Citadel (Book 1): Training in Necessity (34 page)

Their third roommate joined them after a time.  Isaac tried not to stare, but it was unusual to see Kelly as a female in the house.  Her appearance changed from time to time, but right now she was petite, though a little taller than her usual, with blonde hair in shoulder length pigtails and a dusting of freckles.  Odd as the thought seemed, given that Isaac saw her daily, she looked familiar.  She also looked tired.  That was pretty odd too.

"Morning guys." she said.  "You save some for me, Hector?"

Still baring his enormous grin, Hector loaded a pair of plates down with the remaining food and served it up to her.  She started eating but, unusually for the shapeshifter, didn't seem to have any enthusiasm for the food.

"Are you okay Kelly?" Isaac asked.

She took a moment to finish chewing before she answered.  "Yeah.  Just... I had kind of a weird night."

There was something strange in her voice.  Isaac's impulse was to press her, find out what was wrong and protect her, but he bit it back.  Kelly was more than capable of taking care of herself and didn't appreciate it when he overstepped.

"I- um, I mean we- we went out to eat yesterday.  Jim and I wanted to celebrate the no holds barred free for all on Friday, you know?"

Isaac didn't remember anything more than their instructors' explanation of the rules, minimal though they were, and Coach Achala speaking to them after it was over.  By what they'd been told, that meant he hadn't survived the fight and had had to be resurrected by Retcon.  Apparently, her power let her 'save' a group of people, just like a video game, and restore them to that point.  As long as she had the opportunity to use her power within an hour or so of the injury, she could undo anything.  Even death.

"Well, the place got held up." Kelly continued.

"Heh. That must've been a surprise for the poor guy." Hector said with a smirk.  "What'd you two do to him?"

Kelly shook her head.  "Nothing.  Me and Jim were afraid the bystanders might get hurt.  We were waiting for him to leave before we jumped him, but..." her voice went vague for a moment, "But for some reason, we invited Don along.  I don't remember why.  Maybe he just seemed like he needed cheering up?  Anyway, Don showed up in the middle of the thing and took him down."

"Was anyone harmed?" Jason asked.

"No, just the guy.  Don's gotten a lot better and he, the robber, he wasn't Empowered.  He was just some guy with a gun."  Kelly hesitated for a moment.  "Jim and I, we both got killed during the training match earlier that day.  My head exploded one time and I watched one of my best friends," she nodded towards Hector, "get shot in front of me a while back.  Violence isn't exactly a new thing to me at this point, you know?"

Isaac nodded and the others made similar gestures of acknowledgement.

"But... that healer from Prime wasn't there.  Neither was anyone else who could've put the guy back together.  Don didn't kill him, but... he was hurt really bad.  We had to stay there for hours while the cops took statements from everyone.  They didn't let us go till someone from San Francisco's Stationary team showed up.  I don't think we're in trouble or anything, but... it was really messed up.  I couldn't sleep last night.  I just kept thinking, “That was what it was like, what we're training for.”  It wasn't a fight.  Don just saw a guy with a gun and put him down, hard."

No one had anything to say about that.  All Isaac could do was watch as she finished her breakfast, utterly lacking her normal cheer and energy.

Sparring Field

"Are you just going to stand there?" Duncan asked.

Arms crossed, back straight and a look of contempt plastered on his face, Isaac didn't bother to answer. Duncan Nightmare hit him again, and again. Isaac's shield flared a little brighter, but that was his only reaction.

"Fuck." Duncan swore as he stepped back. Rather than continue his ineffectual attack, he tried a different tactic. He could feel the threads, the little tendrils of fear, nervousness, anger and even outright hate from everyone watching the fight. It was easy to reach out and grab the ones nearest to him.

Simultaneously, the dozen Hector clones that were spread around the inside of the dome gasped and tried to move away from him, only to find themselves trapped against the gently curving stone wall. That was all it took, just a moment's effort on Duncan's part, and the normally collected young man went from vaguely nervous to genuinely frightened. Duncan could feel that same fear pouring into him, boosting his strength and toughness.

