Paragon drags me by the shirt out of the elevator and throws me into his office door, shattering it, causing splinters to appear all over my uncovered skin. I look up and see Elaine staring down at me with a look of frustration, her eyes narrowed as she mouths, "I told you so." She's sitting down in a chair across from Paragon's desk.
Paragon steps into the room and stands me up. "Parker. I hope you're aware that you've been causing nothing but trouble since you arrived; you're in for a severe punishment." He says, trying to look stern, but I see a smile creeping into his face. "First, you and Kara got into a fight in public before you even got here, then you got into a fight with some criminals at the mall, and now you attack the Rank 50 hero. You've put so much extra work on everyone's plate, while we're actively trying to replace every D and C rank hero; they all were slaughtered recently by Wraith and the Chameleon. Which makes replacing them hard because no new prospects want to be heroes anymore because they don't want to die to them."
Crap. I forgot that Miss Claire doing that while I was fighting Ironhide would've had consequences. Any wrong step will piss off the higher-ups more than normal because they're stressed about that. But based on the look on Paragon's face, I think he actually likes the fact that Miss Claire is active again.
"And you, Elaine. You allowed him to go out and do all of this nonsense. So, you're facing punishment as well." He says, as Elaine stands up and shouts, "Bullshit! You're the one who told me to let him out!"
"Nope, don't remember all of that. Besides, even if I did. You could've still said no, you're the one in charge of all apprentices living here, not me." Paragon says with a smirk.
Elaine's eyes widen. She sits back down, her lips pursing, and she seems to be holding herself back from swinging at him, knowing that there's nothing she can do.
"So I've decided. Parker, you can't be trusted to be on your own. And Elaine, you need to learn how to do your job better. So, for the next month, you two are going to be together twenty-four seven. Elaine, you get to watch him. And Parker, you get to be monitored." He explains, motioning for Elaine to stand up and stand next to me.
Elaine obeys, and Paragon says, "You two may leave now, but if you break this punishment, you'll have to deal with me. And neither of you wants that. Trust me."
Elaine grabs my hand and drags me out. She looks down at me, "Twenty-four seven means twenty-four seven. We're staying in my room, you're sleeping on the floor, and you're gonna deal with it. Leave my sight, and I'll beat you senseless before Paragon even gets the chance." Elaine calls the elevator, and we ride down to floor sixty-eight. After the short-lived ride, she drags me out, and we head into her room.
It's surprisingly neat. She has a nice king-sized bed with a nice fleece blanket on it, a pillow with a penguin pillowcase on it, and she seems to sleep with a 10-foot penguin plush. Also in her room is a yellow couch with a TV in front of it; she has a large collection of various movies on shelves next to the TV. With everything in it, this room has to be triple the size of the apprentices. I see the large bathroom connected to it as well. I see she has two showers in one bathroom. Is that even normal? Who even needs that?
Elaine, probably seeing me staring into her bathroom, remarks: "I know it's an odd layout. This room originally was a shared room between my parents, but they stopped sharing a room a few months ago. So I took the opportunity and moved in here because it was bigger than my old one. You'd have to ask them why it was built this way."
"Stop looking at me. Go relax on the couch or something." She snaps. Pointing over at the couch.
Fine then, I will.
I walk over to the yellow couch and lie down. I get on my phone, and I immediately get a text from Kara, "Parker!!! Are you alright??"
I sigh and text her back, "Yeah, my punishment is that I have to be with Elaine at all times, I'm now living in her room, and she's been nothing but hospitable."
"Well, if you need something to do to get your mind off of everything. I got a game that could help you kill time." Kara responds. She sends me a link to my phone's app store with a game titled "WWSHA UNITE". I click on the link and see that it's… Already downloaded?
Oh! Miss Claire had me download something when I first got my phone. She said it was "Popular with kids my age." This was it, I guess.
I go back to my messaging app and reply to Kara, "Downloaded. Thanks."
She doesn't reply; however, I do see a thumbs-up pop on my message, my phone telling me that she "liked my message".
I decide to try the game out. I open it and make an account. I don't have an e-mail, whatever that is. So I just punched in my phone number. I get into a tutorial, and it launches me into some turn-based combat. The only character I have is…
Ironhide.
I take a moment to close my eyes and calm myself before opening them and playing through the tutorial. It's simple, press buttons to use moves on my turn. After the tutorial, it takes me to a "summon screen". This game seems to have a gambling aspect to get new characters. I see a section where you can pay for summoning currency. It seems rather scummy, seeing as the rates for the rare ones are so low. Like something Mr. Perfect would do.
It seems as though the current event is titled, "Limitless Master and the Budding Villain". The first summon that I see is for Miss Claire, or the "Wraith" as she's called here.
So, they make money off of heroes and villains. Well, I doubt the public drops that much money for a villain they're supposed to fear. Whoever made this game didn't put too much thought into it.
I scroll down to the second banner and see:
Me.
Me. Chameleon. With the subtitle "Ruthless Killer of the Righteous."
