I strutted around the office, watching people. I’d asked Tierra to accompany me on this adventure. After we netted several million dollars on our last job, she was curious to see what was going to happen next. I had spent my time observing them. Crowley is useless to us. He’s just planning on biding his time until he can try and oust us fully.

  I watched Billy, our fan, approach Ruth, who was decidedly not our fan. But that was fine. She’d been properly impressed at how quick my Essy dealt with Smash Gal, coming back unharmed after getting everyone out safely. But she was still reticent. Billy was young and kind of cute. A little baby faced with short brown hair. Ruth was older and had bushy brown hair. She was closed off, dismissive, and almost always willing to argue. And poor Billy was smitten with her. He also hung on my every word. “These two are the key.”

  “The key?” Tierra asked, leaning against a desk. I looked back. She had short, vibrant red hair, shaved on one side, not too dissimilar to Curt’s style. Bare arms, pale skin and tight pants and a sleeveless blouse. And she was bored. She wanted something to do.

  “If we’re going to win over these people from Crowley, those two are the key.”

  “And what are you going to do if you accomplish that? How are you going to use them?” Pinikir stirred inside of me, stretching out. THEY WILL BE OUR ACOLYTES. OFFER US TRIBUTE. RESPECT. MAKE US STRONG. I considered the goddess’ words, not sure what they meant yet. But I figure having a group of loyal and capable thieves at my disposal wouldn’t be a bad thing. And it would allow Curt to accomplish a lot more.

  “We’ll use them to implement and protect some of Curt’s projects. And I think most of them could be used for recon on jobs. You and I don’t really operate that way, but it might be nice to have some people to research for us ahead of time.”

  “I’m not a charity worker, Cherry. I’m a thief. I’m only out for myself.”

  “And I’m not stopping you. You got your payment. You got a lot more than you were looking for, in fact.”

  “It was a pretty good payday,” she agreed hesitantly.

  “Then what are you doing here? Go spend it.”

  “Not yet. I’m trying to convince Des to come with me.”

  “Oh? And they’re resistant?”

  “Yeah. They could be laying about, on a beach, naked with me. And they choose that dingy little practice of theirs instead. It’s . . . weird.”

  “You don’t understand it?” I asked, genuinely curious. “I’d have thought your empathy powers would’ve given you the secret to anyone’s heart.”

  “Oh, they like me. They really like me. I didn’t even have to push it or feed it. That came naturally. But there’s always something missing.”

  “And you don’t know what it is?”

  ‘N-no. Not that it’s a bad thing. I’ll figure it out.”

  “Mm,” was all I could manage. There were some things that Tierra, even with her powers, was never going to understand. She just didn’t think like Curt or Des. She eyed me suspiciously. “C’mon. Let’s get started.”

  I approached Ruth first, figuring of the two, she’d be the harder and it’d be good to get her out of the way first. Billy would be a lot easier to deal with. “Ruth, I was wondering if I could get a word, darling?”

  “Y-yeah. Sure.” Her voice cracked as she agreed. I led her and Ti over to an empty office and sat down, resting my bare legs on the cheap desk. I’d opted to wear clothes around them, but it was so annoying. I was used to my nudity. It wouldn’t do to let them get used to it too soon though. I’d opted for a minimalist aesthetic. A light blouse and a short skirt. I still wouldn’t wear shoes. I loathed them unless I was trying to get some extra attention.

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” She was nervous. I wasn’t sure why. She’d practically swung on Curt when he challenged her last. I met eyes with Tierra and flicked them over to the woman in front of me. She nodded and started typing something out on her phone.

  “I was wondering what your goals with the Acolytes were? You joined up with Jeffrey easily enough. You obviously had no love for Curt or me, given your reaction to our interloping.”

  “I . . . I just didn’t didn’t like how you guys approached it. It felt like we were being strong-armed. It’s true that I didn’t join the Acolytes because of Esvanir. Not solely. I thought what he was doing was good and important, but I didn’t think he went far enough. Mister Crowley, though. He had a plan. A real plan to change the world.”

