"Come on, it'll be fun!"
Adam scowled at his reflection in the mirror. Eric had invaded his bathroom to talk him out of going to bed instead of Summer's party. The more thought Adam gave it, the more he wanted to give into exhaustion instead. He was struggling more with mental fatigue than physical, but he was worn out all the same.
On the other hand, a party was a distraction. A distraction from his nightmares.
He wasn't sure it would be distracting enough, though.
Adam had only been half-listening to Eric talk about the party, but he immediately noticed when his brother stopped speaking, finished with his spiel about becoming friends with the other altered.
"I don't know," Adam said. "I thought we were just going to finish our online classes and go home." Well, not home, but back to Mom. That was the closest they were going to get to 'home' at this point. Adam didn't want to spend his last few months before college at sea.
Eric took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. "Since when did you become the anti-social one?" He was dressed nicer than usual, having swapped his jeans and red hoodie for black pants and a blazer.
"None of my friends are here." Adam ran a hand through his hair, still not quite used to the length his former undercut had reached.
Eric shrugged. "Dude, you're more than welcome to hang out with the rest of us. And you can leave the party whenever, if you really hate it that much."
"It's not that I think it won't be fun," Adam started slowly. He'd dropped into a few of Summer's little get-togethers before. She was outgoing enough to make any group of people have fun. "I'm just...exhausted." He glanced at Eric.
"Me too," Eric admitted. "I just thought we should try getting to know the other altered more. Especially if they're going into battle against Scorpion with us."
Adam felt a twinge of guilt. All he wanted was for this to be over with so he could get back to his old life. Or at the very least, recreate it as closely as he could.
"I'll come with you and hang out for a little while," Adam told Eric. He turned away from the counter. "There's not a dress code, is there?"
"Nah. Summer wanted an excuse to dress fancy, so I did my best to match her."
Adam doubted Eric's outfit came close to whatever Summer had planned, but he nodded.
Eric studied Adam's face for a moment. "Is everything...okay?" he asked. "You do look really tired."
"I keep having nightmares about the collapse," Adam admitted.
Eric responded with a slow nod. "Yeah. I think a lot of us are."
"It's not just that." Adam sighed. His eyes moved up to the ceiling. "It's my fault."
"It's not your fault."
"I broke the energy field—"
"We had to," Eric said. "And you were the only person who actually had the guts."
"I was the only one dumb enough to trust Willow." Adam lowered his gaze and tried to read his brother's expression. Did Eric actually believe what he was saying? "What if I was wrong?"
"I don't think you were," Eric said quietly. He stood up. "I know it probably won't stop the nightmares, but I still trust your decision. Even though I tried to stop you when it happened." He glanced at the floor. "It was hard to accept."
Adam nodded. Stop the nightmares. That would be nice.
An idea popped into Adam's head.
No. Bad idea.
Maybe?
Eric spoke again, preventing Adam from dwelling on the thought. "Are you ready to go, then?"
Adam nodded. "Let's go."
The two ran into Sam and Veronica on the way to the ballroom, saving Adam from having to contribute much to the conversation. Wow, he really had changed, hadn't he? As he watched Eric animatedly tell a story to the others, his mind wandered to all those times Eric had tagged along with him and his friends, quietly hanging back while Adam carried the conversation.
The next thing Adam knew, he was fending off memories of Tyche Point. Hanging out at the outdoor mall before half the stores closed down, dropping by his friends' parties on summer nights, practicing drills on the football field at school. The lights and sounds of the arcade, the taste of milkshakes at the diner, the public pool on a hot day...
The four entered the ballroom, where about half of the altered had already arrived. Rainbow disco balls had been plugged in on both sides of the room. Shifting colors mixed with the string lights to illuminate the silver, white, and blue decorations. Music played faintly, something pop-ish that Adam vaguely recognized but couldn't name. It all looked pretty nice, given the circumstances.
Summer stood by the table with food and drinks, and she had the entire crowd gathered around listening to her.
"How'd you end up her best friend, again?" Adam asked, shooting Eric a look.
"Hey, I'm not a complete loser," Eric shot back. He waved at Summer and started toward the crowd. Adam and the twins followed.
"Oh, cool, more people!" Summer waved back and grinned. "Once a few more get here, we'll start playing games."
Adam's guess had been right. Summer had picked up a flashy gold dress on one of her shopping trips. She didn't look too out of place, though. Many kids wore more casual clothes, but others looked ready for a real party. Sam and Veronica fell somewhere in between, with Sam dressed similarly to Eric, and Veronica pairing a purple skirt with a shimmery black shirt.
"So, have you picked a school yet, Adam?" Sam asked as they walked.