As an instinctive reaction, I throw my phone to the side in a panic. Causing my arm to tense and make my splinters hurt. I begin to hyperventilate. Great. Even a stupid game gives me a reminder of how terrible I am.
No! I'm supposed to be moving on! Ironhide wanted me to move forward! Miss Claire wants me to move forward! Mr. Eun-ji, Jane, probably even Kara and Bayani! They all want the best for me, right?
As my breathing gets louder, Elaine runs over. "What the hell's the matter?!" She barks as she looks down at me, her eyes darting in all directions and looking me over, grabbing my wrist. She actually looks… concerned. She's concerned about me?
"It's your splinters, right? Getting tossed through a door probably didn't feel good." She remarks as she grabs my wrist. I see her aura move through her wrist and spike in multiple directions in two-second intervals. She then starts taking the splinters out with her hands, and it actually doesn't feel like anything.
"I numbed you with my power. Useful, right? Best healer in the world right here." She says with a smirk.
"Are you bipolar or something?" I ask.
"What?" She snarls, gripping my wrist hard. I see her aura retract, and I start to feel pain.
"Ow! You're awful to me one second, and you act all nice the next! I just want to know what your problem is!" I shout.
"Like you haven't provoked me." She rebuts, still treating my splinters, though it hurts because I'm not numbed, and she's doing it quite roughly. Some of the splinters are rather deep.
She finishes treating me right as there's a knock on the door. Elaine lets go of my wrist and answers it. It's Elizabeth. "Elaine. Can we talk?" She says, not waiting for a response as she drags Elaine out.
I make the decision to turn off Mr. Eun-ji's power. Their conversation isn't my business, and I'd rather not anger Elaine if she found out I was eavesdropping.
I get up and grab my phone, which luckily isn't cracked. Before I hear a scream of Elaine's voice, "That asshole! He knew what he was fucking doing! He knew that it would torment me to have to live with him!"
I then turn Mr. Eun-ji's power back on. So much for not my business, I got too curious since the conversation obviously turned toward me. Sorry Elaine.
"Elaine, calm down," Elizabeth says, trying to placate her sister.
"Do not tell me to calm down! I'm now forced to live with a living reminder of my failures, of what I lost! He knows that, he's just fucking with me!" She screams.
"Maybe… Can you try to mentor Parker? He's obviously troubled. You should try to help him so he doesn't end up like R-" She starts, before Elaine interrupts. "Don't." She pleads. "Don't you dare. Looking at Parker makes me want to puke and lash out. How do you expect me to be a mentor?!" She shouts.
"Well, you're stuck with him either way. So consider it." Elizabeth sighs.
"Speaking of that. I should go back in so dad doesn't walk by and get pissy at me." Elaine says, calming herself slightly. I hear the door start to open, so I turn off Mr. Eun-ji's power and cover my ears to act like I wasn't eavesdropping.
Elaine enters the room and sees me covering my ears. "Glad to know you can mind your own damn business."
I nod in response. "Your conversation with Elizabeth is between you two."
"Yeah, it is." She says flatly.
Elaine's eyes suddenly widened, and she quickly pulled out her phone. About a minute later, I feel my phone vibrate.
I check it, and I see a group chat between Kara, Bayani, and a number I don't recognize. And now me too, I suppose. I look at the chat history and see that Kara is the one who added me at the request of the unknown number. I can only assume that it's Elaine. So I added that number as a contact under her name.
"Group training is canceled today. I have important matters to attend to for the day. But please still at least train on your own." Elaine texts the group chat.
Kara and Bayani both react with a thumbs-up icon and "like the message." And Kara immediately texts the group chat with just her, Bayani, and me: "Parker, is that because of the whole punishment thing?"
"Yeah." I text back.
"Wait. I'm out of the loop here. What?" Bayani texts.
"Parker attacked a Ranker, so now he has to be watched by Elaine 24/7; he lives in her room now," Kara replies to his message.
"Now I'm curious, Parker, which Ranker?" Bayani asks.
"Mr. Perfect," I reply.
"Who?" Bayani asks.
"I think he's Sonar's replacement after he got promoted." Kara texts.
"He sucks," I remark.
"Well. Did he suck enough that this punishment was worth it?" Bayani asks.
"Probably not. In retrospect, I shouldn't have done that." I reply.
"Have fun being near a pissed off Elaine all the time!" Kara replies, adding three smiley face symbols at the end.
"Yeah, I should probably get off my phone and try to settle the arrangements with her." I text, before turning off my phone and putting it in my pocket. I walk over to Elaine.
"I'm not changing up my life for you, so how about we settle how we're going to adjust to this?" I tell her.
"How about this? Do what I tell you, go to training, and I'll give you an hour or two of being able to do what you want with me following." She says, like it's already a done deal.
I open my mouth to try to negotiate further, but she interrupts me before I can even start, "No negotiations. I'm being nice here."
I sigh in defeat and walk back over to the couch and sit down. I pull out my phone and go to my contacts. I scroll down to "Mom" and press call. After a few rings, Miss Claire picks up. "Hey, kiddo! How are you doing? You didn't call yesterday." She greets me with a tinge of disappointment at the latter part of her sentence.
