"I think I'm okay," I said after another internal examination. "Nothing seems wrong." Though there do seem to be some additions that I need to explore, I definitely did not say.
"Then under the P3 protocols I think it best to get you out of here." She pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to me. It read Mee-hyang Yoon, M.D. "Be sure to call me directly if you have any issues or questions. While your basic record will be normally available anything after this will be limited access only. Okay?"
"Sounds good," I replied, wondering if the absence of any new information would be a marker that people looking for capes might be able to track. I shook away the paranoid thought. There was no such thing as perfect security, or so my professor had said. I'm not sure I really trusted him.
It was dark by the time I made it to my small walk up in Brooklyn Heights. The hospital had given me scrubs to wear and my wallet and keys had survived the night even if my phone and clothes hadn't. At least I was able to pay the taxi and unlock my door.
After sending a few emails to let friends and family know I was alright I decided I needed a new phone to contact Cassie or her family to check on her. After grabbing some of the emergency cash I had stored in my bookshelf I headed back out to a nearby phone store.
"The docs say I'm gonna need a few months of physiotherapy before I'll be able to walk or use my right arm again." Cassie's voice sounded tired more than anything else. She was in pain and drugged enough not to feel it, but the fact that the attack had nearly crippled her meant she wouldn't be able to dance anymore was what had broken her.
"That doesn't mean you have to move back in with your parents. I could take care of you here." I had no idea if that was true, but I needed to offer. Cassie and I had been dating for almost six months and I was starting to think it might become a permanent thing.
"No, you can't," she said simply. "And I can't afford the medical bills on my non-existing insurance. And Dad's network doesn't cover non-emergency treatment outside of Delaware. It sucks but I need to be here at least until I'm fully recovered. I'm sorry."
"No! It's not your fault," I said. I knew what was coming and was desperately trying to think of anything I could say to change the inevitable. "I can come down and see you. I could be there tomorrow, probably, or the next day."
"Leon. Sweetie. You know that won't change things. There's no way you can make a life in Bridgeville. And I think this is fate's way of telling me I'm not cut out for New York."
"No! We can ..."
"I'm really tired. I gotta sleep now." She paused for a few seconds. I almost jumped in to try to convince her that we could make it work one way or another. But I didn't. I could feel my walls going up, trying to distance myself from my feelings for her.
"Goodbye." she almost whispered.
The call ended before I could respond.
"Shit."
It was early evening, but I was done with everything. I crawled into my bed and pulled the covers up over my head.
I dreamed of a book. A very strange book floating in a sea of stars and planets.
The book moved ahead of me and I flew after it. It led me to several worlds, each different from the last. Some were futuristic, some modern, one was icy medieval. Most had an oddly Japanese feel to them. None were familiar. All were magical in some way. And the magic seemed to flow into me as the book and I traversed the dreamscape.
When I woke I felt refreshed. Ready to take on the world. I also knew what my powers were - magic from the Celestial Grimoire.
The certainty of my new belief was solid. I still had no idea what the Grimoire was or where it came from. But I knew it was a source of almost unlimited magical potential and that it was nothing like most of the powers I had seen or read about in this world.
We had known about other worlds in other dimensions for more than twenty years. It was possible that the Grimoire and its magic had come from one of them. While only a few people believed parahuman powers were magical in origin, maybe things worked differently on other worlds.
Regardless of its origin, the book had impressed knowledge indelibly into my mind, along with vague memories of gaining that knowledge through study and lived experience on other worlds. The Grimoire had also changed my body - enhancing my strength, speed, and durability while implanting a reservoir of esoteric energy from which some of my new powers drew.
Still lying in bed, I willed myself to rise and I did, floating up, the covers slipping off to pool on the bed. I moved towards my mirror and slowly settled on my feet in front of it.
I looked different - longer, silky brown hair; taller, more muscular build; and golden flecks sparkling in my brown eyes. I turned and easily lifted my whole bed two feet off the floor, then set it down gently. I waved my hand and the Grimoire appeared on my dresser. It was a thick tome with a subtly iridescent sheen to its grey leather cover. Light glinted off its golden hinges.
Inside I found sections for each of my powers. The thickest by far was for Clever Craft. I remembered studying these spells at a cold drafty castle that jutted out over a frozen sea. I only knew the first dozen or so incantations, with far more left for me to learn. The pages after that section were blank, except for the light embossing of the stars and planets I had seen in my dream.
After setting the Grimoire down, only for it to disappear, I dressed and went out for coffee and breakfast. Once I was seated I sent another message with my new phone number out to friends and family.
