"That's really the whole thing though." I said "I need a someone behind the camera to make sure I have something to post, and I think you're the best option!"
"Oh, I don't know, Rouge..." Drizti said, shaking her head "I thought the one I filmed with Gemia was fun, but then you went and really hurt her, and I just don't want to video people getting hurt."
"I didn't actually hurt her, I just fought her a little, look. I promise not to actually hurt anyone while you're filming, is that ok?"
"Why can't Ravel do this for you?" Lucy cut in, kicking an old bottle down the street "She's always with you anyway."
"I haven't seen her since yesterday, plus she needs to stay out of sight or she'll be brought in. Verdant can film right out in the open!" I said
"Ugh, I don't like this, I feel like I'm butting in between you and Cobalt." Drizti said "I'll do it if you really need me to, but like, isn't this bad to cut her out?"
"No, we're on a break, it's fine." I said "We're just not going out as the duo anymore for now, so you're filling in!"
"Yeah, you mentioned the break thing. So like, from the story you told, which I don't really trust your side of, by the way, Cobalt never agreed to the break, did she?" Lucy asked
I frowned "I declared a break, to her face, I don't think it's a two party thing. I wanted a break, so I declared a break."
"I think you both have to say it, Rouge..." Drizti said "I barely know anything about relationships and I still know that."
"That's not what we're talking about, stop." I said "I just want to know if you'll help me with my filming."
"...Yeah, of course." Drizti sighed "But I don't have to feel nice about it."
"Thank you so much!" I told her, grinning "Ok, you two head over to the safehouse and get Gemia so we can film the response video! I'll go get my Comfit outfit!"
"You're doing that now?!" Lucy asked "At least wait until you've thought it over!"
"I've thought it over, I have the perfect plan!" I said "I'll meet you two in a second!"
I jumped into the air, taking off towards the base. I'd figured out exactly how I was going to spin the attack, and now that I had someone to film, why waste time?
~~~
I stood dramatically in front of the laundromat I'd gotten set on fire at and patted Gemia on the shoulder, giving her a squeeze.
"And that's why it was important, no, necessary to bring her in! I knew we needed to act fast and without allowing them to move first. I value her safety above all else, and when she refused to come in despite the danger, I had to take action in order to protect her. The violence and decisiveness you see in the video was unfortunate, but it was required to not only start the fight, but to end it, following GGDS guidelines."
Gemia looked at the ground and pulled at her lab coat, but spoke up "Is not to know der were bad peoples to try an ged me to use for der bad science, I was not knowing, so is happy Comfit is to safe me, an I am verdy happy that she is to gives me a safe place, wit friens and tools to use..."
I triggered my helmet to smile and gave her a big hug "Gemia, I swear to you I'll protect you from anyone who tries to capture you, I'll make sure you're safe, no matter where you are!"
I turned to the camera again "And that's true for all of you out there in need of care! I travel the city protecting people who need it! No matter where you go, no matter what section, just let me know you're my target, and I'll keep you safe!"
Gemia frowned "But... I is not to tell ju to protec me... Why does ju comes for me den?"
I kept the smile up on my face and thought quickly "Beeecause someone else got me to protect you for them! Someone who cares about you very much!"
"Mah tribe?" Gemia asked "But theys not have CirNet, or monies..."
"No money needed, my services are free!" I said, changing the subject "I value the lives and safety of my clients more than their wallets, so no need to send me anything, just drop me a follow! I love all of you out there and I hope you all love me too, bye!"
Gemia still looked shaken, but gave the camera a smile and nodded. Drizti pressed a button on the phone, and gave us the thumbs up. I relaxed and shook out the stiffness I'd gotten from posing like that, I'd need to find a better pose for videos if that one was going to give me thigh cramps...
"Ok, sooo I think we got everything important in?" Driz said "You mentioned it's free, you mentioned following your CirNet which is important, you set it up so you're 'protecting clients' instead of acting as a registered hero, which is great for the legal side, GGDS can't come down on you for poaching sections now... I think we're good to edit this and post it!"
"Good work, Driz!" I said, taking my phone back "And, uh, thanks Gemia, need us to show you where the safehouse is again?"
She frowned "There was just a bad guys of evil scientists to kidnarp me and jus to say 'walk home, is hokey'?"
