Reinforcing the City

A day had gone by, no visible signs of progress on the waitlist.

Despite Mystical not having shown up to patrol the entire day, Dystopia seems to have retreated for the time being. No doubt planning something sinister.

I went to school the next day, catching up on missing work. Despite all of that happening in the span of a few days, school is always something I can depend on to be a constant in my life.

Well, a constant for the next seven years. Then I've got to graduate, work with teams, clients, and maybe whole companies. If I'm lucky I get to work for the government and build even more things. I have my whole life ahead, this whole superpowers thing will be a tiny blip in my plans. All I have to do is avoid Dystopia, don't draw his attention.

"I'm super worried about...Utopia." I sat down at lunch with the other two in our friend group. "I mean, being called by the public to contrast him. That just sounds like a death sentence."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "Death sentence? He hasn't even made any moves yet."

"That's what you think." Benjamin pondered out loud. "For someone like Dystopia, being outmaneuvered by a B-class superhero would send him to the moon through sheer anger alone."

"Oh god. She's gonna die."

"Like I said, as long and she lays low, Dystopia will probably forget about her." Benjamin grinned.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ben." I inhaled a whole carton of milk. "Also, they really weren't joking about needing three times as much water. I'm already on my second water bottle today."

"Second water bottle and a whole milk carton. Do plants drink that much water?" Victor frowned.

"Trees drink ten-fifteen gallons." I shrugged. "I just need at least a gallon and a half, three times more."

"Can you like...absorb water through your skin? Like roots?" Benjamin whispered. He looked around to make sure no one was focusing on us. "Just throw yourself into a pool, and then all your water needs will be met instantly?"

"I'd have to try that out sometime." I glanced around us, looking out the window. "I hope Mystical can hold on."

"Well, he definitely knows that Mystical is in a sort of coma." Ben frowned. "What if he's attacking other wealthier supers in order to keep Mystical at the bottom of the waitlist?"

All of a sudden, a chilling silence settled on the table.

Victor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Hmm, I don't know if I can drop another grand. My parents are going to question why I'm spending so much."

Benjamin brightened. "Embezzle!"

I sent death at both of them. "No!"

"Bold of you to assume I don't know how to embezzle." Victor grinned. "But no, I really can't. I've already dried up my allowance this month, and it's pretty early in the month."

"We're so broke." I dramatically spread myself across the table.

"We need to stave off that man as long as we can," Benjamin steepled his fingers, "because eventually, she's going to make it to the top of the list, he can't keep doing that forever."

"Yeah, we're also talking about this in the middle of a public high school, just so you know." Victor reached for his milk carton, but I had deftly stolen it from him. "Hey!"

"All your drinks belong to me now." I drank it.

"Condemning me for crimes but you're stealing stuff yourself." He rolled his eyes. "You should swift vocations, turn into a thief."

"Chill, I'll buy you a smoothie later."

"...I guess that's acceptable."

"Well, even if we lay low, people are going to worry about the lack of defense in the city." Benjamin said, this time at a lower whisper. "No one seems to be patrolling, and other people can take advantage of a helpless city."

"Like a display of power?" I raised an eyebrow.

Victor snapped his fingers. "Supernova is in this city, right? Utopia can go and patrol with him. He's the stuff of legends, even Dystopia treads carefully around a living nuke."

I frowned. "I don't know if…"

"Just ask." Benjamin encouraged me. "If not, we'd still need patrol anyway."

Lunch ended, and I headed over to the next class, still apprehensive about asking Dad to go to patrol with me this afternoon. It can't all be bad, right?

"Charlotte." Tina tugged my shirt. "Did you do it? Did Mystical approve your blueprint?"

"Well, not yet." I scratched my head. "It's still processing. I just submitted it yesterday."

"So...what did you put in it? Is it like Golden Archways or like Sanctuary?" Ahmed leaned over from the next table over.

"Well, I'm not allowed to say anything until a decision has been reached." I shrugged. "If it's my design, then my lips will be sealed until the next renovations. It's super cool though. The name of it is called Eden."

"Did you get a scholarship or anything like that? You must have gotten a scholarship for something like that."

"Well, let's hope." I shrugged. "What about you guys, did you see the news yesterday? I think I remember seeing you two at the fair."

Ahmed raised his hand. "Yeah, I was stuck under rubble, but the vines held the concrete long enough that I was able to crawl out. I think this is the first time a superhero's first battle has no casualties."

Tina made a face. "Eh...the appearance of Supernova though...."

"Why? What did he do?" I tilted my head.

"Oh yeah, you skipped that year." Tina frowned. "Supernova destroyed almost all of Switzerland, parts of France, and parts of Italy." I blinked. "Four million in casualties. Ashes for months in the sky. The condition was so bad my grandma in Venice couldn't fly to America to escape the fallout."

...Was that why Mom and Dad were so apprehensive about meeting the Department? Did they ruin three countries in an attempt to help Groundhog? And the Board let millions die? What was the alternative? "That's...horrible."

I don't know if I should do anything here.