  “And what was Mister Crowley’s plan?”

  “We’d do more than Esvanir. We wouldn’t just steal a few trinkets from WanEn and EnGin or anyone else. We’d bring them down. They are destroying the world. Between their mining and their emissions.” I considered the woman’s words, contextualizing them with what Curt had said about the man. He’s an anarcho-primitivist, Curt had said. Wants to destroy all modern technology and live balanced with nature again. He actually goes a lot further than even Doc Oak, as I understand it. I looked at the text that Tierra had just sent me.

  “And how long have you been sleeping with Jeff Crowley?” I asked casually. I’d waited until she had taken a drink from her water to do it. She snorted and choked, spitting some up.

  “What!? I’m not! I haven’t! How did you-”

  “It was relatively easy to figure out, darling.” I left it unsaid that men who start cults rarely can restrain themselves, unfortunately. This poor woman had been manipulated by him.

  “It’s not like that. We love each other.”

  “Are you the only one he loves?”

  “N-no. Monogamy was invented by the bourgeois to control us.”

  “Uh-huh. Well, that’s not really any of my business. As long as you’re comfortable with it.”

  “I am,” she lied.

  “It’s okay if you’re not,” I pointed out. She considered me for a moment.

  “W-what about you and Curt? A-are you . . .” She let the question hang in the air.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “We haven’t discussed it, but for right now we are monogamous.”

  “I-I don’t know how to feel about it.” I sighed internally. I didn’t mean for the questions to go this way, but I was curious.

  “I don’t think there is anything intrinsically immoral about monogamy or non-monogamy. As long as everyone is comfortable with it. And it’s evident that you have some misgivings about it.”

  “I don’t want to be a bad communist. A bad Acolyte.”

  “A bad communist? For this? Sweetie, I don’t know Theory as well as my Curt does, but I doubt there is a lot about who and how you can and can’t fuck.”

  “Wh-why did you call me in here, then?” She asked, obviously changing the subject.

  “To find out why you’re here. And I think we have done that. But I will warn you. Curt won’t back off. He was very unhappy with how Crowley went about things.”

  “It is necessary!”

  “Says who?”

  “Me! . . . And Jeff. But he’s right. About that, at least. Esvanir can do a lot, but just stealing things isn’t a solution. There has to be more to it than just that.”

  “And what about protection?”

  “Protection?”

  “Yes. Curt isn’t going to stop stealing. But he needs to make sure the things he gives away stay in the hands he puts them in. Surely that’s better than just letting it be reclaimed.”

  “That . . . That’s not a bad idea. But there needs to be more.”

  “And there will be. But we’ll start out with that. I’m going to give you a team. You’re going to make some deliveries and show the people how this stuff works. Then choose a few people to work in shifts to make sure no one takes it back.”

  “I . . . Yeah. I can do that.”

  I was staring off into space over my salad. I hadn’t taken a bite in several minutes and my lunch was almost over. Things had changed a lot. And I wasn’t hungry. I knew I needed to eat. Ever since the events with Scott and Blanca, I’d struggled with my weight. I had fallen into a deep depression and had stopped exercising afterward. I put back on a lot of the weight I’d trimmed off when a part of that group. Until I couldn’t stand to look at myself in the mirror anymore. In college, while I did my double major, I got back into exercising again. Lots of swimming, lots of jogging. Not so much weight training. And since then, I've had a love-hate relationship with food.

  And right now it was mostly hate. I knew, intellectually, I was punishing myself. I wanted to feel bad, feel weak, as penance for not doing anything about them sooner. About leaving them behind. My thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. I checked the caller ID.

  I stared at the phone for a breath before answering. A recorded voice came over the line as I brought it to my ear. “This is a collect call from-” a different voice cut in. “Bellemere Correctional Facility.” The automated voice cut back in. “The patient or inmate trying to contact you is-” a third voice cut in “Blanca.” The automated voice came back in. “Press 1 to accept the charges.”

