"So we were having a lovely day," said a gaunt looking Warren.
"Yeah," said Kenna.
The two were sitting in one of the many meeting rooms of the mansion. The type that has one long table met with many chairs and a window that gave a nice view of the grounds. With the smell of stained wood permeating the air. Kenna was wearing brand new clean clothes. A gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt combination with a little Xavier school logo pressed into the fabric of each. She was also restrained. A new purple inhibitor adorned her left wrist while a pair of regular handcuffs tethered her right arm to the chair.
"And this was way back before we had any of these fancy high tech defenses. Not that it would have helped."
"Sure."
"I was sitting about where you were when a giant man clad in smooth red armor plowed right through that wall."
"Crazy."
"He really gave us the business too. Practically unstoppable. Really wrecked up the place."
"You don't say."
"He wasn't even a mutant either. Simply a man who found an artifact of incredible power."
"Huh."
"The sad part was that it turned out to be Charles' half-brother who came back to kill him in a," Warren looked at his watch, "Perhaps the rest of that story is not mine to tell. Regardless, the blue team rallied together and fended the bruiser off. Do you see how this relates?"
"No."
"The world is a dangerous place whether you are being chased by a gray avatar of vengeance or a red avatar of destruction. And the only way we will survive all of these trials is together."
"Warren."
"Yes?"
"What's going to happen to me?" She asked as the door opened.
"We'll find out." Six people walked in. Tessa and several other men dressed in business formal attire. They all sat across from each other with Kenna sitting on the very end.
"Hello Ms. Knox my name is Senior Shield Agent Earl Angstrom with enhanced variant relations and this meeting will be recorded for both of our benefits," said Mr. Angstrom. He was a tall man with very sharp features and a voice that spoke with experience.
"Hello my name is Kenna Knox, and I'm very confused and scared," said Kenna.
"The purpose of this meeting is to determine the future custody of Ms. Knox. After reviewing case files from both Shield and the Xavier Institute regarding physiology, behavior, psychological evaluation, grades, and recent events that my department believes it is in the best interest of the public safety that the enhanced variant be transferred into Shield custody."
Tessa cleared her throat. "Agent Angstrom, after reviewing the same files the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters understands the reasoning behind your department's request. However, at this time, Xavier senior staff has determined that the enhanced variant in question has more to benefit from continued tutelage here than from Shield custody. As always the Xavier Institute has and will continue to take full responsibility for all current and future damages that may occur with this decision," said Tessa.
"For the record I do not agree with this. We'll contact you again regarding another evaluation at a future date," said Mr. Angstrom.
"Me and the rest of the staff thanks Shield for their time and continued support for the betterment of enhanced variant relations," said Tessa, and with a few curt hand shakes the meeting ended as abruptly as it started. The whole thing took maybe five minutes, and nobody looked happy.
"Was that it?" Kenna whispered to Warren after the Shield suites left.
"More was said than you heard if you catch my drift," said Warren.
"Brain talking is just rude."
"Do you have any transportation planned for winter break or are you staying here?" asked Warren unlocking her handcuffs.
"Staying here I guess?" said Kenna.
"We will be serving breakfast at seven, lunch at eleven, and dinner at six. Don't worry about preparing or cleaning duties, we'll take care of it. We're having a Christmas party for the Morlocks at midnight if you'd like to attend. Otherwise the grounds are yours. Don't leave without a chaperone."
"Okay?"
"Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes, in so many ways. With so many questions."
"I'll answer as many as I can but we have another meeting in five minutes."
"Franny?"
"That's our next meeting."
"Is she okay?"
"She's indisposed."
"Could you give me more than that?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Scott wants to keep the details given your," Warren struggled to find the last word for his sentence, "Nature?"
"Am I in trouble?"
"I wouldn't say you're in great standing."
"Are you sending me back to X-Cell?"
"We wouldn't send anybody there twice, usually."
"So what does this mean for me?"
"That means it's Christmas. Relax, do whatever you do when you're not giving Tessa mountains of extra paperwork," Tessa took a rather large swig from her flask, "Anything else?"
