Ch. 20: Relative Normalcy

It's nice to see Liron walk in a little later, as I'm finishing up with a crux overdose. A little bit of normalcy back into my life. Relative normalcy, anyway. He's not in his armor, just casual pants and a shirt that's just a bit too frayed for being out in public in.

I open my arms wide. "Liron, my fellow! 'Tis a fine day."

He glances around, seeing only a couple cruxheads and my staff. "It is. Hey, I got a... a problem."

lumbago, ivy + any wood + any bone + any sphere

"Back pain is solved within moments, Sir Liron. Allow me to-"

"Not that, not that." He scratches his head. "Well, not just that. I, uhh... look, I heard at the ceremony thing you don't do house calls much, but-"

"Nary another word. Direct me, and I shall do it."

He looks around again, as if he's being watched. "It's more complicated than that. I have a niece, right? Mercedes. Thing is, well, her mom is really anti-cape. Like, to the point my sister Lacey keeps asking why I don't just kill every empowered person I see on the street."

"Good heavens."

"Yeah. So if you could give me something for her, I could slip it into her-"

"Alas, tis not the nature of my ability. I must be the one to administer it directly. Perhaps you steal her away for but a moment?"

"Not likely. Mercedes is only two, and now that she has some kind of blood infection, my sister doesn't let her out of her sight."

"I see, I see. A puzzle, to be true. Surely your sister sleeps?"

"Same bed." He sighs. It's like he's already given up.

"Damnation... To worsen the matter, I can hardly introduce myself surreptitiously. Should her loathing of capekind be as fixed as you suggest, she may sniff me out the moment I introduce the suit."

"Probably."

"I would typically break into her dwelling, gas them both, and heal the child regardless of her opinion, but I worry that may be too stressful for such a frail infant."

"That's your only problem with it?"

I tap my cane a few times, thinking. "Yes."

He looks off to the side. "God damn it. I love her, but she's such an idiot. And as much as I think she's an idiot, I'm not going to kidnap her child, or let some half-sane doctor inject the kid against the mother's will. At least while she's in the room."

"Hmm... I suppose Mercedes's health relies upon what villainy you can stomach. Perhaps an elaborate hoax?"

"I'm EViRT. I can't exactly encourage supervillain behavior. Also, I'm morally against it."

"Feh. You remove all the enjoyment from stealing away infants and injecting them with experimental concoctions."

He forces away a smirk. "I'm so sorry, that must be hard for you."

"Regardless, this appears rather pressing... To complicate matters, my nurse has a fairly normal moral compass, and my assistant is out gathering blue and yellow highlighter fluid. Solvent, do you have a suggestion?"

"Does she hate powers or does she hate capes?" Solvent asks, eyes fixed on Liron.

"Solvent asks if her issue regards powers or capes."

He thinks for a moment. "I don't think she sees a difference between the two."

"Just abuse her fear of powers. Say you infected her baby and only you can cure her. The only lie is that you made the baby sick. Everything else she will agree to."

I bob my head, patting Solvent on the back while I relay the plan to Liron.

He grimaces. "Your plan is to prove her right about capes?"

I tip my hat. "But of course, my fellow, for I have finally seen the truth that lay just beyond my beak: that I am a villain! To incite hatred and division, to-"

"You're curing a baby's blood infection for free because your cop friend asked you to."

"Buzzkill."

Solvent and I did recon first, plainclothes. Liron's sister was staying at his house for a few days, and seemed to never leave. The first thing I needed was to see the child so I could make the potion. Liron managed this by taking his sister to a drive thru, which I observed through binoculars. Lenses didn't affect my power noticeably, oddly enough. I assumed proximity was important just on the basis of how other powers work, but apparently not.

unnamed blood infection, gasoline + wine + boric acid + mercury

unnamed kidney infection, cricket + beef fat + rosemary + any brown mushroom

Interesting, there's two...