Isaac still hadn't moved.

"C'mon big man. I know you're all badass, but you can't win if you won't throw a damn punch." Duncan mouthed off. The crude statements were more or less a reflex by now. He reached out a bit further, to all the trainees watching the challenge match, and gave a little tug. It was enough to make them jittery, nervous and restless, but not enough to cause panic. The last thing he wanted was to start a riot. Juggernaut would never let him hear the end of it.

The extra trickle of energy from the spectators joined the strength he was drawing from the frightened Hectors. Duncan really hoped Jason wasn't out there. He normally skipped challenges entirely, forfeiting by default, and spent most of the day with Jenny Awesome if he could. It seemed like a safe bet but if Duncan was wrong... well, it could be a massacre.

Distracted by that worrying thought, Duncan missed the tiny change in stance that would have warned him that Isaac wouldn't be standing still for much longer. The big man lunged, a movement made startlingly graceful by his time as an amateur boxer and honed by the Akido that Bruce had insisted he study. Before Duncan realized what was happening, a large hand had wrapped itself around his upper arm.

"Shit!" he cried out and kicked at Isaac's knee.

His opponent still didn't bother to dodge. With as much energy as he'd drawn in by now, Duncan should be somewhere between the middle and upper tier of Strong types. Isaac's shield flared again, but that was it. He kicked out again, as quick as he could, but Isaac just twisted his knee a little to the side and let his foot pass by without making contact. Duncan looked up and saw him smirk, just before the big man casually threw him across the dome.

Not quite as casual as he seems, Duncan decided, as he slammed into the wall and fell to the ground between two Hectors. If he'd hit just a little to either side, he would have collided with one of the "bystanders" and probably killed him. That would have lost Isaac the match.

A little groggy from the impact, Duncan let out a string of obscenities as he picked himself up. Isaac was on him before he'd finished the motion. Duncan took a single blow to the face and collapsed to the ground. It had looked like a simple jab, but even William Power didn't hit that hard. The world seemed to spin around him as Isaac picked him up, one handed, and pushed him against the wall. He was using his left hand to hold Duncan in place, a foot or so off the ground. Duncan could feel Isaac's right hand covering his mouth, gripping his jaw just hard enough to be a reminder of just how much damage the Strong type could do to him right now.

Isaac leaned in, close enough that Duncan could feel the man's breath on his ear, and spoke in a disturbingly calm and even tone. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about. I'd prefer to keep it private. Can you tune that fear effect enough to disable Hector without affecting me?

Duncan's eyes went wide in surprise. He tried to nod but couldn't move his head. Instead, he reached out to those threads again. Most of the class outside were still at the level of nervousness he'd left them with, maybe a little stronger. He couldn't stop his power's tendency to escalate, one of the reasons he was so rarely given a field assignment, but he could direct its stronger effects with relative ease. He took a mental grip on the lines of fear connecting him and Hector and pulled on them, hard.

Moments later, the dome was filled with panicked screaming as a dozen Hectors, suddenly terrified of him, ran to the far side of the dome.

"The other trainees, the ones watching, did you hit them the same way?" Isaac asked.

Duncan tried to speak and found that the man had loosened his grip enough to allow it.

"No. They're getting a little nervous but they should be fine." He answered.

"And I barely feel anything. So you do have better control over your power than you've been letting on." Isaac was holding him at eye level. Given the difference in their heights, that left Duncan's feet dangling.  "Now, I'd like to have a private discussion with you, Duncan."

He felt his eyes widen as the Strong type continued.

"You don't make any sense to me, don't quite fit."

The world spun crazily as Isaac threw him once more, towards the center of the dome.  Duncan sprawled as he hit the ground, cracking the stone.  Again, Isaac was on him before he could get to his feet.  Isaac placed a foot on his neck and leaned in.  The weight of the man's body wasn't enough to choke him, not as strong as he was right now, but it was a clear message.