"Thank you for saving me. And I'm sorry for making you work on Christmas and for dealing with me in general."
"It happens. Anything else?"
"We can leave the school with a chaperone now?"
"Yes. This was always the case."
"News to me."
"It was mentioned to everybody during the orientation."
"Oh, I slept through that."
"We are painfully aware of that. Anything else?"
"Nothing that I can think of right now."
"Wonderful, Merry Christmas, and you should probably leave."
She took him up on that with great enthusiasm. Her escape was blocked however by the entry of another. A blonde woman dressed in a very revealing regal white dress with matching makeup, but it wasn't necessarily the fashion choice that slowed her progress. It was her presence. Just existing near her was stifling, yet intoxicating. Kenna moved out of her way at the last second but not under her own will. "Kenna," cried another voice outside of the office. It was the ever energetic Kitty wearing an ugly christmas sweater standing out in the hall waiting for their meeting to be over.
"Hey," said Kenna, not so thrilled about seeing her again.
"Follow me," said Kitty.
"Where are we going?" asked Kenna after leaving the office. Kitty stopped briefly to make sure the door was closed.
"Anywhere but here."
"Who was that?"
"Emma Frost, Administrator of the Massachusetts Academy."
"Is there a reason we're walking so fast from her?"
"She's scary."
"In what way?"
"She's a telepath with no moral compass."
"So she's an evil Xavier?"
"Not quite as strong, but she makes up for it in other ways."
"Like?"
"Creativity."
"Call Shield maybe? I think they're still here."
"They won't do anything."
"Why not?"
"Her school has their own agreement with Shield."
"Why would they need that?"
"Hold that thought and breath." Kitty said before taking Kenna through the floor. Kitty's skill in phasing through solid matter was so great that the entire journey almost felt like swimming through an ocean. If the ocean was made up of walls, rooms, and wires. They both eventually ended up in Kitty's room breaching out of the floor like dolphins. "Applesauce," she said, commanding the room to seal around them.
"Nah I'm good," Kenna said, coughing instinctually.
"Why did you come here Kenna?" asked Kitty. Kenna was still coughing. Kitty helped her up into a chair. "I told you to hold your breath."
"We both know I was brought here against my will," said Kenna.
"I did not."
"Oh, well now you know."
"Why did they bring you here Kenna?"
"To break me."
"Well yes and no. Breaking is not always a part of the learning. You're just stubborn and easily distracted."
"Do you have any examples?"
"They brought you here to learn. To teach you how to use your gifts in ways that won't harm and blah blah blah."
"I've sorta been doing that."
"You say that but I've noticed you seem to be more interested in other people's problems than your own."
"Possibly."
"Do you see the problem here?"
"Yes," said Kenna with unflinching eye contact.
"I can't tell if you're lying or not and that worries me."
"What!? Am I not making enough eye contact!? Or perhaps is it because I nearly died last night, Franny just fucked off somewhere, and all of you are just telling to no worry about it!" Kitty fought her urge to phase Kenna's lips together. It was Christmas and would send the wrong message.
"Emma's school is also for the gifted," Kitty said hesitantly, "It also happens to be where Franny is."
"That doesn't sound good."
"It's not, Emma's kind of jerk."
"So where is this school?"
"Somewhere in Massachusetts."
"But where though. That's a big place."
"And you're already making plans to rescue Franny."
"I make a lot of things."
"Tell me, how are you going to get there?"
"I thought I'd mix it up and stomp my way there this time. I think it will really send a message."
"To Shield everyone that hates us maybe, but how are you going to get your inhibitor off this time?"
"Like I did last time. Provided I can find Laura or her dad if he's drunk."
"Oh sorry, that's not going to work. That new one is made of synthetic adamantium. Try again."
"I will gnaw off my arm!"
"Or you could leave this to professionals who have experience not pissing everybody off."
"How do I play into that?"
