"Well, that's pretty bad but..."
"They sent in Intervention Prime. William Power himself couldn't stand up to it, just started screaming before he was close enough to reach the crystal and flew off. Worse, the gas didn't fade when he left the area. It just kept spreading."
"This thing took down William Power and I've never heard of him?" Isaac's eyes were wide. "How did they...?"
"They dropped C- another Prime member, someone with a strong offense, right on top of him. He destroyed the crystal, killed Chemo, but he didn't have any toughness. The fall almost killed him and Chemo's gas..." Hector had to stop, just for a moment. "Like I said, the gas kept expanding, even when he was gone.
“The free floating stuff died out eventually. But the people affected, well, it turned out that the gas was actually alive, a cloud of little parasite things. Anyone affected by the gas, everyone but William Power, they had that same level of crippling pain for the rest of their lives. No one's ever found a drug that can kill the parasites and, since it's an ongoing thing, most Healer types can't do anything about it either." Hector tried not to let the bitterness seep into his voice.
"How do you know so much about this one?"
"The hospital, the one Chemo was at when he changed? My mom was in a different ward, giving birth to my little brother."
"Oh." Isaac's voice was quiet. "I, I didn't know you had a brother."
"I don't."
"Sorry... I didn't..."
"No." Hector had to work to make himself cheer up, but not as hard as he used to. "I know your tragic backstory, only fair that you get to hear mine. Besides, I was too young to really remember."
"Then, is your mother...?"
"Yeah. She's still alive, but she's bedridden, needs constant care."
"That must be hard, being away from her, even for something like Citadel training."
Hector smiled. "When I first started taking care of her, she told me she didn't want me missing out on my life just for her sake. I promised I wouldn't. You can probably guess how that worked out."
"Oh!" Isaac smiled back. "Ha, I guess so."
"Damn. I really thought that would work." Hector said, then shook his head at Isaac's confused expression. "So yeah, Chemo and Monster, just because they each beat William Power and we're counting him. And if you've never heard of Chemo, there's probably a bunch more neither one of us knows about."
"You're right, but I think that still supports the point I was gonna make." Isaac said. "It's not about controlling the public, it's about the Empowered. They want them thinking that the only ones who're a big deal, the ones that are a threat to a city or the country, are the unstoppables. That way, the ones with a taste for violence, the criminals, don't go on a rampage just because they can juggle cars with their mind or something."
"Instead, they stick to regular crime, small scale stuff."
"That or head off to the Battlegrounds, yeah."
"Isaac, you realize this's how that started, right?"
"What?"
"The Battlegrounds, Canada was the first part of it."
"Really? I always thought it spread up from Mexico."
"No. I found that, too. Those groups, the Angels, the Committee and the Society, they basically tore Canada apart. But they couldn't hold onto it. Once order broke down, more and more Empowered kept showing up. A group or a strong individual would claim a territory, sometimes they wanted to rule it, sometimes they were just protecting their home, and another would come along to knock them down."
"What about the military?" Isaac asked.
"This was just after the First War, conventional militaries didn't have any kind of answer to Empowered back then. It just sort of spread through Canada, then down through the mid-west. Mexico had their own break down, but that wasn't till the forties."
"So there were two Battlegrounds back then?"
"There still are, sort of. Depends on if you count the Hive States."
"The Bugs?" Isaac asked.
"Yeah, but they hate that name. The Battlegrounds were sort of pushing in from below and above when the Bug Bomb went off. After that, we got the Fractured States of America, instead of the USA."
"And now, the Citadel doesn't want new groups trying the same thing."
"Maybe. It's just a theory." Hector said.
"Sure." Isaac agreed. "But it makes sense."
"If we're right, is it wrong? What the Citadel, the government, is doing."
Isaac didn't answer right away. "I don't know. But I think it might be necessary."
Hector glared at him. "Really? Did you have to phrase it that way?"
"To get him to go easy on you. Did you blow him yourself, or what? Maybe a group thing?"
Hector drew and shot him, three times.
