great. I nominate you for that. You can help me find the right people to ask. Get me the introductions and make sure that no one thinks I'm just trying to get them into bed. I mean, that too, of course, you can be my wing woman, but not just that. The days of the casting couch are long gone. A horrible thing, but it really has improved the quality of movies and television." It was clear that he was teasing, but Penny chuckled a bit and patted his leg, leaning over. More of a gentle stroking actually. Just near the knee. If he'd been able to feel it, she would have freaked of course, but it was only being flirtatious.
Then she rested her hand on Alan's leg, groping it every now and then too, so he wouldn't feel lonely or left out.
"I can at least help you find the right person to help you with that. I think I know the guy you need. Denis? He's on Mark's show. He used to be a complete jerk, but he's doing a lot better lately. A bit of a foul mouth, but don't take it personally. He just does that so everyone will realize he isn't gay."
That was a bit of an issue for him. Not that people thought he really was, but he'd get pissed if anyone even acted like it might be the case. It was because his father was an abusive asshole, or had been, before he caught most of a magazine from a nine millimeter with his face.
They got a little safety briefing, which the men ignored, but Lancaster didn't, which got Penny to try and pay attention too, even though she'd heard it all before. Strangely enough the woman, who was sitting near the front, on the right hand side, put her book down and seemed to be watching closely as well. She hadn't seemed like the type to think outside herself, but there was, it seemed, something more to her than just a pretty, and highly sculpted, face.
The take-off was smooth and the men all worked on things. The two near her actually used the time to go over show plans, including her occasionally, when they remembered. It was pretty nice of them. She didn't say a lot, since that wasn't her kind of thing, but no one put her ideas down when she gave them. That was probably because they were all pretty safe and normal things. A few Christmas tunes she liked, a strange, food based, retelling of "A Christmas Carol", that kind of thing.
Alan really liked that one and wrote it down, even as Glen stuck out his tongue at her. He couldn't see her, but he got things about right, making it seem like he was staring right at her the whole time.
"Not bad. Different. We can't let it go over the top or it will become a farce, but if we just do something a little strange, maybe have a few meals through the thing and put the recipes up when they're on screen? You know, how to make plum pudding or roast a goose. That sort of thing?"
They kicked the idea around for a while, then moved on. It wasn't, she didn't think, that no one liked the idea, as much as that they wanted to present a lot of different things to the others when they got to the base. There was a meeting scheduled, with Mark and Brian. Penny didn't know if it would happen for certain, but there was a better than even chance that Proxy wouldn't have to fight in any given two or three hour period. He normally went out once a day or so. There was no rhythm to it as far as she could tell, but that's what seemed to happen most days. He'd vanish in the middle of doing something else, come back and run off to report whatever happened, if he didn't have to go to medical first.
It was freakishly nerve wracking.
Penny had her issues with him, sure, but she was also as close to him as anyone else on the planet. It always left her tense and afraid when he left, not knowing if this was the time he just wouldn't come back. It would happen eventually. He did too many impossible things for it to not work that way. That was another good reason not to like him too much. If she got used to him, he'd just end up being taken away. Sooner or later it was coming. Hopefully later.
They landed just as it was just turning to evening at the base, using the single landing strip on the far side. There was more than one place to land, but the jet always used this one, as did the other, larger planes they had. They were kept in their big hangers, and normally didn't get used, unless there was an emergency. The only reason that they were flying in the nice plane was that Christian liked Lancaster. Not in a way that would get her in trouble with her boyfriend, but in an actual friendly manner. The man seemed to reservedly return the feeling, so it wasn't that hard to see how they might be buddies. They didn't hang out, but no one on Team Three really did. The closest to that were probably her and Mark, or oddly, her and Denis, since he'd gotten out of lock-up.
"Damn, I just realized, I'm the Team Three social butterfly." She spoke out loud, and the strange words made Glen smile, but he kept writing and didn't ask about it. She explained anyway, since Alan had an expression on his face she took to mean he wanted to know more. "My first mode makes me really shy in groups, but lately I've been managing to do all right. I just realized that."
"Ah. I'd wondered what your thing was. Mine is pie. I know it's not the same thing, but I just really love pie." After a second he tilted his head. "All right, that sounded wrong, didn't it?"
The older man with his gray hair and still cute face grinned.
"Who doesn't like pie though?"
Then they both laughed a bit, and nodded as if it only made sense. Penny grinned, but kept her mouth shut. After all, that kind of talk would probably push her into stammering if she tried.
