Citadel (Book 1): Training in Necessity (32 page)

"Hey Kelly!" her cousin called.  She jogged over.  He was next to Jenny.  "You ready?" he asked.

She just nodded.  Kelly was pretty much always hungry, at least when she had a stomach.

"You still wanna invite Kerry?"

"Nah," she answered, "she's cool and all but..."

Jim shrugged.  "No big.  I don't know why, but I'm feeling like having a dude day."

Kelly grinned and changed.  "Fine with me." he said.

"Not to butt in, but if you want a third..." Jenny said.  She had that incredibly cute smile that Kelly always had to fight to avoid copying.  It kept him just distracted enough that he didn't tell her he wanted to spend time with just his cousin.  "I think Don could use some time in town.  He's been pretty bummed since he lost his ball."

"Sure," Jim said, "works for me."

"Great!" Jenny said, with a huge smile, "I'll let him know!"

Munch's House (of Burgers)

"Did you tell him it was by Proxy?" Jim asked.

Kelly gave him an exasperated stare.  "Yeah, but I don't think it'll help much.  Not everyone has your encyclopedic knowledge of all the burger places and comic book stores on the West Coast.  Don called and said he's running late, so just order him a cheeseburger and fries."

"No prob." his cousin said, and left to do just that.

Kelly didn't bother giving him his own order.  The two had long since developed a routine.  Jim dragged him to whatever restaurant he'd just discovered, ordered whatever he wanted, then got Kelly three of the same thing.  Frankly, Kelly preferred being female when they ate out.  The looks he got when people watched a tiny little blonde girl put away so much food were hilarious.  She usually weighed less than ninety pounds, but it didn't have anything to do with diet or exercise.

Jim came back, set the little number in the center of their table and slouched into a seat.  There was no other way to describe what he did in a chair.  It wasn't sitting, just a sort of boneless relaxed... slouch.  "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Kelly just cocked an eyebrow at him.  Yes!  It'd taken him a week but he had it down now.

"You seeing anyone right now?" Jim asked.  "Because if not... I think that flyer girl has a thing for you."

Kelly felt himself blush.  "Um, no.  I-" He took a deep breath, then went on.  "Sammy's sweet, and a really good friend, but she's not my type."

Jim's boneless pose went a little rigid at that.  "I know that tone Kelly.  That's the 'You just touched on something serious that I don't want to talk about' tone.  You know I'll get it out of you, so spill.  Is it Dauntless?  You're one of the only ones who doesn't walk on eggshells around him."

Kelly had to stop himself from grimacing at the thought.  "No, Isaac's my roommate, and I guess he's kind of my friend, but that's it."

Jim was upright in an instant.  "Kelly, he didn't-"

"No." Kelly cut him off.  "He's just been getting on my nerves for a while is all.  I know everyone else thinks he's some kind of monster, but he's always been really sweet to me.  He just gets a little overprotective, sometimes.  I try not to hold it against him.  I know he means well and all, but it just gets a little annoying."

Jim relaxed a bit.  "Good, good.  I- I know you can take care of yourself, but I'll admit I worried about that.  He- Kelly, it's not just that people think he's a bully or something.  The way he acts, some of the stuff he's pulled in Combat and the challenges...  It's messed up.  The guy is fucking scary."

He didn't try to hide the grimace this time.  "I know.  I've seen a few of his fights.  But he... Isaac's really not like that.  There's got to be some reason..."  Kelly shook his head, unsure what else to say.  "Back to the topic.  I'm not seeing anyone."

Now it was Jim's turn to blush.  "Okay.  This is really personal, and I don't want to offend you cuz, but I think it's important so...  Have you gone through puberty yet?"

"I- I, uh" Kelly stammered.  "Um, do you mean as a girl or a boy?" he said, very, very quietly.

"Either, both, I don't know." Jim shrugged, but there was nothing casual about the look on his face.