"That's the point. You don't. You're a student. I'm only telling this so you understand why this isn't your fight. And I'm trusting you not to get involved." Kenna scowled and puckered angrily before slowly returning to a more agreeable state.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I hate this."
"I can tell."
"You do realize this leaves me in a position where I'm filled with an uncontrollable energy to do something. I promise I won't get involved, but I need to do something."
"Talk to Scott. I'm sure he'll find something for you." Kitty pressed her earpiece. "Shadowcat to Sage please raise open doors. We're good now."
"Was trapping me in here really necessary?" asked Kenna as the metal doors raised back up.
"Yes, but not for what you think. Those walls block telepathic signals. I don't think she'd care enough to eavesdrop on us, but you never know."
The rest of the day was spent on a melancholic walk around the campus. Scott was also involved in meeting after meeting and she was told he wouldn't be available until late that evening. So she spent her time perusing the many displays prominently displayed throughout the halls. The pictures and awards told the humble story of how the school grew from a small class of five to hundreds. Of how the mansion grew and evolved. And of how many died.
"You wanted to see me?" asked Scott. While he was her physical education teacher his deep ruby sunglasses he always wore combined with the pure sharpened edge of authority in his voice always scared the absolute shit out of her.
"No!"
"Understood. Have a good day."
"No! I mean, yes."
"Yes or no?"
"Yes, but if you're tired or busy we can talk about it later."
"I'm always busy."
"Understandable! Sorry for bothering you."
"But I make time for students. What can I do for you?"
"Kitty said you could help me?"
"With what?"
"It's difficult to put into words."
"Say it without thinking."
"I need to fuck shit up," said Kenna.The pure unfiltered honesty her words resonated with both of them in different ways. It was almost enough to put a smile on Scott's face.
"You'd like to train?" asked Scott. This wasn't exactly what Kenna had in mind. Images of her struggling with pushups while Scott stood in judgment came flooding back to her briefly; but Scott seemed pleased. So she decided to go with it.
"Yes," she said with eye contact.
"Come with me," he said, leading her to the elevator with vigor.
"But like I said, if you're tired we don't have to do anything now."
"No, this is perfect. I need to fuck shit up too," Scott pressed down on his earpiece, "Cyclops to Angel, clear the danger room." As they traveled deeper into the school Scott causally scrolled through his phone. "How was X-Cell?"
"Fine."
"I doubt that."
"Traumatic."
"What was your final?" Kenna answered in German before answering again in english.
"The futility of running."
"Let me guess. It involved the illusion of escape?" Kenna scratched at her inhibitor.
"There was a pyramid, rising water levels, and an opening that was closing. I assume it was a test to see if I'd use my gifts to regain my freedom. I failed."
"And then you tried to kill him," said Scott, still scrolling through his phone.
"Yeah."
"The man loves to create allegories."
"Yeah."
"Mine was the futility of words."
"You went to X-Cell?"
"We all did. You don't put people through things you're not willing to do."
"How was it?"
"Disappointing."
"Did he actually let you go?"
"I killed him." Kenna grew concerned.
"He seemed pretty unkilled."
"Punched a hole right through his chest with everything I had."
"Maybe he can grow stuff back like Mr. Howlett?"
"He can't."
"Was Elixir there?"
"Not at the time."
"Then how?"
"I don't know, but it did teach me a valuable lesson."
"Check for a pulse no matter how dead they look? Even if it makes you look stupid?"
"Aim for the head."
They passed somebody on the way there.The blonde woman was tired but still had enough energy to shoot a look of familiarity at Kenna. It was brief, but it was the eye of a person who shared an inside joke. Scott didn't appear to have noticed, or if did, he didn't care.
"That's just great," said Scott looking at the condition of the danger room. It was the brightly lit room of pure white it had always been before becoming anything else. Except that floor was covered in what could only be described as human sheddings. With each pile of skin more grotesque and varied than the last. Smaller constructs began geometrically surrounding the foreign material before carrying it away. "While we're waiting I need to ask a very important question that will set precedence for the rest of this exercise."
Kenna swallowed. "No, I still can't do push ups."
