The unbearable weight of waiting ... - Part 2
Most of the heroes began to file out of the room after Drone informed them that the ship they were to use, and Caitlyn still couldn't quite believe it, to get to another planet had finished cycling through safety checks. They were ready to depart and save some civilisation light years away but still Principle, Fear, Trooper Jane and Drone remained with Caitlyn. They all wanted to hear Drone's news.
"The suit you carry is made up of something called Black Element, but with a portion of Doc Blood's Red Element. No-one knows where Black Staff or Doc Blood found these Elements, but I theorise that ..." Drone stopped as Principle made a polite cough, hidden by his hand. "Of course. Anyway, the Elements are poly-alloy, self-replicating ..."
"Liquid nano-bots that have a bio-electric symbiotic relationship. Like living cells, but manufactured." Caitlyn stood up to look at the holographic display above the table. "The explosion caused a cascade failure in the interlink between the bots. Basically, they became blind, cut off from the collective."
A silence fell around the table and Caitlyn looked to the faces of the others and saw amused looks and every one of those amused looks tried to hide the fact that they were amused. Except for Fear, of course, and Drone, whose screen emoji had turned into the mildly annoyed smiley. She had the feeling that she had stepped on someone's toes.
"Don't mind Drone, he's probably the smartest person on the planet and doesn't take kindly to anyone competing for that title." Principle gave a little bow of the head and waved a hand, asking Drone to continue. "Please, eager minds need to know what you found."
"It's healing. That's it. Did you work that out, missy? Because I did." The emoji turned into an eye-roll and then a hooded side-eye. "Twenty-four to forty-eight hours and the suit should be fully operational. In the meantime, I have a starship to fly. A starship! This place would fall apart without me. Me!"
Drone continued to grumble and complain as its thrusters manoeuvred it out of the room. That left Principle, Trooper Jane and Fear with Caitlyn and she had the distinct feeling that she was about to be given The Talk. Or, at least, one of The Talks. There seemed to be so many of them that adults liked to pass along to children at various ages. She still shuddered at the time Aunt Mary had tried to engage in the sexual The Talk. Caitlyn had the internet, she already knew all about it, but Aunt Mary still tried.
"Do I have to tell you to be careful?" Principle offered his hand to support Caitlyn to stand. "We have several supers ready to be alerted if anything should happen. Do not engage Fiend until the suit is repaired. I'm asking you to show patience and that can take a greater strength than to act."
"I have inserted an operative in the area." The menace that Fear emanated still chilled Caitlyn's blood, but she didn't shy away as he neared. "Drone has modified your cell phone to our standards and has issued you an ear piece wirelessly connected to the phone. Call his name if you need help, it isn't in your contacts, but the phone will recognise it. His name is Pho-Boy."
"Pho-Boy? Pho-Boy? And people keep mentioning my name?" The mask on Fear showed no sign of his feelings either way at Caitlyn's incredulous questions. "Never mind. I'll remember. Well, thanks for everything. I'll try not to have an emergency when you're about to go into space next time. Good luck and, you know, go Earth!"
She gave a little punch to the air, but Principle and Fear had already started to head out after the others. Fear gliding along beneath that trailing black cloak and Principle hovering along beside him. She wondered if Principle had walked at all since he learned he could fly. On the table, she saw her new phone, and a box containing the ear piece, and wondered if they had busted her warranty with their modifications. Only Trooper Jane could answer that now. Caitlyn picked up her things as she looked at her combat tutor.
"Okay, soldier. Time to go." Trooper Jane led Caitlyn up to the platform. Even stood two steps down, she still towered over Caitlyn. "Remember your training. Never fight an enemy head-on. Everything can be used as a weapon. Keep your enemy focussed on you, not civilians. Go on, get out of here and ... stay safe. Oh, and don't forget to take off the mask."
"I won't. Good lu ..." A brilliant, bright flash of light almost blinded her as the transporter shifted her from one place to another. "... ck!"
She looked around and recognised the alley where the transporter had dropped her and knew it was only a couple of blocks away from home. She tapped the screen of her phone and saw that it was almost time for school anyway. She had made an excuse to Aunt Mary about trying to have a morning jog, but doubted she would believe it. Not unless she sprinted back to the apartment building.
It only took her a few feet before she realised she still wore the mask.
-+-
Later that morning, Parkside High ...
When Caitlyn saw Alaina, she was surprised to find Rayna Alden tagging alongside her. That was a disappointment, because Caitlyn wanted to tell her best friend everything about the morning's events, who she had seen and what was said. Knowing Alaina, she'd want to know every single thing, and probably ask if they'd let her visit the Bastion satellite. She couldn't say a thing with Rayna in tow.