"Hey, Mom. Yesterday and today… was kind of a lot." I reply solemnly.
"In trouble again? You sure have a knack for it, kiddo." She lightly teases.
"Well, yesterday I had to deal with some family drama between the top four heroes. And today, I got punished heavily, and now I'm stuck living with Elaine." I complain.
"What did ya get in trouble for now?" She asks.
I take a long pause before finally confessing, "I attacked the rank 50 hero."
"You what?!" She shouts. "Ray! What were you thinking?!"
"He had it coming! He sucks!" I exclaim, my voice raising an octave as I feel a sense of defensiveness creeping up.
"Ray. You cannot be serious. I'm not there to bail you out like I always am!" She scolds.
"Mis-" I start, before correcting myself. "Mom, I-"
Miss Claire doesn't even let me finish, "Ray, no. Don't. Just be more careful. Okay?"
"Okay," I reply reluctantly.
"So, aside from that. Are you okay? This punishment you told me about can't be easy for you, considering-" I interrupt her, "I'm fine. I'll deal."
"Okay. Please, just call me daily. I worry." She says solemnly.
"Okay, Mom… Are you having fun abroad?" I ask. Trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"Oh! I actually have been! I'm crashing with an old friend of mine. During the day, I just explore around the cities, and it's been cool. Aside from some WWSHA districts, it's pretty normal and looks like it did before they ruined most countries." She says.
"Ruined most countries?" I question.
"Oh! I never told you. The WWSHA used to be the ASHA, the American Super Hero Association. Our country had a monopoly on powered individuals. So, they expanded and took over most governments, and it turned into the WWSHA. They govern everywhere now, as you already know. All of that happened before you or I existed." She explains.
"Huh, interesting. So what country are you in?" I ask her.
"Italy. Milan specifically." She replies, before following up with, "It's nice, a lot of shopping got done. I'm just exploring for the day; it isn't actually where I'm staying."
"Cool… What did ya buy?" I ask.
"Oh, just some clothes for me. A few souvenirs for you." She says, seeming more proud about the latter part.
"Thanks. I'm excited to see them when you get back." I reply.
"Well, it's almost time for me to take the train back to where I'm staying. Can't tell you where, just in case." She tells me.
"No, I understand. I'll call you tomorrow." I say.
"Alright, kiddo. Love you." She tells me.
"Love you too, Mom," I reply, surprisingly, the words coming out smoother than our last phone call.
I hear her move the phone away from her as she makes some noise in celebration. She moves her phone back to her ear, "Bye, Ray."
"Bye," I reply as she hangs up the call. I put my phone back in my pocket.
"You almost called your Mom, 'Miss', why?" Elaine asks. She was definitely listening in on the call, even if only to what I was saying.
"I'm adopted. I only started calling her Mom recently. My Mom is amazing. Mind your own business." I snap.
Elaine snorts at that, "Mama's boy, eh?"
"And how do you figure?" I retort, staring up at her.
"Most well-behaved and polite conversation I've heard you have, plus you were so quick to defend her." She replies.
She pauses in contemplation for a moment before walking up to me.
"How about this? Cause any more trouble, and I'll make you call your mom and tell her whatever you did. I bet you'd rather not disappoint her." She says, grinning a bit as she believes she found my weakness.
I inhale sharply, looking up at her and meeting her gaze, "You think that scares me?..." I start, taking a long pause, "Well, it does. So I'll comply for now." I hate disappointing Miss Claire and making her upset with me; it feels like that's all I've been doing lately with my impulsive and stubborn choices.
I pause again, before telling her, "I would like to go visit Bayani in the infirmary if he's still there."
"Sure, sure. I can heal him up while we're at it. I was supposed to be doing that anyway." She says, waving her hand dismissively at me.
I walk over to the door of her room to exit, and she shouts after me, "I didn't say we were leaving now!"
"Too bad," I reply, leaving the room and heading to the elevator. I press the button that says: "5". Right as the doors are about to close, Elaine slips in at the last second.
"Brat." She says with a scowl on her face, her voice laced with venom.
Yeah. I doubt we're ever getting along.
The elevator arrives at floor five. Elaine and I both rush to get out of the elevator, squeezing out of it as the doors aren't completely open. She glares down at me for that.
We rush to the infirmary room. When we enter, I spot Bayani lying down in his hospital bed on his phone. He notices us and his face lights up, "Parker, Elaine! It's nice to see you! I've had zero company after Kara left the infirmary in the morning." He says, face beaming.
I open my mouth to respond, but Elaine pushes me out of her way, "Move."
She rushes over and sits down next to Bayani's bed. Flashing him a wolfish grin, reminding me of the smiles Miss Claire directs towards me. "Let's get you healed up, alright, bud?" She says as I see her aura expand as she starts healing him.
Well, at least Bayani is getting healed. I think I'll find a way to ditch Elaine soon. I have a conversation I'd like to have with Bayani and Kara alone.
I think about the reactions of Miss Claire and Mr. Eun-ji. Because I'm about to do exactly what they told me not to.
To both of them, I'm sorry in advance.