"We're in the heretic hunter's neighborhood, you'll be safe." I told her "I heard she and one of the angels beat Spacegirl last night!"
"Hm." Gemia said, giving me a look "Is to go back to play cards, den. I wilt see ju another day, I guess... dank ju fors to saving me from de bad guys?"
"No problem, just trying to keep you safe!" I said, flashing another digital smile
She gave me one last long look, but shook her head and headed up the street anyway. I watched her go, a real grin on my face behind my mask. I'd done it! I'd totally pulled it off, the perfect spin. And I was leveraging it to get even more followers! Forica would be proud of me.
Forica... My smile slipped, and I felt a pang in my chest, one I'd tried to smother and was annoyed that it kept popping up. I didn't want to think about her right now, I wanted to plan my next move as Comfit. Should I go to the goblin war medal thing as her? Should I skip it and be seen in public more, maybe hanging around 'dangerous' places? I needed to pick soon, my shift was over in a few hours and I'd like to have a plan by then.
"You doing ok, Comfit?" Drizti asked me gently, peeking up at me from under her big sunhat "You lost all your spark when Gemia left..."
"I'm fine." I said "I just was thinking about stuff, you know."
"Forica?" she asked me, taking my gloved hand in hers
I flinched "A bit, what made you think of her?"
"This is all for her, right? The social media thing? You're doing it to get closer to her. I know Sable doesn't understand, but I do."
"Oh. Well, thank you, Driz."
It was about that, about finishing the plan, but it was also about me now. I'd forgotten that I was using Forica as an excuse to focus on my social media so much, and I felt a pang of unwelcome guilt shoot through me. She was important to me for a lot of reasons, she was my first fan, the person who taught me social media, who helped us through a rough spot, but somehow I didn't want everything to be about her. I needed to be able to do this for myself, because I wanted it. Maybe she'd always haunt my CirNet followers, maybe she'd fade away, but either way I wanted to be sure I was succeeding for me.
"Sable is still patrolling?" I asked Drizti
"Yeah, she's doing loops right now, but wants to meet back up for some on-the-ground stuff in a bit."
"Fine, I'll duck out, transform, and meet you two soon as I find you again. And Driz?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for taking the video, that means a lot to me."
She smiled with a hint of regret, but didn't say anything as she transformed and soared into the sky. I watched her go, her wings dwarfing her, her tiny body wobbling as her flaps shook her in the sky. I'd have to do something nice for her later, she'd mentioned the arcade, maybe I could take her once I made an appearance as Comfit later? That would be good, I'd do that this evening, and it'd put me out of the house and hopefully away from Alele too. I ducked behind an old pharmacy and transformed. At least Drizti was still my friend, no matter how I fucked up with the others.
~~~
"Holy fuck Driz, you've really taken to these, do you have a console at home?" I asked as her victory screen popped up
"No, I play here, mostly just this past week." she said "I thought I'd be able to make friends if I started coming here a lot, and I do want to get better at games, but mostly nowadays I just come here to feel like I'm not as alone."
"So you did make friends then?" I asked
"No, no friends, just me." she sighed "I just like the noise and how everyone is doing something or on their way to do something. It feels productive, in a way. Reminds me of the cult I guess."
"Oh..." I said, sitting down next to the fighter cabinet we'd been using "Do you really miss them that much?"
"No, I- ugh, no." she said "I'm happy to be gone, but I need more people in my life."
She sat down next to me and lay her head on my shoulder "I'm so alone, if we're not patrolling, I'm just alone. Me and you only hang out like once a week, or we did until you got busy, but Galorna and Lucy are always together, and Alele barely notices me, even when she's not just as busy as you."
"I'm sorry Driz..." I said "I didn't realize you were still lonely, we had that movie night and the game night, we started watching that show together, I didn't realize it was still an issue."
"I went from being around people at all times, even while I slept, to not having anyone around hardly ever." she said "I know you don't get it, but I was raised to need people, I need to be close to someone else or I feel so, so sad..."
"You haven't made any friends? None at all?" I asked her
"Well, you, and the other angels, to a lesser extent." she sighed "I tried hanging out with Maud, but her and Dahlia are always together now, and the only other one of the Unchosen that takes me seriously is Kiri, and she's..."
"Perky?" I offered
"That, but I was going to say, 'not good at sharing people's feelings'."
