"Can I just say, for the record, it's weird watching Remus act straight," Virgil said. "I mean, watching any of you pretend to be straight is weird, but with Remus it's, like... double weird."
"You haven't seen either of the twins at their parents' house," Logan told him. "Especially Roman. It's almost unfair how good he is at faking straight."
Virgil gave him a curious look. "Really? How come?"
"Well, if I'm being perfectly honest, I give him tips. The majority of my crushes and my current partner may be males, but I am still bisexual, so I know what it's like to have feelings for the opposite sex."
"Is it any different than having feelings for dudes?"
Logan paused, then shook his head. "They're more terrifying, really. And I get just as tongue-tied, so Roman doesn't really listen to my tips."
"This group really needs a straight guy," Virgil muttered.
"We certainly do not. I'm attracted to women twenty percent of the time, that should be enough."
Patton rushed in and gave Logan a kiss on the forehead. "Sorry I'm late, went to grab us some donuts from the bake sale. Did I miss anything?"
"Your boyfriend was just telling me that he's the personification of a disaster bi," Virgil informed him.
"Huh. Didn't know that was news." Patton sat next to Logan. "Want a donut?"
"Yes, please."
Virgil turned his attention back to the stage, where Janus was strumming his guitar and singing a dance-y song... while wearing a jester's cap. Which was something that he'd apparently "borrowed" from the costume vault, just so he could get more in character.
"Oh, mistress mine, where are you roaming? / Oh, stay and hear, your true love's coming / That can sing both high and low," Janus sang. "Trip no further, pretty sweeting / Journeys end in lovers meeting / Every wise man's son doth know..."
"Excellent good!" Ricky declared, holding up his water bottle like it was a wineglass.
Remus nodded sagely. "Good, good."
Janus grinned and continued playing. "What is love---"
"BABY DON'T HURT ME NO MOOOOOOOOOOOORE!" half of the auditorium (Remus and Ricky included) belted.
"Cut," Larry sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"What?" Ricky exclaimed. "You can't fill a room full of Gen Z kids, have someone sing that, and then not expect us to do the thing!"
"That's the exact reason why I almost decided to not do this play, Ricky."
Remus gasped. "Larry!'
"You know what, I don't care," Larry decided. "Skip the rest of the song for this scene. Janus, you're still working on the melody, right?"
"Yes, it's still a work in progress," Janus answered, leaning against his guitar. "What I just played isn't definite---I was considering a more bluesy tune, if I'm being honest. I'm thinking Nina Simone meets Cole Porter, with a tiny bit of classic Gershwin thrown in there---"
"Bore me with the details later, Feste," Larry interrupted. "I need you to be the life of the party your friends are throwing right now. Sir Andrew, start from 'a mellifluous voice.' Action."
Ricky slipped back into character, fanning his face. "A mellifluous voice, as I am true knight!"
"But shall we make the welkin dance indeed?" Remus announced, standing up. "Shall we rouse the night-owl in a catch that will draw three souls out of one weaver? Shall we do that?"
"And you love me! Let's do it!" Ricky leaped out of his seat. "I am a dog at a catch!"
"By your lady, sir, and some dogs will catch well," Janus said dryly.
Ricky nodded sagely. "Most certain. Let our catch be, 'thou knave.'"
Adrianna walked onstage. "Um, Larry?"
Larry groaned. "You're not supposed to come in---"
"No, I just picked up a call from the headmaster's office," she said. "He needs Logan and his crew down there."
"Can it wait until we finish this scene?"
Adrianna shook her head. "He needs them there as soon as possible."
Larry let out a heavy sigh and stood up. "Just my luck that one of the best actors I have got himself tied up with a murder cult. Now I gotta deal with him leaving all the time."
"Actually, I don't think the Divinity Circle qualifies as a cult," Janus said, getting off his stool. "They don't really worship anyone. They just want to rule the world."
Virgil and Logan exchanged a worried look. Is it actually Circle-related?
"I don't care, just go, and tell Emile to wait until rehearsal's finished to discuss urgent matters," Larry said, waving his hand around.
"Not how that works," Logan muttered, standing up.
................
"Come on in, boys," Emile said, sounding mildly distressed. "Sit down. Janus, take off the clown hat."
"Oh my goodness, I've forgotten I was wearing it," Janus murmured, taking it off.
"I thought the jingling would've tipped you off," Logan said. Janus slapped him with the hat.
"Boys, boys." Emile ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm not entirely sure how to tell you this, but---"
"Oh sweet mother of Barrett Wilbert Weed, don't tell me that you and Remy have ended your engagement," Roman groaned.
Emile blinked. "What? No. Of course we haven't."
Janus pointed at Roman. "Props for acknowledging who God truly is."
"Guys, c'mon, this is obviously serious stuff," Virgil said. "What's up, Dr. Picani?"
Emile took off his glasses and wiped them with a rag. "I recently received an email from an unknown source. It was signed as '07734,' and it told me that there was going to be an attack from the Circle on November fifteenth at 2:30 PM."
And there goes my good mood for this year, Virgil thought, stomach sinking a little.
Logan frowned, sitting forward. "'07734'---that's hello typed into a calculator and held upside down, correct? That's a rather odd pseudonym to choose."