"What kind of music do you like?"
"Oh, uh, do you have a Christmas mix?"
"We're going to train to Christmas music?"
"Yes?"
"Okay."
"It's Christmas. I need to feel the Christmas sir."
"I said okay."
"I need the jolly."
"It may not be appropriate for what we're about to do, but this is your time so we'll play your songs," he said, starting the festive background music.
"So how is this going to work?" asked Kenna.
"Give me your inhibitor," said Scott. He inserted a thin key into the purple device that held Kenna's mutation in check. A swift twist led to five clicks and a series of adjustments. "You're cleared for fifty feet."
"That's, alot."
"Too much?"
"No! Just give me a minute," said Kenna as she began to undress.
"Negative, no, stop."
"What?"
"What are you doing?"
"Taking off my clothes? "So they don't get destroyed?"
Scott pressed a button on his phone while pointing it at Kenna. Billions of tiny particles formed over her skin but under her clothes create a form fitting blue and yellow x-men uniform. "Okay, that's cool."
"That will adjust as needed."
"Can I keep it?"
"It only works in the danger room."
"Fair," she said, taking off the rest of her excess clothing. "Where do I put these?"
"Anywhere, hold your breath."
"Again!?" asked Kenna before a steady but concentrated stream of water fell on her from the ceiling. Hitting her so hard she fell to the floor. Nature took its course. The water was cold before it wasn't. The living synthetic uniform she wore raced to keep up with it all. It would tear and reform and tear again trying to contain her. The breaks finally hit in the form of a familiar bite into her wrist where the inhibitor kicked in. When the water stopped and she rose to her feet, she stood at what she was allowed.
Scott kept talking, but she couldn't hear any of it. Not that she tried. His voice, the one that had scared her so badly earlier, felt so very far away. Any sense of anxiety or obligation left her. The suit she wore now had her attention. She marveled at how natural it felt. Never had she worn anything at this size let alone anything so comfortable. It came with stuff too. Pockets, belts, zippers it all felt incredibly form fitting for a person who trouble fitting anything. There was even stuff in the pockets! A tiny flashlight, a compass, a multitool, basic first aid, and all of it was scaled to her. There was just so much to it.
"Can you hear me now?" asked Scott but with the danger room amplifying his voice.
She gave him a passing look. One of curiosity. He had the key on him. Her key, the key to her. The key to herself. The key to her becoming herself. Was that right? Was that fair? She had done nothing wrong, not really. Not in the grand scheme of things. People died, a lot of people. But not intentionally. She's not evil. They were just in the way. They would have been fine if they weren't. They shouldn't have been there. She wouldn't hurt him. She'd be careful.
She approached him, or she tried. Despite her long stride she never seemed to get any closer. It was subtle but the floor appeared to be moving around her and her alone to waste any movement she made. "Auto isolating tread, you could walk the whole world without leaving this room," said Scott. Kenna jumped towards him, but nothing was gained with that either. "Tread being everything in here. We'll never interact unless the simulation parameters warrant it." Kenna flicked her flashlight at him in petty spite. Scott took off his shades.
She was knocked down on her back with a colossal thud that shook the room. The anxiety returned. No idea what hit her. All she saw was red, a loud bright brilliant red. It felt a lot like what Jono was throwing at her yesterday but more concentrated.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Kenna gave him a cautious thumbs up. "Good, lets begin. Danger room load Battle of New York." Before Kenna could react to anything she was getting honked at by a symphony of cars. Her massive body was blocking an entire street in what looked like a bustling Manhattan in the middle of the day. As always the simulation appeared in hyper realistic detail with the only give away being the Christmas music playing in the background.
"The battle of New York!?" asked Kenna loudly. Scott winced and summoned a pair of earplugs from nothing.
"We have an hour before the attack to develop battle strategy and position."
"Isn't this a bit insensitive?!"
"How so?"
"People died here!"
"People die everywhere."
"And you want to relive that!?"
"I want to prevent it." At her current size she dwarfed some buildings but not most. Everything was still too big for her to cope with the situation.