They all collected their things and moved off the plane quickly, since they didn't have to fight with a hundred and fifty other people to do it. Penny always had to wait until the end too, in cases like that. No one could avoid her if the press of bodies was too tight. When they got outside there was an array of people that were pretty much the base's dignitaries, so she nudged Alan and then Glen a bit. Twice each. They didn't get it, thinking they were just unsteady from hours of sitting probably.
"I'll fill you in on who's who, if you don't know. Alan should have a lot of them, from the conference in Miami. From the left of the reception line then?" She pointed, but had been at the invisibilit
y game long enough to know that the only one that would see her doing it was Brian. He waved a bit, so she did it back, not wanting to seem like a total bitch. "The gentleman on the end is Kevin Moore, Director of the IPB. He's the one you have to actually impress. Next to him is Charlot Chambers, our PR person, which makes her actually important to you too, I'd guess. She's a bitch, but it's just her first mode, so don't take it personally and you'll be fine. She can seem mean, but she's a real pro when it comes to getting the work done."
They kept walking the two men not saying anything, but clearly listening if their body postures meant anything.
"Prime is next to her, her husband, famous super-hero and Brian's son. Yes, I know he's older than Proxy by ten-plus years, but there was a time travel thing. Anyway, their daughter is the girl next to them. She's on Team One and is a total sweetie, but impulsive. Hence her code name. Impulse. Don't try to tease her, since anything you say can get her to take action and probably will."
Brian was next, which she pointed out as they closed with him, getting him to just nod in their direction.
"Next to him we have Karen Young, who you've both met, and rounding the group out we have Tobin Peterson. If you don't get him to sing in the show, you're morons. I mean it. He's probably the best singer on the planet right now. For that matter he'd make a darling Tiny Tim, if you go with that idea." He would too, but she didn't hold her breath about being taken seriously. The man looked like a tiny frog person, with smooth green and black skin. Sometimes there was brown instead of one of the other colors. It was incredibly useless as camouflage really, but it was a lot more interesting than her...nothing.
"Thanks Penny." The little man sounded confident and cool, even though his social anxiety was pretty similar to her own. Denis had been working with him to control that. He'd done that for several people on the base in the last weeks as word got around that he could manage things like that and would, if asked. It didn't work on everyone equally, and it didn't on her at all, since the man had to see his target. She didn't let herself feel too jealous though. Just a bit. Tobin was so awesome that she wouldn't have taken that away from him, even to get the same thing for herself. That there was nothing to be done about it settled the matter for her pretty soundly.
He kept talking, stepping forward, his face pulled up into a vast grin that didn't look human, but still had a kind of cuteness to it.
"Mr. Brown, Mr. Gillis. Thank you for coming. I wanted to come and make sure you had everything you need. A lot of people here are standing by to make sure this works. We all understand that it isn't the IPB holiday special however. Marcia Turner wanted me to point that out specifically. She's off doing some training right now, but will be around during your stay." He held out his hand to the men, who each shook, as the dark haired woman struggled up with a rolling case that didn't want to do that at all. Penny jogged over and took it from her, which got her to look a bit shocked.
Brian explained.
"Your bag is still right next to you. Penny Cooper just picked it up. You won't be able to see it, but it will be in your room, if it doesn't get handed off to you inside."
The thing was a bit heavy, but no worse than what Christian took with her when they traveled. It was a nice thing made of real leather and looked well cared for, but kind of old. That made sense, but could mean anything from it being her lucky luggage to the woman having fallen on hard times and not being able to update. Either way it was being scuffed a lot less with Penny carrying it.
To her great credit the woman just nodded.
"Christian mentioned you to me Penny. She thinks you and I should be fast friends, both of us being pirates after all." There was a grin when the words came out.
Penny smiled back. "Arrr, matey."
No one else seemed to get it, but Director Moore gestured to the front of the building, a multi-story glass and metal thing that looked modern, fresh, and out of place in the middle of the brown wasteland that surrounded them. The glass had a slight greenish cast to it, showing that it was the kind that wouldn't cut you to ribbons when it inevitably broke. Here it was virtually assured to happen after all. Probably when Bridget Chambers flew through it.
The interplay got the girl to dig into her pocket and get her own ear piece out, which meant that they were suddenly at the level of people that Penny was uncomfortable with knowing she was around. It was always worse with Brian there. He looked all right, and though she wasn't into scars in particular, she could see the basic charm. He was Chinese, by ancestry at least, and he had a buzz cut that suited his new, hyper lean, face. It was pleasant enough when he smiled, which he didn't do half as much now as he used to. Part of that was due to her no doubt.