"What do you mean?" I asked
"Like right now." she said "You're not telling me how to fix my issues or make them seem like they're less, you're just hearing me. She can't do that, she's gotta fix, or worse, try and 're-frame' the problems to be less bad."
"Oh, uh, I'm just not good at advice, I think." I said "It's better to just hear people out."
"That's what I need." she agreed "I like Kiri a lot, she actually treats me like a person instead of a little kid like Galorna or Mourner do, but I need someone who can treat me like an adult and also let me be upset and lonely to them."
"I'm glad I can be that person for you, then." I said quietly
"Yeah, I need you, Candy." she said and let out a slow breath "Look, I don't like the way you've been hurting people, I really don't. I don't think you should have fucked Sera, I don't think you should have yelled at Alele on the date, and I really don't agree with you hurting Gemia."
"I really was hired to bring her in to keep her safe..." I said "By Chrissie, actually."
"That's not the important part." Drizti said "I want us to be friends, all of us here in section 247, and with you acting like you are, we're just going to fall away from each other."
"I want to be friends too, but sometimes I feel like no one understands what I'm doing or values the things that are important to me, I'm trying!"
Drizti sighed and sat up, fixing her clothes and fluffing her skirt back out "I did something you're going to be mad at me for."
"I- wait, having to do with us being friends?" I asked, suddenly on edge
"Yeah. While you were off trying to get Fem-Butch's grandad a medal or whatever, I came here early and reserved a party room."
"Are- did you throw a party?" I asked, a chill going through me
"No! Candy, I'd never do that to you, I just- Here, follow me." she took my gloved hand and led me across the arcade, weaving in and out of people. It was different than when Alele pulled me, it was at a lower angle, and it was gentler somehow. I let her guide me to a door with an alien painted on it, and I was almost surprised to see Seraphim leaning on the wall outside it.
"Hi, what's this about?" I asked her
"I am unaware of the meaning of this meeting, but when the green one requested my presence and told me it was to help you, I knew I must come." she said, standing up straight
"You can call me 'Drizti', you know." Driz grumbled "I'm not even wearing anything green."
"I will remember that." Sera said "Tell me, this place, it has so many screens in it, is it for communication? I can't figure it out."
"We'll explain later, it's for games." I said "Driz, you said you got a room?"
"Yup, here it is." she said making a face "Alright, so I'll be here as mediator, ok?"
She pushed the door open, and we all stepped in. At the end of the table inside was Alele, her posture slumped and her eyes puffy. She glanced up and shoot up out of her chair, pointing a finger at Seraphim.
"What the fuck is she doing here?!" Alele barked "She's the reason behind all this!"
"Behind all what?" Sera asked, taking a seat and noticing the pizza on the table in front of her
"Behind- you- Drizti! You said this was to help Candy, what the fuck?" Alele said, throwing her hands up
"Yeah, you're gonna talk it out, Sera is here because she's involved." Drizti said tiredly, getting a slice of pizza and dropping into a seat "I just want my friends back, and I want us to be ok, ok?"
I slowly sat down on the other side of the table from Sera and Alele so I could see them both "I'm not really ready for this, Drizti."
"No!" she said "You are ready, you're so ready you got all wound up and beat up an innocent last night! You need to get this all out or so help me I'm locking the three of you in here!"
She took a bite of pizza "Now, who'sh shtarting?"
"I'll start, why'd you fuck my girlfriend, you fucking murderess?" Alele snapped at Sera
"Fuck her? I admit I might have left her in a precarious position during our fight last night before I healed her up, but if you're talking about fornication, I can assure you, we have yet to even embrace skin to skin, much less have sex." Sera said, her words smooth and slippery as she put half the pizza on a paper plate
"I- no, you said-" Alele said, and glared at me "You slept together! You were both a mess!"
"Sh-she stayed over, uh, but no we just slept off the exhaustion from the fight with Spacegirl..." I admitted "I didn't bother to clean up my makeup because I knew you'd assume- well."
"You made me think you'd cheated on me because you had a shitty night!?" Alele hissed "I- that's- you're terrible!"
"Well, I'd said we were on a break, so-"
"We need to fucking agree on that." Alele said "You just announced it and then, as far as I knew, went and fucked the muscle mommy from down the street the same night!"