"Uh, I'm not totally sure, yet," Adam replied. He shrugged. "I guess I'm leaning toward UC Davis." Another small town. It was doubtful it would be anything like Tyche Point, but Adam wasn't sure he could make the switch to big city life.
He wasn't as confident about playing football at Davis as some of the other schools he'd gotten into. But with all the battles he'd fought lately, he wasn't sure he had the energy to keep going. Maybe he could focus on piano instead.
Sam nodded as they joined the rest of the group. "Cool."
Summer's face lit up as the sound of the doors opening again cut through the room. "You actually had one?"
Adam and the others turned around as Charles entered with a couple of crew members, who carried a ping pong table between them. "Sure did," Charles said. "Apparently, the old research team had tournaments all the time. They left it in storage when we took over." He held out a couple of ping pong paddles and a bag of balls.
"Awesome!" Summer raced forward to grab the paddles. "Who's facing who first?"
"Are you gonna play?" Eric asked her, already stretching his arms.
"Of course." Summer grinned. "I'm going to face the champion." She gestured with one of the paddles. "I'm undefeated at the moment, so maybe someone here will finally dethrone me."
The crew members set the table up, and Adam found himself pulled forward as kids crowded around to watch the first match. Two kids he didn't know the names of wound up with the paddles.
Adam glanced around and realized he'd lost track of Eric.
"Hey, Adam," Summer waved a hand as she walked by, distracting Adam from his search. Three altered, who had been walking with her, stopped next to him. "These kids are seniors, too. This guy said he knew you."
A couple of them did look familiar. Adam nodded at the guy on the right. "I think we had a history class together last semester."
"Yeah," the guy replied. "You're a pyro, right?"
Adam nodded. "And you're a...?"
"Hydrokinetic."
The crowd around them roared. Adam turned in time to watch the ping pong ball go sailing through the air. Moments later, Summer was on the other side of the table, calling over another kid to take the place of whoever had just lost.
The chaotic energy of the room was growing. Some kids had started placing bets on the matches, apparently gambling with cans of soda and various snacks. About a third of the crowd were dancing and running around nearby, and a cryokinetic boy had frozen over a section of the floor for people to slide around on.
Adam found himself easing into conversation with the seniors Summer had brought over while more matches played out. It was all starting to feel like one of the small parties he'd actually go to. Maybe that should have made him feel better. It kind of did, but the nostalgia was starting to sting.
"They used to have ping pong tournaments on the weekends at the rec center," a girl standing on Adam's left said. "I always meant to sign up, but I never got around to it."
Another girl responded. "Oh, my friend was supposed to be getting a job there before the accident happened."
Adam's gaze darted around the room again. This was draining. Why couldn't any of his friends have had abilities?
He needed a break.
He stayed to watch Eric's match against Sam. Eric barely won, only to immediately lose the next game to Raveena, who had a strikingly strong swing and sharp reflexes. As Eric handed off his paddle to someone else, he waved at Adam. "You gonna play?"
"Uh, maybe later." Adam took a step back. "I think I'm actually gonna walk around the deck for a minute and get some air."
Eric frowned. "You okay?"
"Yeah, totally fine," Adam insisted. "I'll be back in a little bit."
He left the ballroom and started down the hallway, not really paying close enough attention to be sure he was headed toward the deck.
He and the others hadn't told the rest of the altered all the details of the battle under Delta Labs, of what exactly led to the accident that wreaked havoc on Tyche Point. Eric and Summer were usually the ones to relay the story to new recruits, and they'd always described the energy field collapse as vaguely as possible.
Sure, they said that it had to happen, that it was inevitable, but Adam had no idea how people would feel if they knew he'd been the one to do it. He was grateful that part of the story had been left out, but it also made him feel more...guilty.
Despite what the others said, insisting that they agreed Adam had done what was necessary, he couldn't shake his misgivings. They had no way of knowing what would have happened if they'd waited.
Willow had been so confident in her assertion that the field had to collapse.
But she'd also been determined to get her hands on the fragment.
Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out Wilson West's business card. He couldn't deny that he was thinking about the man's offer. The altered did know Scorpion's location now. He knew where Willow was.
What could Wilson West even do against Scorpion, though? And Adam wasn't sure he wanted the man to find Willow. Money aside, he didn't like the guy.
But Willow couldn't keep helping Scorpion.
Adam shoved the card back in his pocket. There was too much going on. It felt like he was playing a game, and no one had bothered to explain the rules to him. Why couldn't his life have been piano lessons and football games and high school friends forever?
Scorpion. SCI. Fragments. College. Willow. Nightmares. Maybe one of those problems could be solved.
Eric and Sam had come back fine, if a little unnerved.
What was the worst thing that could happen?