LiFS Chapter 38 - Dangerous Games (Patreon)

Okay so. Apparently that whole thing with the Empire capes attacking the PRT headquarters was considered national news. Not just something people gossiped about on PHO.

It wasn’t every day that a group of villains––even one as big and well organized as the Empire––attacked a regional PRT headquarters. Vicky claimed that the statement the PRT had released (it had been way too long for me to want to read for myself) had significantly played down my involvement, but my fight with the two giant nazi valkyries had been caught on camera and a lot of other details had leaked before the PRT clamped down on things. 

On top of that, some people had dug up my exploits from earlier in the week. Even without considering the capes I’d fought inside the PRT building out of sight of cameras, taking down Fenja, Menja, Hookwolf, Victor, and Othala in a handful of days was already, in Vicky’s words, ‘Crazy impressive for a newby,’ even if I’d had help in all three cases. 

The end result was that I’d gotten a lot of media attention. Or at least it felt like a lot. A couple minutes on the evening news, a few pictures and mentions on various talk shows, and a bunch of written articles––way more than that time I’d pretended to get kidnapped by Ares. Apparently it would have been even more but someone had broken the Cornell Bomber out of prison that same day which had eaten up a lot of media attention. 

The end result was that I’d gone from just another new cape in shiny armor to a recognized hero in about twelve hours. Riptide wasn’t a household name by any means, but it would sound familiar even to a lot of people who paid only periphery attention to cape news. 

Oops?

Anyway, that was uh…really something. In hindsight, it made part of the conversation I’d had with Carol before we left on patrol make a lot more sense. It had felt way too early for the whole thing about merchandising, royalties, branding, making the most of opportunities, and so on, but I guess Carol just assumed I already knew how much attention I’d suddenly gotten and was trying to help me capitalize on it? I probably needed to talk to her again soon.

I was going to be seeing her again tomorrow, so I just needed to make sure to bring it up then. She was taking me to see my new apartment after she got off work, and had also promised to try and squeeze in some sparring over the weekend. I was really starting to like Carol. She was a bit intense and opinionated, but after too many years dealing with the gods of Olympus, I was used to it. Plus, unlike them, she was actually trying to help me and hadn’t brought up murdering me for the sake of convenience (or just because) a single time! 

Crystal, Vicky, and I made it back to the Pelham’s a little after ten. We’d split up for a bit so we could all get out of costume and get away from all the people who’d seen us together––even if they didn’t see me literally taking my armor off, it was pretty easy to connect the trio of Laserdream, Glory Girl, and Riptide with Crystal Pelham, Victoria Dallen, and some random guy when you knew the first two identities––but met up on the way back. It was chilly enough that no one gave a couple of teenagers in sweaters and hats a second glance, and the girls claimed that few people ever recognized them when they were bundled up against the cold. 

The house was dark except for a single window on the second floor, but the porch light was on, illuminating the handful of steps up to the front door and part of the lawn. Sarah and Neil liked to go to sleep and wake up early, but Eric was something of a night owl. According to Crystal, he liked to stay up into the early hours of the mornings whenever he didn’t have school the next day, and sometimes even when he did. 

We stopped at the front walkway leading to the house and Vicky tugged on my hand. “Hey Percy, can you walk me the rest of the way home? It's not far, but it's late and I don’t want to have to punch some perv who doesn’t recognize me without the costume.” 

“Uh…” Out of the corner of my eye I could see Crystal giving her cousin a dangerous look, but I wasn’t quite sure how to interpret it. “Sure, that’s not a problem.” Crystal’s grip on my other hand tightened and I turned towards her. “Uh…” I began again, but she cut me off before I could decide what to say.

“That’s a great idea,” she said with a smile, “That way I get first dibs on the shower so I can warm up.” She shivered dramatically, “It's way too cold for late March!” And then she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek before turning back towards Vicky. “It's getting pretty late. Don’t forget that you have school tomorrow!”

Crystal released my hand and hurried away towards the house. It really was rather cold, the wind biting at my exposed skin, and Crystal wasn’t dressed all that warmly. It had been a lot more pleasant when we’d headed to the Dallens for dinner but the temperature had dropped quickly not long after the sun had vanished over the horizon. 

I caught the tail end of Vicky’s glare as I turned back to her, but it was quickly replaced by a cheery smile. She took a step closer towards me, our arms pressing together, and leaned her head against my shoulder. “Crystal’s right,” she agreed, “It's way too cold for March.” Her fingers slipped through mine and then she slid her hand up my jeans and under my sweatshirt, her fingers tickling my side. “Oooh, that’s nice. How are you not freezing in just a sweatshirt?”

I shrugged my shoulders. Extreme temperatures, like a lot of other things, had become rather muted since I’d taken on the Curse. “Powers. Comes with the invulnerability, I think.”

Vicky wrinkled her nose. “Lucky. Mine mostly block out the wind and help a little against the cold, but they work better when I’m actually flying for some reason. I still need to wear a coat and gloves the rest of the time, though it doesn’t really get all that cold here even during the winter.”

We started walking, Vicky’s hand quickly finding its way back into my own just like it had when we’d met up after changing back into our regular clothing. Despite her complaints, her hand was warm against my own, much warmer than Crystal’s had been. 

It really wasn’t much of a walk. The two families lived on the same street barely two blocks apart, and they weren’t particularly big blocks either. It was a pretty good neighborhood too, the streets well lit and houses in good condition. Much nicer than the area I’d grown up in, that was for certain.