It wasn't her fault that he wigged her out though, was it? That was literally her first mode talking, and she couldn't do anything about it. Thinking about it left her feeling a bit upset. Not mad really, but a little gruff. Thankfully he didn't go out of his way to chat with her at the moment, talking to everyone else that had come instead. It probably seemed pushy to some people, but she understood what was really going on. It was his own first mode. Self-sacrifice. If he had to seem overbearing to make sure people were safe and comfortable, he would. No questions asked.
"We have rooms ready for you. You all got introductions already?" It turned out that the woman, Christian's friend, Tara Junes, didn't know who anyone was, not having an ear bud yet. Lancaster offered her one, or started to.
"Um, I can't take many more people right now Darryl, maybe we could do that later?" She was back to sounding so meek that Glen looked tense suddenly, as if he'd done something wrong personally.
Being the kind of person he was, which was essentially good, and willing to take a bullet for anyone, Brian suggested they get right inside instead, since it was nearly meal time and Warren, the restaurant's head chef had prepared something special for them.
Penny had to cough to cover the sound of her snorting.
"I'll bet he did. Alan is clearly someone he'd want to impress. Too bad I can't be there." She didn't have a reason to be after all. She was sort of hinting that it would be cool if someone invited her, but that didn't happen. Invisible meant second class after all.
She was good enough to go and do the super-secret dirty work, but not the kind of person to invite to the fine meal. Not that the spaghetti they were going to have in her dining hall wouldn't be good, but it was always nice to be included.
"So... are you two going to come hang out after your meal or what?" She said the words, then felt incredibly surprised by them when she remembered that so many people could hear her. It was all she could do not to squeak in shame.
Alan looked at Glen, who winked at the world, not knowing where she was.
"Sounds fun. Let's do that."
Brian laughed at her distress a little, but didn't comment on it, just leading everyone in, as if it were perfectly normal for her to invite people over.
It was almost the farthest thing away from what she'd normally do though, and for just a few seconds she felt herself honestly starting to panic.
Chapter two
It turned out that, once back on base, everything went back to normal instantly. That was, as soon as she left the main hallway everyone in the place forgot about her. It was the way she was comfortable with things, even if it wasn't exactly what she really wanted. It would have been nice if someone would have given her a hug, or even just welcomed her back. Instead it was just time for her to go to her room and get a shower. Alone.
It hadn't been lost on her though that Tobin had come to see her with an ear piece in. That was kind of special. Alan had too, come to think of it. It was definitely a step up in the world. Half a year before no one could even speak to her at all, and now people were making an effort to be there for her, even though it didn't directly gain them anything. It was nice, and really did help take the edge off the isolation she'd been starting to feel.
After a quick shower in her little bathroom she felt bett
er at least. Cleaner. There was something about putting a bullet through a man's skull that always made her feel a bit dirty. Not too much so, since she didn't really care about things like that most of the time, but it was enough to be annoying. No one had seen her do it and that helped a lot. After all, that was a big part of who she really was. A person freed from the idea of being caught. She could do anything without fear.
Almost anything.
She couldn't get people to notice her without worry, could she? That was an amazingly big part of things. What she could do however, was make certain to clean her weapons and re-arm. Conroy had told her to make certain she was armed whenever possible, and also to take care of her shit. To make sure she was ready at any moment, for anything, just in case something came up. So had that strange package of information she'd gotten from that woman. There was a lot of secret stuff in it and she'd had to burn it, after taking pains to read it all several times.
It had come from Trivia, a person that she'd thought was one of the IPB's worst enemies, but who turned out to have been undercover with their current enemy for decades instead. The only person she could trust not to be seen by the leader of the bad guys was, naturally, Penny, since invisible really worked sometimes. The data had been interesting to say the least. It was a plan, of sorts. In the end it wasn't that hard to figure out what to do. She just had to find Braid, whose real name was Devorah Timberland-Moore, and put a bullet through her brain. Or stab her in the throat. Pretty much anything would work, as long as they were alone when it happened, and she did it fast, without any warning at all.
The woman could see the future really well, but those visions required things to be visible, or at least spoken about. Penny could avoid those conditions, so she was truly an unknown to the woman. The Director's wife. Who, as it turned out, was from a different dimension. Because that made total sense. Then, a lot of people around the place were from the same alien universe lately. Hobbs from Team Two, Brian's new girlfriend. Prime's mom...