And Rayna, herself, looked completely different to the first time Caitlyn had seen her. Instead of the aloof girl that had kept to herself, looking down her nose at everyone, she now had a warm smile upon seeing Caitlyn. Whatever she had gone through at the facility that night, it seemed to have broken down that icy wall that had first separated her from everyone else.
"Caitlyn Carter?" Before Caitlyn could say a word to Alaina, or Rayna, a boy stepped in front of her, tugging a bag back onto his shoulder, a mess of black hair falling across his eyes. "Hi. You don't know me, but I'm new here. Transferred from Bohemia Preparatory for the remainder of the semester. I'm ..."
"Kyle Ward. Adopted son of Thomas Miller, CEO of Miller International." An elegant hand entered Caitlyn's line of sight. Rayna gave Caitlyn a wink as she gave the boy a strong handshake. "I'm Rayna Alden. This is my friend, Alaina Allen and you've already met my other friend, Caitlyn. So, what brings Bohemia City's golden boy to New Hastings? Daddy wanting you out of the way? Is it drugs? It's usually drugs."
Caitlyn wasn't sure 'friend' was the right word for her relationship with Rayna, but she let it slide. A quick glance to Alaina and they shared an imperceptible shrug, Alaina raising a questioning eyebrow. Not about this strange frisson between the newcomer and Rayna, but about any news Caitlyn had. Caitlyn held out her hand, giving it a wobble, showing how uncertain her trip had been.
The handshake had continued for a lot longer than Caitlyn had expected. In fact, it felt like a crackle of animosity sparked between Rayna and the new boy. Both wore friendly smiles that only touched their lips and, after an even longer pause, Caitlyn had to do, or say, something to tear the apart the contest between the two iron wills before her.
"So, Kyle Ward, huh?" She stepped forward, catching the boy's attention and the handshake broke apart as Kyle smiled at her. "What can I do for you?"
"Ah, yes! Principle Wolfman has assigned me to you. You know, to show me the sights, where my classes are, the best pizza joints. Though, classes seem to be in a little disarray." The bag had fallen from his shoulder again and he struggled to adjust it and brush the unruly hair from his eyes. "Looks like you guys have been in the wars."
"Supers. Big fight. Much explosion." Alaina squeezed herself between Caitlyn and Rayna. She had that look in her eye that told Caitlyn she liked this boy. "I'm sure we can fill you in all about it. Say, over lunch?"
Caitlyn had to admit, he certainly had the looks. An easygoing, genuine smile that spoke of knowing more than he was letting on. A mysterious, mischievous look to his dark eyes. He wasn't Caitlyn's type, of course, but she could appreciate his good looks and that little awkwardness that he showed was like a big green light for Alaina. Caitlyn's eyes fell a different way. Rayna still glared at Kyle, her smile hiding something adversarial. Probably due to their fathers having competing businesses.
"That would be absolutely fantastic! So great! My treat." Giving up the fight with the strap of his bag, Kyle allowed it to fall to the ground as he turned to Caitlyn. "But, if I could be rude for a second, I'd like to discuss with Carter, here, about what I should expect. Principle Wolfman insisted."
With an undisguised pout of disappointment and a mock stink-eye toward Caitlyn, Alaina linked arms with Rayna before blowing Caitlyn a kiss. She knew Caitlyn's type and was probably trying to make her jealous. Meanwhile, Kyle looked at her with wide-eyed expectation. Caitlyn had never had to show anyone the ropes before and couldn't understand why Principle Wolfman had chosen her for the job.
"Okay, uh, well, as you can see, we're having to use temporary classrooms right now, and the gym is a wreck, and ..." She pointed to the classrooms and the sports hall across the way, covered with scaffolding, but had no idea where to start. "Did Principle Wolfman give you any idea what he actually wanted me to do, because ..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen up, Carter, and keep your voice down." Kyle's entire attitude changed in a second. Gone was the awkward boyishness, replaced by a straight-backed, earnest expression on his face as he tugged her to the side. "I'm Pho-Boy. I'm here to protect you."
Caitlyn blinked. For good measure, she blinked again. Kyle had said that name with a completely straight face but the most important thing was that he knew who she was. Both Trooper Jane and Principle had gone out of their ways to keep her identity secret, not even telling Swift who she was bugging. Only one man wouldn't care about her secret identity and she really wanted to punch him in his stupid, glowy-eyed fright mask. Fear had told the boy.