"This is kind of a lot."
"We'll take it slow. First get up." She attempted to sit up using the sides of the buildings to pull her torso forward. It couldn't handle the stress she put on it and partially collapsed. Simulated panic ensued. People may not have been reacting appropriately to the behemoth of a woman that was blocking traffic, but they were definitely programmed to scream and run at the sight of destruction. Kenna wallowed in the debris cloud until Scott walked up to her defeated face. "How much do you know about your gift?"
"I'm a sponge." Scott wiped the simulated dirt off his phone.
"According to Hank you are disproportionately stronger and denser the bigger you get to offset the negative effects of gravity on your body. Do you understand?"
"I understand that you just called me fat."
"Your heart pumps blood."
"Yes."
"Blood has to travel throughout your entire body."
"Okay."
"The bigger you are, the further it has to go, the stronger your heart has to be. Especially when you're standing."
"Oh."
"The same goes for everything. Your gift is having to make up the difference in your size to prevent you from tearing yourself apart," Scott scrolled further down her file, "And you've been observed with some level of heat resistance. Makes sense, otherwise you'd boil yourself alive."
"Why didn't Hank tell me this earlier?"
"This subject is usually covered in the Camp Xavier class."
"Mine was more of a Camp Lehnsherr."
"He probably thought he taught you that in his own way."
"So I just need to assume I'm way stronger than I should be the bigger I get."
"It might help. Try again," Scott said, backing to a safe distance. Kenna tried again. She had more success drawing her knees to her chest before rocking herself back onto her feet. "I did it!" Kenna proudly proclaimed.
"Great, now walk down this street till you hit Central Park without killing anybody." The street he was referring to bustled with activity. Many of them were emergency services dealing with the destruction while many others were the onlookers such a thing attracts. Beyond was the endless citizen dense streets Manhattan had always been.
"I thought we were here to fuck shit up?" asked Kenna.
"Part of fucking shit up is knowing what shit not to fuck up," said Scott.
Kenna tried her best, at first. She favored sidewalks and only occasionally dipped into seventh avenue traffic when there was space. It was slow work. Work that was taking too long. She started to gently nudge things with her foot for space. A car here, a person there. The alleyways between buildings were a perfect place to shepherd flocks that were in her way. Then she graduated to stepping on parked cars. It was easy enough and Scott didn't say anything about killing cars.
"How'd I do?" Kenna asked nobody in particular when she realized Scott wasn't following her.
"Six," said Scott from far away.
"Six minutes?" asked Kenna optimistically.
"Six dead."
"What? How?"
"You were stepping on cars."
"They were parked!"
"That doesn't mean they're empty. Do it again. Walk back to me." Kenna groaned, but tried again.
On her second try she didn't step on any cars, but she was less patient. She was slow but forceful. Her nudges became straight up pushing things aside to make room.
"Sixteen," said Scott.
"I didn't step on any cars!"
"Do it again."
Kenna didn't even try to avoid anything this time. It was a leisurely walk filled with spite and crushed metal. She even drew a face in the Carnegie Hall building. "Fifty-five, do it again."
This time she went out of her way to destroy everything. She even went as far as dancing down the street to whatever Christmas song was still going on. With the big finale being a half hearted cartwheel complimented with extremely sarcastic jazz hands. "Do it again."
"What was my score?" Asked Kenna sarcastically.
"You obviously don't care. So why should I?"
"This is impossible! No matter how hard I try, people always end up dead! I might as well not move."
"Not moving would save lives, but you would also never make it down the street."
"So what do I do!?"
"Think, what are your options?"
"I move, or I don't move."
"Have you considered that fifty feet may not be the best operating size for this scenario?"
"You made me this big."
"I'm not keeping you there. Some of these reports indicate you had better success around twenty feet." Kenna looked down, following the length of her body. Trying to find a better excuse as to why that wouldn't work.
"I hate this," said Kenna.
"It's called restraint. Even Banner at his worst could appreciate that."
"Who?"