"Oh, mm, no, not a mother. I can't have kids, actually." Sera said, swallowing a mouthful "They'd come out very wrong, we sisters have to vow to never get pregnant if we want to live among non-sisters."
"I don't think you can pick when you get pregnant, I think it just happens." Drizti said
I stared at her for a moment, wondering what she actually knew about that stuff. She'd seemed to be on top of it before, but...
"Driz, I don't want to derail, but you do know why people get pregnant, right?" Alele asked, her voice less angry than before
Drizti flushed a dark grey and put her face in her hands "Yes! For the gods' sakes, I know, I'm just saying you can't pick when it makes a kid and when it doesn't!"
"I mean I can." Alele said helpfully "I have an app, it lets me know. Plus, like, protection exists?"
"Pro-?" Driz asked "No, stop, look, we can talk about that stuff later, get back on track!"
"The main takeaway is that Candy didn't cheat on you, Cobalt." Sera said "I think that means we're good, right?"
"I don't feel good, I don't understand why she's being like this!" Alele said, re-gaining her energy "She just blew up at me in Chrysós!"
"You made fun of me for swearing, told me my clothes sucked- we went over this, you were being a judgy bitch!" I protested
"You're one to talk, me judgy? Really?" she snapped
"You're both a little judgy." Drizti said "But we're not here to judge, we're here to talk."
"May I still judge?" Sera asked, taking more pizza "I was a judge back home for a few trials, I'm very good at it, nothing but convictions!"
"No one is judging!" Drizti said "Candy, Alele, you two haven't even communicated what you want from this yet, can you just talk?"
"I didn't want anything from this, I was just surprised out of nowhere, I thought I was going to be hanging out with my friend!" I said
"Ditto, I was told I was going to be fed pizza and get to reconcile with you." Alele said "And I didn't even get any pizza!"
"Well I'm trying to reconcile you." Drizti said "And I'm sorry about the pizza, I didn't know it'd go so fast..."
"My apologies, I don't get to eat regular food often." Sera said, blushing slightly, a few slices still on her plate "I tend to fill up when I can."
"Why don't you just buy food?" I asked her "There's like, five places that sell real food in our section alone."
"I don't have money, I haven't been blessed by anyone yet." she said, shrugging
"You get paid by the GGDS for doing hero work, I- ugh, I'll help you find out how to get the money they've been paying you later, please focus?" Drizti pleaded
I sat back in my chair and sighed "I just really feel overwhelmed lately, and I didn't even want to go on the stupid date, I just wanted to focus on my work as a hero."
"We're dating, we need to go on dates, Candy." Alele said "It's really important to me, I want a real relationship with you..."
"I liked our relationship more when we just fought crime and flirted and cuddled on my couch." I admitted "I've never had a partner, I don't know how to do dates and stuff, I just liked hanging out."
"Maybe you two don't need to be dating after all?" Sera offered "Just be friends who cuddle?"
"Absolutely not!" Alele barked "We're not breaking up! I worked hard to get her to give me a chance!"
"Ok, so no breaking up, but... maybe we... take a break?" I asked "Like, we both agree on it this time, no sex with other people, nothing but us on break for a few days. Just until we get it all figured out, I don't know. I'll text you and stuff each day to talk stuff through?"
"We live in the same building, on the same floor, next door to each other." Alele said "I see you every day constantly, why wouldn't you just talk to me?"
"Texting gives me distance." I said "I want to make sure I'm saying the right things and not hurting you, and I want to be able to think over what you said instead of blurting out an answer to everything."
"That's cheating though!" she protested "You'll just use that to find the best response and send that!"
"Like you haven't been rewinding time to argue better, that's cheating." I said
Alele shook her head "No, I haven't been! I've been taking this seriously, no games, no time travel!"
"If she had been time traveling, I think your relationship would be in a much better place than it is." Sera frowned
"True, good point!" Drizti nodded "I'd like to think communication is the key to a healthy relationship, and if she was re-doing her communications, we wouldn't even be here."
"Why haven't you been re-doing stuff?" I asked Alele "Your power is broken, why not use it?"
"Because..." she floundered "It'd be wrong? I think? I'd be screwing up and getting do-overs and you'd be stuck with your mistakes, and I'd still have to see your reactions to all my mistakes, I don't know..."
She sank into her seat and put her head on the table "I just want you to chill out, I shouldn't have to bend space-time to get that to happen, fuck."