I really doubted Vicky was worried about some kind of thug attacking her on her way home. For one, I doubted there were any people like that in a neighborhood like this. It was well known that New Wave lived in this area and it was widely considered one of the safest parts of the entire city. Even though the houses weren’t the biggest or fanciest, the property prices were apparently kind of crazy. And, more importantly, Vicky was the kind of girl who’d probably relish the chance to punch an attempted robber (or worse). She had something of a reputation for it. 

No, Vicky just wanted to get me alone for some reason. Probably the reason I was trying really hard not to think about the whole way home with two gorgeous girls, both of whom had kissed me and one of whom I’d had sex with, holding my hands. In hindsight, Vicky hadn’t exactly been subtle with her interest over the last few days. It just hadn’t registered because I’d never really expected anyone to behave that way towards me. 

“So mom’s taking you to see the new apartment tomorrow afternoon, right?” Vicky began.

“Yeah,” I agreed. Vicky had been there when she’d told me so, so it was a bit of a silly question.

“Would you like some help moving?” she offered. 

“Uh, I don’t really have all that many things to move. I think I’ll be––” I paused, considering what Vicky was and wasn’t actually saying. ‘Don’t be a seaweed brain, seaweed brain,’ I thought in Annabeth’s voice. ‘Percy, we’ve been over this.’

I rewound my train of thought and started over. “––happy if you'd come along in case I want to move anything around. I can lift a bed if I need to, but it's much easier with two people.”

Vicky grinned. “That sounds great! I’d be happy to help you get all settled in and,” she bumped her hip against mine, “comfortable at the new place. It’s probably going to be furnished, but you’ll need to go get groceries, maybe a few other odds and ends. I think I promised you chocolate chip cookies, right? I’ve never tried making them blue before, but I’m sure we can figure it out!”

I smiled back. That was a good point, I hadn’t thought about that.“That would be great, thanks Vicky.” 

“Of course! Any time! I don’t have any plans for the weekend yet, so if we need anything too big to carry I can always drive us back to the mall or wherever else. ”

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

We stopped at the front door. There were a lot more lights on inside than there had been at Crystal’s house. The curtains were all drawn and blinds closed, but light still trickled around the edges of the big living room window at the front of the house and from several rooms on the second floor. 

I gestured towards the door with our clasped hands. “There you go, and not a single thug or ruffian in sight!” I joked. 

Vicky laughed, sidling towards me until we were standing very close together. She’d unzipped her coat––a puffy white parka with a fake-fur lined hood––as we walked across the lawn, revealing the very tight-fitting white sports bra she wore under her Glory Girl costume, and when I looked down at her my eyes were immediately drawn to where her nipples were stiffly poking through the pale fabric. I quickly looked back up at her face, but her smirk told me she’d definitely caught where my eyes had strayed. 

“It's nothing you haven’t already seen at the mall, but I think they’re even better without the fabric in the way. I’d love a second opinion sometime. Maybe…tomorrow? Your place,” she winked, as though just to make it absolutely clear what she meant. 

“Um, Vicky, I should probably tell you––”

She silenced me with a quick kiss, floating several inches off the ground so her face was only a little bit lower than mine. Then she floated back, her grin even wider than it had been before. “Don’t worry, I talked to Crystal already. She may have stolen a march on me once, but I’m not going to give up that easily. She talks a big game, but it's what you actually do that counts.” 

She touched back down and then hugged me tightly. “I had a great time tonight. It's good to have another hero in the Bay and you’ve already done so much good. I always thought dealing with the Empire for good was never going to happen, but you did it, just like that!” She snapped her fingers for emphasis, then buried her face in my shoulder. “They killed my aunt Jess, you know. Some kid just walked up and shot her in her civies. And no one did anything about it.”

She let go of me and took a step back, her eyes visibly redder than they had been. “But now you’re here. And you’re strong. Maybe now the Bay can finally stop being America’s villain capital and punching bag.” She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. Her next words were a whisper. “It would have been so easy. If you could do it, Legend could have taken care of all of them in an afternoon.”

She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Sorry, Maybe that was a little bit too personal. But…I don’t want you to think it was just a physical thing. Like, you’re super sexy, don’t get me wrong, but you’re also nice and heroic and caring…I haven’t known you for very long, but I’m a pretty good judge of character and I don’t think I’m wrong about you. I’d love a chance to get to know you better. Maybe things will work out, maybe they won’t, but I’d at least like to try, and I bet we will both have a good time along the way.”

Okay then. She was looking at me expectantly, but how the hell are you supposed to respond to something like that? Talking to people without sticking my foot in my mouth every few sentences was hard, and, despite my reservations, I didn’t want to mess this up. “I think I’d like that,” I eventually managed. Fewer words was probably better, it gave me less chances to muck things up.

Vicky’s smile was a bit more brittle than it had been earlier, but I think that had more to do with what she’d told me than what I’d said. “Great! Tomorrow then.”

“Tomorrow,” I agreed. “Good night Vicky.”

“Good night, Percy.” She started to turn around, then stopped, her smile turning into a knowing smirk. “Wish Crystal a good night for me.”

In lieu of words, I just sighed heavily and started off back towards the Pelham’s house. I had absolutely no doubts that I wouldn’t need to poke my head into Crystal’s room in order to pass along Vicky’s message. I thought I was starting to understand how that red rubber ball must have felt when Annabeth was playing with Cerberus. 

Vicky’s laughter, oh so similar to Crystal’s own, followed me until it was abruptly cut off by the thump of the front door.