"The Hulk, zero casualties during this event."
"I don't enjoy the comparison."
"That's good because there is none. Another personality takes over Banner when he changes. What's your excuse?"
"Indifference."
"To what?"
"Them," said Kenna gesturing towards the masses, "The further away I am the less I have to care."
"Why would you ever not care?"
"Do you care about what crawls beneath your feet?"
"People aren't bugs."
"I know that, I really do, but put enough distance between us and people don't feel like people. They feel like bugs."
"And bugs are easier to deal with than people."
"Yeah."
"Alright," Scott cracked his neck, "We'll forget people right now. Let's just fuck shit up." He pressed his earpiece. "Cyclops to Angel, remove all emergency services and non-combatants." Chaos ensued as various vehicles lost their drivers. The wave of destruction was loud but brief with nothing but the sound of alarms to remind them what just happened. "Our objective is simple. Stop the invasion by any means necessary. Any thoughts?"
"Am I the worst student you've ever met?" asked Kenna.
"Have you tried to solo the Avengers recently?"
"No?"
"Then you're fine."
"I have questions."
"We'll call her Rogue and it's a long story that I can't retell without getting unreasonably angry. Do you have any thoughts on how to stop the invasion?"
"Who won?"
"Nobody, we all lost in that exchange. Some more than others."
As if on cue a great light shot into the sky from a distance away. Splitting the seam of space open into a great vortex of cosmic ocean. Thousands of smaller alien craft swarmed from the breach raining fire down onto the empty city. Kenna had seen the recordings of the battle. The news blasted them for months on end, but none of them had ever truly captured the energy of a true world ending crisis like this simulation did. Kenna, even at her current proportions, couldn't help but claw at her restraint at the sight. "Take a deep breath and think about your next move. Perform cautiously but confidently," Scott said, taking off his glasses. He replaced them with a slick black visor that ran with ruby across the center where the eyes would be.
"Fuck shit up, gotcha," said Kenna before starting a dead sprint towards the breach.
"What are you doing?" Asked Scott.
"Oh yeah my bad!" She yelled, sprinting back to grab him.
The path to the breach was sheer and utter chaos. Without the many nuanced lives to worry about she ran at a reckless destructive pace. Cars bounced, streets buckled, and never was there not debris in the air. The generated momentum was too much for even her sometimes turning sharp turns into a disastrous collison.
Scott, even as he was swung around like a doll, shot quick bursts of red neon beams from his visor obliterating the invaders as they tried to close in on them. It was so effective Kenna took a breather to admire the efficiency of his shots. It was crazy watching him work. She even began pointing him at aliens like a human gun giving a soft "pew pew" as he blew the flying sleds out of the sky. It was almost fun. Until greater creatures began to emerge from the rift.
She had seen them before, but only dead and in the dark. The great Leviathans swam through buildings like sinister eels. Alien soldiers erupted from them like ravenous fleas. And Kenna charged at them like a deranged rabbit with something to prove. Filled with the faith that no matter the size, ruin would follow her wherever she went.
Scott tripped her. The well placed optic blast made her lose her footing and all the energy she had committed to the suicide run was redirected into the unforgiving ground. Before she could even worry about whether or not he was okay Scott had already freed himself from her grasp and climbed on her head.
"Follow the laser," he said, wrapping strands of hair around his arm like a rein. He pulled it like one would with a horse trying to coax her back to her feet.
"I'm not a horse," Kenna loudly grumbled over the odd mix of alien cries and Jingle Bells.
"And I'm not a gun. On your feet," said Scott. He fired a long continuous stream of red into a building perpendicular to them weakening the structure.
Kenna begrudgingly followed his instructions. From her feet to the building they went plowing through with little effort. He fired again into another building across the street where Kenna plowed through that one too. The path he made for her provided enough cover and concealment to get them to the source of the invasion.