As I ate I thought about what all this magic stuff meant. I was basically a low-level combination of Alexandria and Legend with several extras thrown in. In cape terms I was a hell of a grab bag.
Mind you, I wasn't a cape geek, but I had grown up in New York, the Cape Capital of the World, and I'd consumed the regular diet of movies, TV, and social media in which capes were a constant presence. So I knew as much about parahumans as the next guy. And I knew that, other than some of the big names, most capes didn't have the variety of powers I was already showing. And if my understanding of the Grimoire was right, I was going to grow a lot more powerful over time.
So what was I gonna do? My fingers played chords on the table in front of me as I pondered.
Every kid on Earth Bet grew up fantasizing about what they would do if they ever got powers. This discussion was second in popularity on the playgrounds only to the argument of what powers would be best to have.
When I had played that game of what if, I usually claimed to want to be a hero. As we got older the discussions often shifted to what sort of hero you might want to be - Protectorate goon, corporate stooge, free but broke independent, or scary vigilante. Living in New York, the East Coast home of the Elite, the discussion often turned to the advantages and disadvantages of rogues. Edgier kids would talk up the joys of going villain - money, girls, freedom, girls, and the badass cool factor (which attracted girls).
As common as those arguments were, very very few people ever had to make the decision for real. I did. And I was finding it surprisingly difficult.
Before I went further down that rabbit hole my phone rang.
"You really okay?" It was Faye Baxter, one of my best friends from college and beyond.
"Yeah. I'm surprisingly uninjured. Unlike Cassie. She got wrecked. So much so that her parents took her home. It's gonna be months in recovery and she might not be able to dance after she's done." I stopped to swallow a sob. "She's not coming back. "
"Damn Leon. That sucks."
We were both silent for several seconds before Faye said, "Adella is freaking. You should call her and let her know you're not dead."
"I just sent out that email. She knows."
"Email? Give the girl a call. She won't believe it until she hears it from you. And she's not gonna call you first."
"Jesus," I muttered.
Adella Nori was another of my close friend group and we all knew she had a crush on me, though I had no idea why. I loved her, but only as a friend. Things got a little easier when she moved to Boston for grad school. We still kept in close contact but she didn't have to see me with Cassie all the time.
Not that that would be an issue any more.
"I'll call her," I agreed. An idea sprang into my head and without bothering to think it through I blurted "I need to talk with you. You free this morning?"
"Sure, classes don't start until next week. Do you need me to come to you?"
"Yeah. Come to my place. I'll grab some coffee and bagels."
"Sounds good. I'll be there in about an hour."
While I waited for her I considered whether this was a really stupid idea. I needed to talk to someone about my situation. I knew the way my brain worked well enough to know that I solved problems better if I could talk things through. If I didn't have anyone else to talk with I would end up talking aloud to myself. Which always made me feel a little awkward.
This wasn't something I was going to be able to talk about with my family. And of my best friends, Adela was at BU, Michael was in DC, and Dana was in Brockton Bay. Of the five of us who met freshman year at NYU, only Faye and I were still here. This wasn't something I wanted to communicate about over the phone or the net. So Faye was my only real option.
By the time she got to the apartment I was pacing nervously in the small living room. I had the food and drinks laid out on the table. I knew her preferences and had splurged on the good stuff.
When she knocked on the door I took a calming breath before opening. Faye was a short, slim Korean girl only a year older than me. She wore her hair short, used no makeup, and dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans under a leather bomber jacket. Almost a stereotypical butch lesbian.
She grabbed me, held me at arms length as she gave me a thorough examination, then pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."
I pulled her into the room and closed the door behind her. "Yeah, about that."
"What? You are okay, right?"
I silently motioned her to the couch and waited until she actually sat before I continued.
"I wasn't. I was hurt pretty badly. But something happened. I awakened. I've got powers," I babbled in a rush, needing to get it said before I chickened out.
Her mouth opened and closed several times before she was able to get any sound out. "What..." She trailed off .
I wasn't certain what she was asking. I doubt she was either. Instead of asking her, I held up a hand and let small bolts of electricity arc between my fingers. I then clenched it into a fist then reopened it. This time there was frost on me. And on my other hand a small flame flicked.
"Enhanced strength and durability, regeneration, various energy blasts, levitation, and a few other things. Either a grab bag or a trump. I think it's the latter because I think I'll be able to get more powers over time." I decided not to deal with the whole magic book thing at the moment.