The sun slowly falls beneath the horizon, the streets of Dudek largely empty this late in the day.

"J7, thank you for your efforts."

"Uh-huh."

He doesn't look back at me, eyes focused on the house as he pulls along the street. He puts on a simple face covering: surgical mask and sunglasses, and keeps the car running, license plate retracted: a nice touch by Emily. Liron's car isn't in the driveway. Perfect.

First things first, entry. Two options, loud and dramatic, or quiet and sinister. I consider simply breaking into the house and standing in a corner until she showed up, but the longer I wait, the more likely something can go wrong. Dramatic is the way to go here.

I walk up to the house, quietly trying the front door, finding it locked. Damn, I should have brought Solvent, but I figured it would be more intimidating if I were alone.

Still, not a problem. I wanted to avoid being too loud to start, in case she tries to run, but I can work around this. There are other ways inside.

Can't break the windows, crawling through broken glass is incredibly stupid even for people who won't die if they get a small cut. There's a back door, too, but I imagine that's locked as well. I reach into my coat, taking out a simple explosive, and backing away a bit. Then again, what if she's on the other side?

Maybe I should go full vampire, demand to be let in, or else. If she hates capes so much, though, would she ever be in a state of mind to open the door? Probably not.

Wait, my HUD. There's a small burst of movement fifteen feet away, that's not the same room. I throw the explosive concoction at the door, shielding myself from any splinters that fly back by crouching low and holding up my cape.

There's no smoke, or even much of a dust cloud. As intended. With a firm kick, I dislodge what little of the wood around the lock remains, cracking through the damaged wooden door fully, as the motion sensor dot on my HUD moves in direction of the door. I stand in front of it, as Liron's sister freezes upon seeing me, her child held tight in her arms.

Lacey looks like Liron. Almost identical to him, in fact, as if the only difference between them is how hormones were distributed. Were they fraternal twins? That's not how it works, right?

"Hark! I am the villain Beaker, spreader of plague, here to reap what I have sown!" I take a few firm steps towards her and her daughter, ignoring my previous thoughts. "Your progeny, Mercedes, is-"

She lunges at me with a stun gun she evidently keeps on hand. I let her try for a moment. My suit is fully insulated against electricity, though apparently letting it hit my mask can short it and is annoying for Emily to fix. I let her fruitlessly hold it against my coat for a moment, her daughter not reacting and burning with fever.

"Feh." I firmly grab her wrist. "Release the shock device, and listen close. Mercedes was the incubator for a foul illness I have created. She is the perfect host, hale and unmarred by empowerment."

"You... no..." Lacey tries to take a step back, but I hold firmly to her sweaty wrist, silently thanking Emily for the impressive grippy material on the fairly smooth looking suit. I don't want Lacey running, not yet. She drops the stun gun, it quietly bouncing once off the soft carpet.

TMJ, any bone + enameled glass + grass + lemon-lime soda

"You needn't fear, provided your cooperation. I only come to destroy what is mine to destroy. Said plague, you see, has been a monumental failure of mine, entirely incapable of transmission. It is sheltered from the world by the host itself."

"You're going to kill her?!" Her eyes widen, and I can sense that she's about to get desperate. That's not ideal.

"Heavens no, I am not so gauche, nor have I a desire to be hunted like a rat by EViRT or other aligned agencies. I possess the antidote for my pox, and seek only to remove any trace of this failed experiment from the child's body. Although, should you refuse, I could certainly allow your child's unnatural death. In truth, it matters little, both meet the same end, but this is a matter of pride for me, Madame Lacey. Having your child dissected and examined piece by piece by researchers keen on discovering my secrets is sloppy work."

"My brother is EViRT, he-"

"Yes, Officer Liron. My nemesis, though his relation to you is only a providential coincidence. In this matter, he is of no consequence. Your doctors will have no hope in a cure, the only remedy resting in possession. I am a gentlewoman, Madame Lacey, not some wanton infant killer. With your cooperation, the child is saved."