"Fuck. Isaac, I gotta go. There's something I'm going to have to take care of."
* * *
The Sparring Field
"Hey guys, what's up!?" Jenny called.
She'd been forced to stop by her room and pick up the package after therapy so she'd arrived, late, to find the other trainees acting weird. There were fewer than she'd expected, even considering that a lot of people wouldn't be able to challenge today. That wasn't too strange, it was still too early for people's patterns to be set in stone, but the ones who were here were clustered into groups. The biggest was a little over a dozen people. She thought she knew most of them, while the rest were in gatherings of three or four.
Drew appeared in front of her. "-enny!" he flickered, "-he-" flicker "Duncan!" flicker "-they took-"
This was important. She could hear the low, bass rumble that meant the situation was building to something ugly. Dammit, she'd just wanted to get the damn fight over with and now she was going to be stuck in some sort of drama.
"Drew," she said, noting that her voice came out firm and commanding, "calm down. You're going in and out."
God dammit, he was so frustrating some times.
"Sorry, Jenny." He must've taken the time to collect himself. The change was obvious, slower breathing, eyes not so wide and he didn't do his stop motion change of posture after every third word. "It's Hector. He fought Coach Achala, and-"
"Is he hurt?" she interrupted.
"No, he's not hurt."
Obviously. Why had her power made her ask that? The guy was basically invulnerable, unless you had some way to take out every one of his bodies at once.
"Good," she said, sighing in apparent relief, "after what Coach did to Duncan last week..."
"Jenny, you don't get it. Hector won! He beat Coach Achala!"
The bass picked up a bit, got a little more urgent.
"I don't get it, then. What had you so worried? You're usually so calm..."
Of course he was. If anyone had the time to think things through before acting, or reacting, it was Drew. What next, compliment him for being so punctual?
"Right after he won, Duncan was giving him a hard time."
Naturally, Duncan gave everyone a hard time. She couldn't find it in her to hold it against him, though. She was pretty sure his power was influencing his behavior. If anyone could understand that, it was Jenny Awesome.
"He said... uh, he said that Coach Achala let him win. That Hector had..." He blushed, just for a moment, before flickering again, then he had it under control. Drew still looked a little embarrassed.
"I can guess." she said, wryly. "The guy has kind of a fixation. Makes you wonder if he didn't get bottle fed a little too much."
Drew laughed. People always laughed at her jokes. Why? That one didn't even seem to make sense.
His face grew more serious. "Jenny, he shot him."
So?
"Asshole!" She sounded outraged. Even felt it a bit. She was having a harder and harder time telling the difference between what she felt and what her power wanted her to feel. "Just because Hector can take it, that doesn't mean it's okay for Duncan to-"
"He didn't."
Oh God, no. Did he mean-?
&nb
sp; "Jenny, Hector shot Duncan. Just pulled out his gun and bang. It was so fast, no one could stop him."
Not even you, Drew Stasis? She wanted to ask, but that would have hurt his feelings, made him like her a little less. Couldn't have that. Was this her fault? Winning against the instructor was pretty impressive, probably a lot more impressive than her beating up poor little Anna Insight. Did her power set this up so Hector wouldn't outshine her?
"What happened next? Is he... is Duncan okay? Is Hector in trouble?"
"No, Duncan's fine." He shook his head. "Apparently, he's tough enough that a pistol can't do much more than leave some bruises. I can't believe you're actually worried about him. You're a better person than me, Jenny."
"Drew, we don't really know Duncan. Don't know what his life has been like, what his power's put him through, nothing. I know he's a jerk, but no one gets that way without a reason. We should... we should try not to be so hard on him."
A bit afterschool special, but at least she more or less agreed with what she was saying. For once.
"I'll, I'll try and remember that." He smiled. "You really are awesome."
She wanted to scream at him but just smiled instead, a little proud but not enough to seem arrogant.
"But what about Hector?"