"Fucking hell!"
"The question is, what do I do with ... all this."
"What do you want to do?" she asked almost instinctively. She was in her second year at Columbia Law and discussions with her often turned into arguments or negotiations. I realized that was the nature of law students, and her undergraduate psych degree didn't help. "What's your best case scenario?"
"I don't know?" I started pacing again. "I want to do good, but I also want to get something out of this for myself. Instinct tells me that the more I study and the more I do, the more powerful I'll become. But I'm not quite sure how that works."
"Do good but get paid? That sounds like something you could do with the Protectorate, as a corporate cape, even as a mercenary depending on how you selected your jobs. Hero or rogue, though there are a number of laws limiting what independents and rogues can do." I knew she had taken a cape law course the previous semester, one of the requirements in her program.
"You know the cape scene better than I do," I replied. "I mean I know the Protectorate has Legend and a dozen or two other capes. And that they're basically costumed cops, with all the rules and regulations that entails. I'm not sure that's something I want to deal with. I've never done great taking orders. But I'm not sure what the other choices are. You mentioned corporate teams. Other than the Titans and PowerHouse I don't really know of any. I'm assuming the Elite don't count as a corporate team."
"It would be a lot easier for them if they did," Faye snarked. "They were set up in direct response to NEPEA-5, which means they make a point of being rogues, as that's who the law applies to. There're rumors that they may be secretly controlling some of the corporate teams out there, by funding the companies backing them. I've heard that PowerHouse may be one of those. Its backer is supposed to be a consortium of Wall Street investment firms. But my prof suggested that it might be a shell game for Uppercrust."
"Rogues or not, they seem to keep most of the big villains out of Manhattan," I pondered out loud then immediately flashed back to the Teeth crashing through the club just three nights ago. "Mostly."
"I can try to find out more about them if you like," she offered. "Especially their recruiting process."
"Yeah, thanks." I started counting off on my fingers. "We've got the Protectorate, the Elite, and PowerHouse - if they're not the same as the Elite. The Titans are mostly out as I don't live on Staten Island and they make a big deal about being islanders for islanders. What about the Adepts? I think I heard they have the third most capes in the City and they don't seem to be bad guys. Not like the Teeth or the Conclave."
Faye checked on her phone. "Not a lot about them. Mostly they're not taken seriously because of their whole 'powers are magic' bullshit. Kinda like Myrddin I guess. But even with that they somehow manage to poach the occasional hero from other teams or recruit newbies. It says on PHO they recently enlisted a Ward. They don't compete with the gangs for territory and they seem to have financial resources based on the church or cult or whatever they're part of. Officially they're villains. I'm not sure you want to mess with them."
With the Grimoire giving me my powers, I knew magic was a real thing. I had to wonder if the Adepts were in on that secret rather than crazies of frauds. If they did know something I might be able to get some help or advice. If they were fakes or delusional then I might be able to hide my real magic among the counterfeit magicians. But I had no desire to be a villain, at least not to actually commit real crimes, nor to support those that did.
"I've heard the Elite called villains too," I pointed out. "I wonder what it takes to get that label? Actual conviction of a crime, or just getting on the PRT's bad side? Other than poaching Wards, I wonder what the Adepts actually do."
"I'll see what I can find out. I've got some friends in the Parahuman Studies program." Faye reached over and started shaking my knee. "I can't believe this is really happening. Why aren't you more excited?"
I thought for a minute then said, "I'm not sure. Maybe it doesn't seem real to me yet. Also the event that gave me these powers cost me Cassie. I'm not sure the trade was worth it, not yet at least. Or maybe it's because if I really start thinking about becoming a cape I'll realize how many capes die each year - fights, disasters, Endbringers. That's some terrifying shit I've been thrown into. Despite the cool factor, I'm not at all sure this is a good thing."
"Shit," she said, her face falling. "You're right. This could get really dangerous. Are you sure you need to do anything? Maybe just ignore the powers? No. I've read too many times that capes can't just do nothing with their powers."
"Which is why I think rogues or corporate teams might be safer. They're not required to go out and fight crime. I can do PR dog and pony shows if it keeps me from fighting the Butcher or Cardinal Sin."
"Okay!" she shook her head and stood up. "We'll look more into the different groups - their pay structures, how they recruit, what the real dangers are. Including the legal and contractual risks. Then you can figure out what you want to do next. In the meanwhile you get to come up with a name and initial costume idea. You might want to come up with a few different ones to possibly fit into the various group brands. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah. It makes sense. Thanks."