I let go of her hand. Thankfully, she doesn't run, only clutching Mercedes tightly.

"To business, then, as I assume your lack of fleeing means my offer has tentative acceptance. There are two modes of administration: injection, and oral." I take out the cures from my coat, clinking the glass bottles together between my fingers, making sure to show the dozens of other vials inside.

"Fuck... You're talking about making a pandemic! How can I trust you?!" She takes a single step back.

I laugh. "Have you any other choice, my dear? You needn't relinquish the child, only hold her still as I inject the cure. It is in two parts, the first informing the second."

She says nothing, but doesn't move.

I take the first needle, and an alcohol wipe, tearing open the paper and foil wrapping to gently swab Mercedes's arm. With care, I line up the first injection. It's harder to do this on children. Such small veins... I hold the child's half-conscious, soft, and frail hand with my own, carefully sinking the needle in and pushing the plunger. The child doesn't react to the pain, distressingly enough. It makes me more upset than if she started crying.

I place the used syringe into my coat, swabbing the child's arm with another alcohol wipe as I inject her with the second. As soon as I draw the needle away, I release the child's hand, Lacey's eyes locked on me in fear as she steps back again. I monitor her child for a moment, to make sure she improves. I can see the fever visibly fading away, the child's face loses the intense red, as she starts to sniffle and squirm.

"A successful infusion. I shall abscond before the child's incessant squealing begins. As a reward for your cooperation, Madame Lacey, allow me to diagnose your recurring jaw pain and headaches. Simple TMJ, consider a night guard."

"What..?"

"Ahh! And additionally, for your entryway and emotional distress." I offer her a black envelope, which she looks at with fear. I open it, rolling my eyes behind my mask as I toss it onto the coffee table closest to me. Loose bills from today's take start to poke out, somewhere in the two or three thousand range. I have no idea how much doors cost, so I included my business card as well in case its more. Entirely glossy black, with a phone number on one side, and on the other a bird skull.

Mercedes starts to cry, which I take as my cue to leave. I hate the sound of babies crying.

I slip into the backseat of J7's car. "Successful mission, let us depart."

He nods, peeling away from the house. "Need me to dispose of the weapon?"

"What? No, I was here to administer medicine."

"Huh. Thought it was a euphemism."

I'm starting to wonder if these guys were the right choice for security.

Lying in bed, holding Emily as she gently snores, is enough to make me cry.

Part of why I escaped into my persona in the first place was, ironically, to stay sane. Humans aren't meant to live like I've had to. Always on the perimeter. Always in fear of catastrophe. Always separated from humanity by a layer of plastics and liquids and gases and alloys. It's not how we're built to work.

The first and most important layer of the immune system is skin. Mine doesn't provide that, not really. Something about my dispower makes it like a magnet. Not quite as bad as an open wound, bacteria or viruses will still get lost on their way in sometimes, but still reliably dangerous for me.

For Emily to sleep with me like this, she had to be decontaminated, and the room's air is constantly being vented with a gentle hum, pulling any contaminants away from Emily's side of the bed. Still, with a small vibrating alarm hooked to my ankle, I'm woken up every four hours and groggily look in a mirror just to check.

Our first kiss had me silently excusing myself to 'the bathroom' so I could sneak off to my lab and chug a few cures I threw together in a hurry. Emily knew, I'm sure. We have an unspoken agreement to settle on hugs, or brief pecks if she's just used mouthwash a few seconds ago.

It's bitterly agonizing for me, while still not something I'd trade for anything. This right here, in the bedroom that looks like a normal bedroom, with the gentle hum of the air purification system I can pretend is a dehumidifier, is the nearest I've gotten to actual normal human connection.

I hope its enough. Right now, as I take in the slightly fruit-scented smell of her hair as it brushes like wool against my face, my arm gently slung around her waist as I close my eyes, I think it is. I really think this might be enough.