"I can chill out, I really can." I said "I like you, you're clever and caring and I love how you always act like you're the cleverest person in the room even if you're in the room with like, Ryllis or someone super smart, and I don't want to lose you. I just need to get my head straight and re-center, once I do that..."
"So... break, but no fucking Ser- other people without talking to each other?" she asked "We text and try to figure out where we're going from here?"
"Ok, sure, yeah." I said "I'm ok with that, I'm just tired of all this, I don't know."
"Finally." Drizti said "You and Sera are sorted, you and Alele are sorted, and you and Gemia are... better. Any other drama bullshit I need to fix for you, Candy?"
"You make it sound like I'm the only one in the wrong here." I said sullenly
"You were a big part of it." Seraphim said "From my understanding, at least. If we're done with the conversation, would any of you like to show me how to play the games here? I want to get a better grasp on the technology of this w- country."
"Yeah, I think we're done. I'll show you my favorite racer, you coming Candy and Alele?" Drizti asked
"I think I need to head home to pack some stuff..." I said "I kinda want to see if I can stay at the safehouse for a while, just until I feel like myself again."
"The safehouse?" Alele asked "Ew, just stay in your room, it's not a big deal, I'll just stay in my room and you stay in yours."
"Nnno, I need to change up the scenery." I said "I'll treat it like a sleepover. It'll be fine."
"Ok, well, have fun?" Drizti said "Maybe they're still playing cards, it's only like ten or so, you could join them!"
"Mm, maybe." I said "I'll head home and get my stuff together, that'll be half an hour at least, so they might be asleep by the time I get there."
"Well, aside from Tipsy." she said "They'll be up for sure."
I told them all goodbye and headed out, my heart feeling sticky and gross for some reason. I'd made nice with Alele, we were going to be ok, and I was getting some time away from the Angels to clear my head and reset everything, that was good, right? I was doing the right thing. I watched the city scroll away under me as I flew, and tried to ignore the feeling of sadness and pain filling my insides.
~~~
"It'll just be for a while, maybe a couple days, it's really not a big deal..." I told Chrissie as we stood in the street outside The Unchosen headquarters "The door was locked, I was just wondering if you minded letting me in?"
"I don't mind per-say, but we've got fugitives in there, one of whom was apparently being hunted by evil super scientists. I can't just let you in without talking to them first." Chrissie said "Why can't you stay at your place anyway?"
"Alele and I are taking some distance from each other to figure out how to reconnect." I explained "I thought it'd be better if I didn't see her all the time while we work stuff out."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that..." she said in a tone that suggested she was surprised she cared "I can't just give you the key to the safehouse in the middle of the night, and there's only one room so I don't want to wake everyone up, but..."
"But?" I asked
"But you can stay on our couch for tonight, I guess. I know the others won't mind, you're like, basically a team member here." she finished
I glanced inside the door, I couldn't see the couch from where I was, it was around a corner, but it had been comfortable, and it was better than a sleeping roll on the floor like I'd been planning. I hoped I wasn't intruding too much, it sounded like most of the others were sleeping, and I'd get woken up as soon as someone- Kiri, I was guessing- started making breakfast, but I was used to getting hardly any sleep.
"Thank you, Chrissie..." I said "I'll be super quiet, I'm guessing your daughter is already asleep?"
"She'd better be..." she muttered "I put her to bed like an hour and a half ago."
She glanced at my bag and bedroll "Here, let me get that for you..."
Chrissie took my stuff and headed in and I followed, closing the door gently behind us. It was going to be weird sleeping in a place with no security to speak of, but anyone confident enough to break into a building with 5- no, six if Dahlia was here- heroes in it was either strong enough to be unconcerned with security in the first place or too stupid to worry about. I walked through the dimly lit main area, a new table off to one side with a large puzzle partially finished on it, and a large blue and pink rug taking up the center of the floor. They were slowly but surely making the mechanic's shop feel like a home...
"Ok, so you can take the big one." Chrissie said quietly as we walked into the living room "You've already slept on it once so you know it's comfortable. Um, the bathrooms are mostly in the bedrooms, but there's one out behind reception if you need it? There's no shower though, just a toilet. If you need a shower you can use mine in the morning."