"That's what everyone's talking about. There was another instructor, Bruce something, he took Duncan and Hector off to see Director Shift. Hector had, like, forty clones and they all went off in a crowd. I think... could he get kicked out?"
"I... I don't know." she said. "This has to be a pretty big deal. I mean, if Hector shot someone without a pretty good reason, that's... Yeah. He could get expelled from the program. It could be a lot worse than that."
Jenny waited, while the bass died back down. Neither one of them said anything for a bit. The music came back, something lighter, a little livelier. Time to change the subject, apparently.
"Do you know where Anna is? I wanted to talk to her before the fight, make sure there's no hard feelings."
"Before the fight?" Drew said. "Jenny, she left about an hour ago. I don't think you need to worry though, Kerry didn't hurt her or anything. Anna just forfeited. They didn't even go into the dome."
"What? Kerry challenged her too?"
"You didn't know? Kerry was in second place last week, but she didn't challenge. She didn't think she could beat Greg, still thought he was the next William Power." Drew explained. "So, when Anna won, Kerry sent in her challenge for this week right away."
He grinned, "Did you see that fight, by the way? It was great! He just stood there, waiting for her to collapse like everyone else did. She wasn't affected by his hallucinations like they were, but he didn't know! So he walks up to make her yield and she trips him. The next thing you know, she's got him in an arm lock and he's screaming out a surrender faster than I could've. It was hilarious."
"No, I... I had an appointment. I couldn't make it. Guess I was just lucky no one challenged me or I'd have had to forfeit my place." She checked her schedule, just to be sure. "Looks like that means I'm going up against Kerry."
At least that explained why her power had made her stop and get the package before coming to the Sparring Field.
Drew’s face lit up. "Wow. You're fighting Kerry? Do you think you can win?"
"Of course I can!" she said, a huge grin plastered on her face, "I'm Awesome."
God, she was sick of saying that.
* * *
"Do you have any defensive abilities I need to be aware of?" Victoria Healer asked.
"Nope, normal human." Jenny answered.
"I'm a little complicated." Kerry added. "When I switch to dragon form, I'm pretty tough. If it dies or gets knocked out, I turn back to regular me."
"Does the damage carry over? And do you have any defensive abilities when in your standard shape?"
"No ma'am. The dragon is some kind of projection, like a forcefield or something but flesh and blood. Regular me is just... well, regular."
"Very well. Trainee Jennifer, your use of force against Trainee Keridwyn is unrestricted, while she is in dragon form. While Keridwyn is human, and at all times in Jennifer's case, lethal force is defined as severe trauma to the head or torso, as well as anything more severe than a broken bone in the limbs. If either of you breaks through the dome's wall, or states the words 'I yield,' you forfeit the match. Is that understood?"
"Yes." answered Jenny.
"It is." added Kerry.
"Trainee Kerry, please enter the dome. Trainee Jenny, remain for a moment." After Kerry did as she was asked, the healer began speaking in a more relaxed tone. "Jenny, are you sure you actually want to do this?"
She sighed. "Depends how you mean that."
The healer raised a single eyebrow.
"Well, I'm not exactly looking forward to fighting a dragon, win or lose. I don't much care if I'm in first place or not, either. But I'm pretty sure my power wants me to be at the top of the class and I don't like the idea of what it might do to make that happen if I don't fight." Jenny blinked, surprised at how frank the statement had been. "How-? How did I just say that?"
The healer smiled, maybe. It was hard to tell with those masks they wore.
"Simple. Director Shift and Instructor Juggernaut made sure that the healer for your scheduled match," she winked, "was someone that found blunt speaking and honesty impressive."
"Oh. I'm... not sure how to feel about that."
"It was hoped that you would appreciate the chance to speak your mind."
"I... I do. It's just, well, this isn't actually a chance to do that. More like I have to."
"I'm sorry Jenny. It's not meant to take advantage of you, just make things a little easier for you." Victoria Healer paused, "If there's anything you'd rather I not know or if you feel pressured, just ask me to back off. I promise, I'll do my best not to use your... nature... against you."