"What's the attack like?" Remus asked. "Is it, like, they wanna blow up the Academy? Because we can take care of that easily---"
Emile shook his head. "According to the email, their intentions are... well, they apparently still want Janus on their side, and they're planning on taking him back."
Janus stiffened slightly, his two-toned eyes filling with a mixture of anger and fear. Remus reached over and squeezed his hand.
"And?" Logan said carefully. "There's more, isn't there?"
Emile nodded, biting his lip. "The Circle's also targeting Patton and Virgil."
Virgil's lungs turned to ice.
Oh god. Oh god. No no no no please no---
"Why are we targets?" Nox whispered. "Virgil? Why are we targets?"
A sick silence fell over the shadow and the caster.
"It's me, isn't it? They're after you because of me? And your other powers?"
Logan and Patton were talking, and Roman was shouting, but Virgil couldn't make out their words. All he could hear was his heart pounding in his ears, and Nox's voice echoing in his mind.
"Virgil---Virgil, it's fine," Nox said, but he sounded genuinely panicked---something that he almost never was. "We're powerhouses! We can take them down! We're in an entire school filled with superpowered people! We've beat them before, and now we're on our home turf!"
You're not fooling anyone, Nox, Virgil thought. You're scared, too.
"I'm supposed to call you out on your bullshit, not the other way around!"
Nox---
"Virgil, it's okay." Nox rested his hands on Virgil's shoulders. "We're gonna be fine, you hear me? We're gonna be---"
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE!" Virgil shouted, getting up and shoving him away.
Everyone stared at him.
"Are... are you okay?" Roman asked carefully.
Virgil shook his head, swallowing. "No."
Nox's visage on the floor started to glitch a little, spider legs appearing from his back at intervals and two more eyes forming on his suggestion of a face.
"We're perfectly capable of fending them off, Virgil," Janus reminded him, getting up and resting his hand on Virgil's arm. "The only reason they got me the first time was because they took me by surprise. We know about it this time."
Virgil shook him off. "Don't try to calm me down."
"Hey, I'm scared, too, okay? I'm really not keen on being back there---"
"Yeah, and what did they do to you? They locked you up! They shut off your powers!"
Janus sighed. "Yes, I know, but---"
"For you, shutting off your powers means you just can't shift! You could still do your lie-detector thing! I depend on my powers for closure! Nox was the only friend I had for a while until you came along!" Virgil snapped. "Shutting off my powers is the worst thing that could ever happen to me! And if they don't shut them off, then I get used as a weapon, which is only slightly better!"
Virgil stopped, catching his breath.
"Could---y---listen---Verge---ju---calm---dow---" Nox said, his voice sounding garbled and corrupted.
Janus looked down at Nox, eyes widening. "Virgil..."
"No, I don't know why he's doing that!" Virgil shouted. "Just---just leave me alone, okay?"
"Your shadow is glitching. That cannot be good---"
"That's none of your goddamned business!"
"Verge---can't---tal---calm---"
"Virgil, are you okay?" Roman said, standing up. "Do you need---"
"I need to be alone," Virgil told him. "I just... I gotta go." He turned around and walked out of the office.
Maybe this is my fault. Maybe I drew attention to myself when we broke Janus out.
His mind flashed back to Janus in that cell---dirty, sick-looking, barely able to stand up right, couldn't even make his limbs longer. And yes, a couple of those things were factored in by the hunger strike he went on, but Virgil refused to let his powers be taken away.
He could deal without his shadow creations. He could deal without being able to make monsters. But no powers meant no Nox---and as much as he hated to admit it, life without Nox was unthinkable.
And speaking of Nox...
Virgil looked behind him at his now fully-spidered shadow. "You okay?"
Nox glared at him. "When you don't want to listen to me, and actually tell me to get out of your head, I glitch. It's what happens when you're attempting to help an asshole."
"Didn't know that."
"Yeah, well, you never did that before."
Virgil sighed. "Sorry."
"Whatever." Nox's spider legs shrunk back into his regular form as his four eyes morphed back into two. "And I don't think it's our fault that we're getting targeted. I think we were on their radar before the whole rescuing-Janus thing."
"How?" Virgil said, leaning against the wall. "I mean, Patton being on their radar makes total sense, right? He's been at this school for years, and even before that, he was a known factor. I actually managed to find some old articles from the early 2010s about Patton being a 'miracle healer.' But we didn't have any reason to be on their radar before we broke Janus out."
"Yeah, but that Griffins punk was undercover at the Academy, and he saw what we could do firsthand," Nox reminded him.
"I guess you're right," Virgil murmured, still feeling a little sick.
Nox got up from the floor and leaned next to him. "Just so you know, I'm still not over you telling me to leave."
"Dude, I said I was---"
"No, you need a practical punishment. And I heard you thinking that cheesy BS about how I'm a part of you, so maybe you need to see what it's like without me around and stop taking me for granted."
Virgil froze. "Nox---"
He waved his hand. "Eh, not now, I don't have the energy. And it'll only be for a few hours---I like you too much to leave you for longer."
"Wow, I feel so great about myself."
"You should."
A/N: I really do need to budget my time better.
Hopefully, chapters will be quicker now, since I've got a better idea of where to go, and we're beginning to move into an arc that I have been very excited about. I gotta go to class now, but you guys enjoy the Nox screentime, and hold your breaths.
Also, someone's currently making a Gatcha studios animation of Academy, and I am THRILLED!