"I took one before I came, but thank you." I said politely, un-transforming to my pajamas
"Wow, that's handy..." Chrissie said, looking me up and down "Ok, so Kiri will be up around six thirty, Mourner and I will be up around nine, Maud and Dahl get back at ten, and Ryllis wakes up... whenever she needs to and not any sooner honestly, so it'll be later. Kiri will most likely let you sleep, but Mourner'll be loud, she isn't super, uh, respectful? Anyway, I need to get to bed myself, if Pendra wakes up and I'm not there, she'll come looking."
"I really appreciate this, I'll be out of your way soon enough." I told her, laying the roll out
"Yeah... I hope you and Alele patch things up..." she said, giving me a gentle bump on the arm with her fist "I've been having issues with my boyfriend too, but it's mostly just about how much I work and how little we get to see each other."
"That's- huh." I said, giving her a knowing smile "Yeah, that's the crux of it for us too. I've been volunteering too much, so she says."
Chrissie's face softened a little and she nodded "It's really hard to care so much and only be able to do so little..."
We stood there in silence for a moment before she took a breath and gave a small smile "Anyway, off to bed with me, see you in the morning!"
She slipped into one of the rooms behind the couch, a slight wave of hot, humid air like the breath of a giant creature flowed out as the brightly painted door opened and shut. I slid into my sleeping roll using the couch pillows to prop my head up as I got situated. It was odd here, lights from the kitchen and the main bay area lit up the living room fairly well, and the sounds of Mod's servers humming away upstairs gave the whole place a sort of floaty surreal feeling that I couldn't shake.
I was getting tired, the jolt of energy I'd picked up from Sera this morning had worn off ages ago, and I was starting to feel like my old self again. I really did need to figure out how to bottle that, or to see her more frequently so I could re-charge fast. The initial burst of healing and power was gone in a couple seconds, but the alertness lasted for a while, and that was the part that helped me feel like a normal person for once.
I know I should- could be eating people for the same result, with longer lasting power boosts too if the worms were a good frame of reference, but I wasn't sure if I was quite ready to take the plunge into the world of controversially powered heroes just yet. There were a few popular ones out there that were pretty messed up though, it wouldn't be as bad as I'd originally thought. Lady Lunge was horrifying and people loved her, BilgeOoze had a massive fanbase despite being so toxic she had to live in the ocean to avoid killing anyone nearby, Hither could erase free will and make people into mindless slaves but since he only used his powers on villains he got a pass. Even Queen Vile was popular, kind of. She wasn't exactly selling any merch or anything, but she was respected as one of the strongest, bravest heroes on the entire west coast, and her power was...
I shuddered, not a good thing to think about right before bed, that's for sure. At the end of the day, a power was only as 'bad' as the PR team behind it, and while my power was extreme, yes, with the right spin, I could make it work. I just needed a target or two, use it to save the day, show how strong I was with it, strong enough to survive a fight against Spacegirl! It's not like I would really be doing anything wrong, not if the people I eat are bad guys. I'd be making the world a better place!
I curled up and closed my eyes, I'd have to think about it more, but I was pretty sure once my Comfit account got to six figures, I'd drop the ruse, merge my identities, and start openly eating people. I'd have the momentum and popularity to make it count, and enough power and allies to ensure the GGDS couldn't label me as a villain and take me out of the picture. Just a little more, I was already at close to seventy kay just since the video I posted earlier, I was so close to getting what I needed...
~~~
The couch shook and I cracked open my eyes, trying not to glare at Mourner for sitting right at my feet when there was a perfectly good loveseat right next to us. I'd been ignoring the sounds of breakfast and cleaning for hours as Kiri went about her day, getting ready for her rounds later, but having someone just drop onto what you're using as a bed like they belonged there was too much. I groaned and sat up, holding my sleeping roll around me like a blanket and glanced at her. She was eating what looked like a bar of mud and dipping it in a dirty cup of water. I made a face, it must be something dryad specific, I'd never seen a breakfast bar look like that.
"Gods, you finally woke up, huh?" she asked, taking another bite of her... food
"Yeah, sorry about crashing here, I needed- I needed some space." I said groggily
"Well why the hell did you crash with us then?" she asked "We had to build an extra floor just to fit all our members, we don't really have room for more."
"I'll, uh, be staying at the safehouse once Chrissie wakes up, I think." I said "It was locked last night, and Tipsy couldn't reach the handle to let me in."