"Thank you, Healer Victoria." Fuck. "I really appreciate your candor. Is there anything else, before I go in?" Fuck fuck fuck. This was bad.
"No Jenny, go ahead. Good luck." Victoria said.
Jenny headed through her door, into the dome. This was bad. It hadn't ever occurred to her that the Citadel could essentially control her, just by picking the people she was around with care. This was really bad.
The tone sounded and Jenny's thoughts vanished in a surge of fast paced battle music.
Kerry was surrounded by a bright, silver-white light. When it faded, an enormous dragon had taken her place. The scales over its back and sides were red and gold. Its underbelly was pale white. It stretched its long neck and spread its bat-like wings wide. A great roar of triumph and fury echoed off the sides of the dome.
In defiance of any rational thought, Jenny found herself running towards it, a fearless grin plastered on her face. Kerry lunged forward, her jaws spread wide. A great gust of heated air preceded the flames that poured forth. Jenny leapt to the side, barely avoiding it.
"Arrow!" she cried out. Damn, she'd been right.
Kerry moved her head, following Jenny's movement in an attempt catch her with the flame.
"Black arrow!" Jenny could feel the pressure on her, more than she could possibly resist.
The fire exhausted, Kerry reared back, roaring again. She swept her wings forward, unleashing a wind that hurled Jenny back, almost into the wall.
"I have saved you to the last." Jenny could barely follow what she was saying. Her head hurt from the impact. The music was louder than she'd ever heard it. She pushed herself to her feet, that stupid grin still in place. "You have never failed me and always I have recovered you." She reached into the messenger tube she'd been carrying, the package, and drew forth the collector's item.
Kerry lunged forward, the four fingers of her long, sinewy arms outstretched. Each was as long as Jenny's leg. She darted forward, dropping the tube and keeping hold of the arrow. Before Kerry could grab hold of her, she dove forward, beneath the great dragon's body.
"I had y
ou from my father and he from of old." she proclaimed, rolling to her feet and spinning to face Kerry.
The dragon's tail lashed out at her as Kerry spun to face her. Jenny jumped straight up to avoid the blow.
"If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain," she shouted, "go now and speed well." A bird landed on her shoulder. She didn't bother wondering where it had come from. That sort of thing just happened to her.
Kerry reared back again, raising a shrill cry of frustration. Jenny hurled the arrow. It had cost her thirty dollars plus shipping and was made of resin. She was pretty sure it had never belonged to her father or been forged under a mountain. Nevertheless, the arrow flew straight and true. It cut through the air, striking the hollow by Kerry's left breast. It pierced through a damaged scale and she fell to the ground, writhing and crying in pain. Shortly, she vanished in a flair of that same silver-white light.
"What the Hell!?" Kerry demanded.
Startled, Jenny cried out and spun around, her arm outstretched. Kerry crumpled to the ground as Jenny’s fist struck her in the side of the head. Apparently, the girl had returned when the dragon died, in the same spot she'd occupied before the dragon first appeared. The tone sounded, announcing the match's end.
Both doors opened. Jenny could hear cheering and cries of excitement coming from outside. The healer, Victoria, entered at a run and knelt over Kerry's unconscious form.
"Is she okay? I didn't mean to hit her so hard..." despite the concern in her voice, Jenny knew the answer. Kerry would be fine, the healers were capable of correcting damage that was far worse than a simple blow to the temple.
Purple sparks flickered around Kerry's head, where Victoria Healer's fingers rested upon it. "She'll be fine. Just a minor concussion, I think." Naturally. "I've already fixed the damage. She's just resting right now. Should wake up with a headache, but that's it."
After the reassurance, Jenny turned to one side of the dome, presumably where the largest part of her audience was.
"Yeah! I did it!" she cried, her voice filled with simple joy.
Hurray. She was in first place, now. Even as she began celebrating with all of her 'friends,' and commiserating over poor Kerry, she just wanted... well, something else.
Citadel (Book 1): Training in Necessity Page 15