"Not- not technically."  God this was embarrassing.  Jim didn't respond, seemingly waiting for more information.  Kelly didn't really want to tell him, but trusted his judgment enough to do it anyway.  "I, I can give myself breasts or facial hair, all the other little stuff... but I don't really age.  I mean, every time I shift I'm pretty much making a new body from scratch.  I never tried to include... you know."

"Kelly, I'm really, really sorry about this."  Jim looked miserable.  It was almost enough to make Kelly laugh.  "When you're a guy, do you have balls?  If you stay a girl long enough, do you, uh, you know... bleed?"

"Anyone else would have a tentacle wrapped around their face right now." Kelly told him calmly.

"Please Kelly.  I'm not... I'm really worried.  That stuff, I know your brain and your mind are sort of... disconnected.  But not totally, right?  That stuff is all tied into hormones and things that, that I don't think you can really develop right without.  Mentally, I mean."

Kelly didn't say anything.

Jim kept going.  "You don't need to tell me, but if I'm right... I think you should go down to medical.  Maybe they can help you... I don't know, design your insides better?  Make it so your bodies are... are actually adult instead of just looking that way?  Either that, or you need to go through it the hard way."

Kelly sighed.  "Fine."  His cousin was right.  He never would have thought about it on his own, but there was something wrong with him.  Not the gender thing, Kelly was perfectly happy the way s/he was in that regard.  But he'd never thought of a guy, or a girl, as cute.  That wasn't normal at his age.  Well, except for Jenny.  Maybe he was okay after all?  "I'm not sure you're right, they didn't say anything during my Empowerment exam, back when I registered, but I was still a kid.  I guess they might have missed it, or maybe I was just too young for it to be an issue at the time."

Jim grunted, but it was his happy grunt.  "Safer topic now.  Have you heard the rumor about Jason and Jenny?"

Kelly shot him the eyebrow again.  Man that was fun.

"I've heard they're secretly dating." Jim told him.

"Really?" Kelly tried, but he just couldn't load the word with enough disdain.

"Yep," Jim went on, oblivious, "I don't see it myself but that's what Kerry's been saying.  She's seen him leaving their place a few times, when no one else was there."

"Jim, it's none of our business.  Besides, it's obviously not true.  I live with the guy.  Jason's... nice.  He's really polite but… maybe a little distant.  I like him well enough, but Jenny could do better.  There's nothing there."

They were interrupted by food.  A middle aged guy, his nametag said Baron, holding a tray loaded down with the food Jim had ordered, to be more precise.

"Here you go boys, enjoy!"  He set a small stack of bills in front of Jim.  "And your refund, sir."

"My what?" Jim asked.

"Son, Citadel don't pay for food at my restaurant."

"Um, no offense or anything, but why not?" Kelly asked.  "And how did you know we're in the Citadel?"

The man smiled.  "Two guys just out of high school, in ridiculous shape and they order enough food for five people?"  Kelly flushed.  "Also, you paid with a credit card.  Feral isn't exactly a common last name, even if it wasn't a Citadel card."

This time, Jim was the one who blushed.  "Yeah, I guess that'd do it.  Thanks, really, but we're just trainees, we can't..."

Mr. Munch, assuming that was really his name, cut him off.  "Yes.  Yes you can.  My sister lives in Vancouver, son.  She wasn't hurt in the Graviton incident, but she could have been.  I cheered when I heard you guys put him down.  Now," his face went from genial to adamant in a flash, "you will eat your food.  You will enjoy it.  You will not pay for anything in my restaurant.  Understood?"

"Yes sir." they both answered.

Pleased, Baron Munch left the table and returned to the register.

"Should we wait for Don?" Kelly asked.  Jim didn't bother to answer, just stared at the burger that was already half way to Kelly's mouth.

Before Kelly could take his first bite, a shout cut through the room.

"Nobody move!  This is a stickup!"

"Really, do people actually say that?" he muttered, even as he felt the tingle of changing to his combat form spread across his body.

Jim grabbed his hand.  "Not yet, cuz."  He nodded to indicate the other diners.  "All it takes is one stray shot.  Let him get the money and we'll take him out when he's leaving.  His guard'll be down."