The space sundering laser projected itself from one of the larger buildings with the word "Stark" neatly placed upon it in an overly grand design. A stark contrast to the crude aliens swirling around it forming a dense perimeter. Even from a distance the amount of fire they took from their target was overwhelming. The buildings they had been using for cover had practically melted away from the sheer output of hot plasma. Movement and precise direction being the only thing keeping them from meeting the same fate.
"How are you feeling Kenna?" asked Scott. Kenna roared with adrenaline. "Copy, on my mark you're going to run as fast as can towards the fire. By the time we run out of you we should be-," Scott pressed his hand up to his earpiece, "Cyclops to Angel pause the simulation."
Everything stopped. The aliens, the hot plasma flying through the air, even the collapsing buildings froze in place at his request. It gave Kenna quite the emotional whiplash as all the energy she let herself be immersed in hit a wall. Only the sore thumb of gentle christmas carols remained. "Copy," said Scott ending a conversation she had completely missed.
"What was that?" asked Kenna.
"We're going to have to cut this session short. The Morlock Christmas party starts in fifteen minutes," said Scott.
"So we're just going to stop? After all that?" asked Kenna. The music stopped and with it the city she had been so passionately navigating with glorious purpose drifted away with it.
"Duty calls," said Scott, switching out his eyewear.
"But you said we'd fuck shit up. It's not over." Scott jumped off her head. Instead of a tragic death that would normally accompany such an action he gently drifted to the ground.
"Get down and get dressed. You don't have to come to the party but I can't leave you here unattended."
"No," said Kenna. Her posture changed. It was more defensive, defiant, distressed.
"You can't stay up there forever."
"I'd love to try," said Kenna. Her words stumbled on the way out.
"Cyclops to Angel go on without me. I'll meet you there."
She expected a fight. To be washed with a crimson typhoon of radiant energy. To be dragged down kicking and screaming. She didn't expect to win, but maybe she could at least grab the key in the struggle.
"You're scared, I understand, but that blinds you to reality."
"I like to believe I see things pretty clearly from up here."
"You think size brings safety and control, and in the short term it might, but it also makes you a big target. By putting your head up you become something to knock down. Challenge invites conflict. So by seeking safety in this way you'll never achieve it."
"I'm different, I promise you I'm different. Some mountains can't be knocked down."
"I assume you're referring to your nuclear option. The ocean? Am I right?"
"You knew?"
"It's a scenario. One we'd like to avoid. I am curious though. What do you think day two was going to look like?"
"A peace like I've never felt before."
"As everybody died."
"I like to believe that if I was ever driven to that point that there would be nobody left I'd care about losing."
"So there is some restraint in you after all. A love for certain people."
"People I know. People that have names. People that make me feel safe."
"Well, for the sake of the people that have names. Please come down Kenna." She fought the logic of his words, but emotional and physical fatigue won out. She was tired and without a better argument she bit into her arm. It hurt more than usual. The sour pain of defeat without a fight. "Thank you," he said, readjusting her inhibitor.
"Am I the worst now?" asked Kenna, putting her clothes over the constructed uniform.
"Getting closer, but at least you're trying," said Scott. He may not have meant it in the same way, but Kenna clung to that end of that sentence all the same. It was a crack of light in a very dark place.
"Are we late?" asked Kenna.
"We?" asked Scott.
"I might mingle a minute. Learn a few names. See how it goes."
"We still got time," said Scott. They arrived early in fact. The party was taking place in one of the multipurpose rooms. Jean had already been there decorating the empty space with a simply magical arrangement of festive decoration. The centerpiece being a worn plastic tree filled with generations of homemade ornaments. It was a living history of not faculty but family.
Beneath its artificial branches laid an unexpected surprise. A present, addressed to Kenna from a company called Umbral Dynamics. The parcel was of a smaller size. A box that could fit uncomfortably in her palm. Adorned with all the reds and greens and bows of any ordinary gift. She unwrapped it. Not necessarily because it was Christmas and this was the time to do such things, but because the gift itself beckoned her too.
The jolly left her as the wrappings left the gift revealing a quality candle. It was purple with a strong smell of lavender. Accompanied with a bill for fifty-thousand dollars.