  I did so. A few clicking sounds came over, a sign that the calls were being recorded. “Blanca?”

  “Chuck? Is this Chuck Berry?” Her voice had changed some. It was rougher in a lot of ways. But it was still her. Still one of my best friends. At least I hope she is. I hope that she can be. I pushed the thoughts away.

  “Yeah, B. It’s me.”

  “Good. I wasn’t sure. Thought I might’ve accidentally picked the number of the singer.” I rolled my eyes. It was an old joke that never got any fresher no matter how many times I’d heard it. “Hey, Chuck. C-could you come down and see me? I-I want to talk about some stuff.” I checked the time. I still had appointments for the rest of the day. I couldn’t really cancel them.

  “I can come the day after tomorrow. I don’t have any appointments that day.”

  “Cool. Sc-Scott’s awake? Did you do. . . Did you hear that?”

  “Yeah. I’d heard. It’s great.”

  “Y-yeah.” She sounded unsure.

  “In thirty seconds, this call will end. Press one to extend the time,” the automated voice interrupted. I went to press the button, but Blanca spoke up before I could.

  “I’ll talk to you soon, Chuck. I-it’s nice to hear from you.”

  A few days later, I was at Bellemere Correctional. I’d gone alone. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen and as much as I’d like Kari to come with me, I couldn’t justify it. I signed in. The security guard behind the desk stared at me. He wouldn’t stop staring. I started to reach out with my empathetic sense, then stopped myself. Doing that here might overwhelm me. So many patients, so much anger and pain. I want to be ready to meet with Blanca; with Scott; as myself. As much of myself as I can manage. I had suppressed it fully here. I had been practicing a lot,

  Mostly in case I had to fight or treat Curtis Drei again. So, I just ignored the stare. After signing in, I made my way to the visitation center. I was the only one here who wasn’t staff. None of the patients were in here with any visitors. The walls were lightly decorated with encouraging platitudes. I frowned at them. They’re not entirely worthless, but they can feel patronizing without actual hope to back them up.

  After about ten minutes, Blanca was brought out. And I hadn’t taken in a lot of the details last time. The last time I’d spent any real amount of time with her, she’d been haggard, but healthy. Or something approaching it. She had been exercising regularly, got a lot of sun, at the encouragement of both Scott and I, and had deep, brown skin, complimenting her eyes. Her hair had always been lustrous, a dark brown or black. In the intervening years, her skin had lost a lot of color. She was still darker than me, but it had a sickly pallor, something off. Someone not getting out enough. Her hair was slack and barely kept clean. She looked tired. But she smiled when she saw me. A full, happy smile. “Chuck! You look good. Healthy.”

  I smiled at her. “Blanca. It’s been too long. I-I’m sorry about that.”

  “Y-yeah. Me too. But if we’d done it sooner, I don’t know that I would’ve wanted to see you.”

  “Yeah. Things got . . . Complicated, back then.”

  “Life does that. Are you still . . . practicing?”

  “Yeah. My . . . skills have only gotten stronger.”

  “And you used them . . . Scott’s awake. You did . . .” I reached out to her psychically. The connection was easy to make. Familiar. Comfortable. These people don’t know about my powers. I did wake Scott up. I didn’t make an active choice. I just reached out and he was wrong. I . . . I had to fix it. I couldn’t leave him like that.

  “I’m glad to hear he’s recovering,” I said out loud. I didn’t want them knowing I was contacting her in any other way. And it might look a little odd to just stare at each other for minutes at a time. She responded in her own mind first. I don’t blame you for this, Chuck. I wish you’d done it sooner, but I understand why you couldn’t, but damn it. Do you think he can recover? Like, really recover?

  “Yeah. So, I hear you’re a doctor now. Figures. You always liked helping people.”

  I will help in any way that I can. I want to help. And I stayed away for too long. I just . . . After you two . . . I spent a lot of time trying to rebuild myself. To . . . limit my powers.