I headed home as class ended for the day, sighing. If four million casualties was the best result the Board could come up with, then what was the other one?

I stepped in through the door. "I'm home!"

Dad had grown out his leg, fully healed up, he was playing games on the couch, lazing about as Mom read a book beside him. "How are you today?" Dad asked. "Any excited fans for Utopia?"

"No one seems to know that Hailey is in a coma right now, so that's good." I made a face, wondering if I should ask them about their nuke attempt. Nevermind. "No fans yet, they seem to just lump Utopia with the group, and Hailey as the de facto leader."

"So, Dystopia hasn't shown up yet, so that's good." Mom breathed a sigh of relief.

I threw my bag on the ground, and pulled out the gray uniform from the cupboard. "Um, Dad. Benjamin said that the longer we don't have anyone patrolling, more people will take advantage of Denver, so…."

Dad looked up, interested. Mom shook her head. "Nooo! You're not fully healed up yet, you can't just explode again, think of your poor heart."

"I have both arms and a leg, it's fine." He grabbed the sock on the hanger beside him and started putting on his prosthetic leg. "It's just patrol, a display of power."

"Are you really going to show up again?" Mom frowned. "I don't want you to…"

"I'll be fine." He kissed Mom on the forehead. "They can't do anything in one day. I can take it."

"The slander?" I might as well tell them I know they killed a few million people. "I'm sure anyone that's Swiss will still be angry no matter how many apologies you concoct."

"Oh." Mom frowned. "So...you aren't mad at us?"

"No, I'm just disappointed you're running away from all that." I grumbled.

Dad made a face. "Well, it's not the full reason we're hiding at the moment."

"Yeah, sure. Keep denying it." I looked over, and saw my parents give each other one of those looks. "What? What am I missing out on?"

"Actually yeah, I'm ashamed of myself for hiding for so long." Dad corrected himself.

"No no no no-wait, what did you guys do?"

"I killed a few million people and thousands of miles of ecosystems." Dad said. "And I worked my ass off trying to recover some of his reputation." Mom followed up.

"No! What was the real reason you are hiding right now?"

"To be honest," Dad cracked a grin. "I think that half-truth is better than the alternative. Better the world thinks of me as a coward."

Hmph. I crossed my arms, fully dressed now in the uniform. "Fine."

Dad picked up his molten armor from their bedroom. "We'll be back before dinner, Cathy. Take care."

"Take care." Mom waved.

We launched towards downtown. Along the way, Dad chatted with me in the air as he leaped over whole buildings in one bound. Never start from a single point, always appear in the city from different points. He couldn't let me go without a simple training course in martial arts, some basic maneuvers to get right.

I noticed eyes on us whenever Dad stopped to take a breather on the top of a building,

"How many times would you do this, exactly, in a week?" I asked.

"Well, there are varying degrees of danger levels that I go by." He thought for a second. "Mhh, it's been a while. I'll have to check my notebook."

"Wait, I'm supposed to keep a notebook?" I frowned.

"This is just a temporary position until Dystopia has been neutralized, no? I recommend keeping a journal just in case your services are ever needed again." He stretched, popping a few joints in his neck and back. "Let's sit up here for a moment. I'm not what I used to be."

I kicked my legs over the edge of the building, and took out a tiny notepad from my pocket just in case. I jotted down some pointers.

Days passed. No sign of Dystopia in the news. Now I was starting to worry what if he had already claimed Denver under my nose? What if he was away slowly plotting my slow and painful demise?

Meanwhile, Hailey shot up to the top of the list, and the healer had finally arrived in the apartment. I stiffened, sitting up as Seraphim arrived with a teleporter.

This...glow. She has no feet, but instead trailed light below her waist like a ghost. I almost had to close my eyes from the sheer amount of presence she brought to the room. First-generation supers are different, I need to remember that.

"Alright, last one for the day, psychic damage it seems." Seraphim put her hand on top of Hailey's forehead. "Yikes."

Me and Benjamin watched as the glow sank into Hailey's mind, and I watched as the mist under her waist grew fainter.

"Alright, she's lost a few days of memories, but it seems everything else seems to be in working order."

"Which few days of memories?" Benjamin asked.

"The few days before she went into a coma. If you two were with her, you should be able to recap everything that's happened since."

I frowned. So that means...she doesn't know I have superpowers.

"If that's everything, then I'll get going now." She waved goodbye as the teleporter took her away.

Benjamin stared for a second, then gently shook her shoulder. "Hailey, Hailey?"

"Mmh?" She woke up. "I thought the festival was until tomorrow."

"It's not-you...you got hurt."

Benjamin began to explain what had happened over the course of the past few days. The precautions taken, the fake Avalanche in town, and Dystopia seemingly off the charts.

"So we have a new superhero? B-class at that?" Hailey asked. "I can work with that."

Benjamin glanced at me. I thought for a moment. "Yeah…" I decided not to tell her, and looked at Benjamin with a nod. The faster I can separate that name from me, the faster I can get back to rebuilding the city. "Her name's Utopia. She's pretty awesome."