Duncan didn't try to get up this time.  "So what the fuck do you want?" he asked, drawing in strength from the panicky Hectors and the watching crowd.

Isaac crouched down, keeping his weight on Duncan's throat.  His windpipe held him easy enough, but it had to look pretty brutal to anyone watching.  "I want answers." he said, resting a single finger on Duncan's left shoulder.  "And I had better like them."  With no indication of effort, Isaac pushed down with the finger.  Duncan felt, quite clearly, the moment when bone broke.

He screamed.

Isaac raised his bloody finger and stepped back.  Duncan stopped screaming after a few moments and immediately rolled away from him.  Once he had opened up a little distance, the boy used his good arm to get to his feet.  A little shaky, but he was standing.  There were plenty of nasty things you might say about Duncan, but no one could deny that the kid was tough.

"What the hell-" Duncan spat, "this kind of thing isn't anywhere in your psych profile."

Isaac narrowed his eyes.  "And just what would you know about that?" he asked, even as he bent and scooped up a piece of the stone floor like it was nothing more than mud.  A light squeeze and he had a handful of fragments the size of his thumb.

"Fear of helplessness, especially when combined with the thought of being unable to protect someone you see as weaker than yourself.  Lifelong history of anger, usually channeled towards a productive end and a touch of Super Shock.  Likely triggers are crowds, the smell of blood and the sound of metal tearing." Duncan rattled off as he dodged the stones Isaac was throwing at him.

Isaac blinked.  "That... was not exactly what I meant."  He paused his throwing in surprise.  It gave Duncan just enough time to bend down, scoop up his own chunk of the ground, and fling it at Isaac.  He felt the impact on his shield, not enough to be a danger on its own but a lot harder than Duncan's earlier blows.  "How do you know that, boy?  It's supposed to be privileged information."  Isaac had known that Duncan would get stronger the longer this match went on but he hadn't expected him to get this strong.  A little more and he'd have to be a lot more careful.

Duncan snorted.  "Knock off the boy and kid stuff Isaac, I'm older than you."  He flung another rock but his aim was off.  It missed.  "And yeah, privileged.  That means that Jessie won't share it with anyone but another psyche professional.  Specifically, one who's responsible for helping you learn to cope."

Isaac threw his last fragment at Duncan and, before he could recover from his dodge, rushed forward.  The distraction was enough to let him get a grip on his opponent, by his uninjured arm, and hurl him at the combat dome's wall.  He still held back, but this time it was more out of fear that Duncan might breach the wall and end the match, rather than concern for injury.

Before Duncan could recover again, Isaac took two long steps to the side.  If Duncan tried throwing anything at him again, he'd risk hitting one of the Hector clones that were behind him now.

"You're saying you're some kind of Healer.  Duncan Nightmare.  Our class's most disruptive member.  The bully.  The one who mocks and insults anyone he sees as an outcast or a weakling."

Duncan stood up, putting a little weight on his bad arm in the process.  If it caused him any discomfort, Isaac couldn't see any sign of it.  "Yeah, pretty much.  I'm the one no one likes."  He sped forward, ducked under the blow Isaac aimed at his head, and planted his shoulder into Isaac's stomach.  The big man staggered back, shocked by the power of the impact.  "In fact, they dislike me so much that every time I pull that crap, someone steps in to stop me.  They rally around the outcasts, support the weaklings and come together as a team."

Isaac reached down and tried to pry loose the boy- the young looking trainee.  His forcefield kept Duncan from getting a good grip on him but their strengths were a lot more evenly matched now.  "You-" he grunted, "You mouthed off to Instructor Richard, challenged Coach Achala as soon as you could."  He managed to pry Duncan's arms loose but couldn't get him into a position for a throw or hold.  His field's lack of friction was working against him now.

Duncan tried to knee him and Isaac twisted to take it on his thigh.  It felt about the same as a blow from a normal teenager, painful but not serious.  Isaac hadn't had any idea how strong Duncan could get.  Was this his top end or...?