  “Yeah. A lot has changed. There are a lot more people out there. I’ve even taken a do-gooder under my wing. Teaching her . . . How to use her skills better than . . .” I trailed off.

  Chuck, can you . . . You said you’d help me get better. C-can you? Even in her head, her voice broke.

  I . . . Blanca . . . B . . . I . . . She looked like she was about to break down. And she spoke out loud. “Yeah. It’s been a really long time since I saw my family. They . . . can’t visit often. Too far out.”

  And just like that, the decision was made for me. Of course I’ll help. I’m . . . better than I was in a lot of ways. But if we’re going to do this, I’m going to walk you through everything. Explain everything. And you can make an informed decision this time. Not like . . . Not like before.

  I’d like that, Chuck, she thought at me. I’d really like that. There’s something else. There are people here . . . talking about a cure. A cure for metas. I’ve talked to Scott. He . . . He wants it.

  “Well, I'll come down here more often and we can be like family. And when you’re better, we’ll all go down to them. It’s been a while since I saw Juan and George.” It was hard having both a conversation in my head and out and I may have waited a beat too long to respond. I was trying to process what she was saying. A cure? You can’t cure meta-abilities. They’re a part of you.

  I agree. But Scott still feels terrible. He hates himself for what happened. A pang of guilt rang out in my stomach.

  It wasn’t his fault, B. It was . . .

  I swear to God, if you say it was yours, I’ll slap you. We were doing what we had to. I didn’t realize it until I saw you again, but we were just kids. Kids dealing with things beyond us. Powers or no. We couldn’t fix that.

  I sighed and broke eye contact, instead focusing on the posters on the edge of the room. Maybe not. But I still waited too long to . . . try and fix it. I didn’t know that . . . I didn’t know it was that bad.

  “Are you going to meet with Scott? Maybe you can t-talk to him. Help him get better.”

  “I’ll ask. See if . . . if he wants to see me.”

  After a little while longer, we wrapped up. I promised to see her next week. To help her rebuild her mental health. And I asked to see Scott, but the staff was cagey. I thought about reaching out and seeing why, but I resisted. Instead, I just flew home, where Kari was waiting for me.

  I stared out into a puddle of reporters and camera men. Alan Crane was standing behind a lectern, giving a speech. My phone buzzed in my breast pocket, but I ignored it. After all, I thought, this is just as much for me as it is for Crane.

  His speech was winding down. “I have faithfully served Avalare City for twenty-five years and it’s been my pleasure to do so. As District Attorney, I’ve worked tirelessly for the last fifteen years to forge a path forward with love and compassion. I’ve fought for justice and what I thought was right. But the world is changing and I . . . I don’t think I’m the right person for the job anymore. And until the election can be held, I am going to pass the torch to another tireless, faithful servant of our beloved city. Someone who will push for justice and fairness. Allow me to introduce your interim District Attorney, Don Lawin.”

  The former District Attorney stepped out of my way, finally, and I took my rightful place. There were murmurs in the small crowd, but none of it was important. “Thank you, Alan. Mister Crane has served us to the best of his ability for the last fifteen years and I am going to take the things our office has done well and push forward. But there are things I feel we have not handled as well as we could have. As a public servant, as the arm of law and justice, our first responsibility is to protect the people. And we are going to refocus our efforts on those values.”

  A reporter stood up and raised her hand. “Stacy Melfie from the Gazette. What changes are you talking about? Are there specific policies you have in mind?”

  “Yes, Stacy,” I said, feeling a broad smile spreading across my face. “If these latest events have taught me anything, it’s that we’ve been relying too heavily on vigilantes. On metahuman interlopers doling out justice. It is not the role of these alien forces to decide what is and is not okay. Who is captured and who goes free. Self-appointed heroes like Thunderblast, Smash Gal, and even overt criminals, like Esvanir, have put themselves above the law and that must change. They are citizens and must be held to the same standards as the rest of us, regardless of their . . . aberrant abilities. We will hold these people to account.”

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