"That's kinda funny, they need a grabber or something I guess." Mourner said, smirking "They can't do much on their own, they need help with everything, fuck. They got a phone yesterday though, they called everyone on the team every few minutes to tell us everything from 'I won a game of poker!' to 'Gemia took my hat and won't give it back!'. It was cute, but I had to set their number to ignore, I have stuff to do."
"I'm glad they were able to use it, their glass hands made it hard, right?" I asked, popping my back
"Fuck if I know." Mourner said "I just know they got one."
"Hey, language!" Chrissie said, tapping Mourner on the head
I hadn't heard her come in, but she was dressed with a handbag on her shoulder and Pendra wrapped around her neck, still sleeping.
"Going somewhere?" I asked her
"I have a meeting with the Society later, yeah. We're going to be drafting a formal letter to the mayor's office to request that the requirement to have a church membership is removed from public school enrollment." she said "We need to go over to the safehouse and ask the members to see if you're ok to stay there though. You good to head over?"
"Mm, yeah, I'm good." I said, transforming in place
"I- did you just poof your sleeping bag?!" Mourner asked "That's a waste, why would you do that?"
"It'll come back when I un-transform." I said as I dug my phone out of my pocket and watched the messages flood in as it reconnected to my service
"That's really handy, Kiri's transformation melts her clothes and stuff every time, she only uses it in an emergency..." she said "I don't know, I just use my regular clothes to fight crime in, fu- screw it, I don't need to be fancy."
"Yeah, our goddess likes us to be flashy though." I said, picking up my bag "Speaking of Kiri, I guess she already left then? I was only half awake when she was around."
"I think she went to the library before her shift." Chrissie said "If you're good though, we do need to get going, I'd like to be at my meeting soon."
"Sorry, lead the way..." I said
I hoped the people in the safehouse didn't mind me being there. They seemed chill enough, but I did feel like I was intruding a little. I was the one who got most of them in there though, not that they knew that. I guess Tipsy did, but they wouldn't tell, right? They knew how blackmail worked, I assumed. We crossed the street and Chrissie knocked at the paper-ed over entrance, Pendra mumbling and curling tighter around her neck. A second later, the door cracked open, and Gemia peeked through the crack nervously, relaxing and quickly pulling us into the dark interior.
"Is she der guard to makes de bad guys nots to hurd me?" she whispered to Chrissie, pointing at me
"Oh, no. She's a hero, but she's just staying here for a while if you don't mind. She'll absolutely protect you though if you need it!" Chrissie said
Gemia looked me up and down and her nose twitched. Her eyes widened and she gasped, pointing at me in shock. I cringed internally, I hadn't thought about her heightened sense of smell, I wasn't around tribal goblins enough to think about that stuff, fuck. I shook my head at her quickly, my eyes wide and she stopped, her face scrunching up, and she made a noise in her throat.
"Uh, do you know Angel Rouge, Gemia?" Chrissie asked, looking back and forth between the two of us
"No! No, shes is, um, shes is a big hero!" Gemia said "Das what's so cool! She is to safe mandy peoples!"
"Oh, mhm!" Chrissie said "I forgot you didn't really know the angels yet, she's pretty strong, yeah!"
She adjusted Pendra and her bag and smiled politely "Ok, I gotta go, you guys have fun!"
As she left, Gemia looked around the room quickly. Her broken mech took up most of the back wall now, as well as a long, squat workbench lit up with a green light. Inky's tank was sloshing, Dahlia's charging bed was empty, and Tipsy was nowhere to be seen, but Gemia pulled my arm and ducked towards the bathroom anyway, her claws bunching up my glove. She opened the door and we stopped, Tipsy was on the counter brushing their face with a toothbrush and soap.
"Oh, hi Angel Rouge!" they said "Hey, want to play games with us? Ravel is coming by later and-"
"Gets out of der bafroom!" Gemia hissed "We needs it!"
"Wow, two bathroom things at once?" Tipsy said "I didn't know people could do that! Of course, I don't have to use the bathroom, so-"
Gemia picked them up off the counter and tossed them out the door, closing it behind them. She glared at me and crossed her arms, her gaze stabbing into me with a ferocity I hadn't expected from the little prankster.
"Hokeys..." she said "Does ju wants tell me whys ju are to being two heros? Or is I to hav to ged der GGDS on der phone?"