The robber, wearing a heavy jacket and a ski mask, moved to the registers.  Along the way, he shouted at anyone nearby, telling them to sit down or shut up.  It really was just like something out of a cheesy TV show.

"Let me hit him first." Kelly said, as quietly as he could.  "I can use my paralytic, shut him down without putting anyone at risk."  Jim nodded.

The two cousins watched the robbery unfold.  Most of the crowd were tense, frightened, but they did as they were told.  No one tried to run or tackle the gunman.  Mr. Munch was eerily calm, though he kept shooting Jim and Kelly looks.  He just filled a paper bag with money and handed it over.

Kelly tensed when the masked man snatched the bag, ready to shift and attack.  He never got the chance.

Black spikes struck the man.  One in his gun hand, one in each of his knees and a larger black sphere stuck him low in the back.  A single shot went off.  Kelly leapt out of his seat and hurried to make sure no one had been hit.  The robber was down, no threat to anyone now.

"Guess Don's here." Jim said.

Private Residence

Mary relaxed the mental grip she usually had over her power.  She felt it spread, settling over everything in the room.  In short order, she had a working knowledge of every living thing in her reach.  The woman, not sleeping but drugged into unconsciousness, the nervous young man sitting next to his mother and another one, physically almost identical, in the basement.  She ignored Hector and his duplicate, focused on her patient.

Her awareness sank deeper.  The little particles that served to focus her power infiltrated the woman's bloodstream, her lungs and digestive tract.  No sign of the infection.  She went deeper still, the particles replicating and attaching to individual cells, her knowledge of the woman's body growing more intimate and more precise.  She started reporting her findings as she went.

"I'm not seeing any indication that Chemo's poison is still in her system."

Poison wasn't quite right.  The dead Empowered had created something that was like a cross between parasite and virus.  Individually small, the particles had used bits of random matter to replicate inside her and, when they encountered nerve tissue, triggered a pain response.  It was eerily similar to the way her own power worked, though more focused.

"I think I've gotten it all, but I'd like to monitor her for at least another two weeks, just to be sure."

Hector gave a great sigh of relief.  "Thank you," there were tears in his eyes, "thank you so much."

She nodded brusquely before continuing.  "That said, there will be some complications."

Mary began focusing on the morphine in her bloodstream.  Without the pain, it would lead to euphoria and possibly addiction.  She set her power to breaking it down.  It shouldn't be necessary anymore.

"Your mother's muscles are severely atrophied.  Her weight is too low and..." she hesitated, but Hector leaned forward, eager to hear it regardless.  "There's one more thing.  Chemo's power, it left permanent effects.  I can help her with the rest of it, speed up the physical recovery, but... her brain structure has been altered.  Chemo's power didn't just trigger her pain receptors, it caused her to grow more."

Hector didn't respond at first, thinking it over.  "So you're saying that... that even without that stuff in her body, she'll still be in constant pain."

Mary shook her head.  "No.  More likely she'll just be very sensitive.  In essence, any injury she has from now on will hurt more than it should.  I can't exactly quantify it, but it’ll be something on the order of… well, a stubbed toe will feel like a broken bone should."

"Okay.  That... that's not good but it's still better than what she's lived with so far, right?"  He seemed desperate for reassurance.

She smiled.  "I'd say so.  I might be able to help with that, but I need to talk to her before I go any further.  I can do... do a little with brains, but it's not completely safe.  The... the pathways the brain uses aren't identical from person to person."

"That's fine.  Even if-" Hector was interrupted by a quiet snore from his mother.  Mary watched the look of wonder spread across his face.  "Mom, mom hasn't had real sleep in a long time.  I don't know how to thank you."

Mary didn't answer at first.  This wasn't something she wanted to talk about, but it was something she needed to.  "It's the least I could do for a friend of Jason's.  He... never had many, growing up.  It just wasn't safe."  She watched Hector carefully, not sure if she was hopeful or afraid of his response.