William didn't care anymore, especially now after having fought the Royals who had come looking for him, forcing him to fight and trash the Calming Clam in the process. The Royals had known William's name and where he worked at, which meant he couldn't follow Claudia's advice and hide anymore. William was done hiding, if the Lord Ruler wanted him, then he'll have to send his best Royals or himself. William will fight them all, and win. There was little the Royals could do against his ability anyway, the Royals could do little to prevent him from getting what he wanted.
"To freedom." William said, raising a wine cup for a toast, Orion sitting beside him with a cup of his own. They were currently at the Calming Clam, drinking and sharing their long held secrets about each other like they had agreed upon a few nights back. William saw little reason not to revealed his ability in full to his friend, who had shown loyalty beyond compare. Orion had also shown off his ability, little did he know that William already knew. Still, William said nothing, just went along with it.
"May it last." Orion said, raising his golden cup, which he had created a minute ago using his ability. "Let the Royal bastards come, they'll learn not to mess with the Clam."
William nodded in agreement, their cups clinking in the air, then he downed the whiskey shot in one gulp. He knew the Royals will return and take another shot at him, he just had to make sure that the next fight takes place somewhere else. The bar had been wrecked, again. The place a mess, broken chairs and tables lay scattered on the floor, parts of them now pieces of wood. A section of the counter had also been destroyed, from the clash of plated armors where William had used a Royal ability against them to gain an advantage. The remaining blades from the ceiling fan hanging loose, ready to fall at any moment.
The destruction that followed from a fight between two Users of ability always left a sour taste in William.
"Next time I'll choose another battle field." He said, shaking his head, feeling bad about bringing his problems where they didn't belong. The Royals were after him and only him, but now, because Orion was a loyal friend, they had involved him too. "You shouldn't have been involved in this, Orion."
"I still can't believe it." Orion said, ignoring William's comment and pouring more whiskey unto his golden cup, refilling it. "You can just have any ability you want?"
"Within limitations." William told him, then copied his ability and created a golden cup of his own, it materialized in his hand. It looked identical to the one Orion held.
Orion looked at the cup in William's hand, apparently still unsure, looking sceptical. With good reason. Not ever since Lunam gifted the world with Aura, had someone awakened to an ability like William's.
After a pause, Orion refilled William's cup. "This limitation..." He said. "What do you mean by that?"
William looked to his friend, and after a bit of consideration, explained it to him. "Let's just say my ability has to meet two requirements before I can use it. Before I can copy an ability. First," He raised his index finger. "I have to witness the Aura's ignition of the User whose ability I want to copy. This will allow me to see and mimic their Aura type using mine. And second," He raised a second finger. "they have to activate their abilities near me. Then I get to use my Aura manipulation to copy it. And lastly, If they get too far from me, then I lose the use of their ability."
"So if I don't use my ability near you..." Orion said, scratching his chin.
"Then I have nothing to copy." William finished the sentence for him, nodding. "In which case, we'll have to fight the old fashioned way. Mano a mano. Like real men."
Orion laughed. "I doubt most Royals know how to fight using hand to hand combat. They rely on their abilities too much, I hear. I suppose that makes you their greatest threat."
William didn't want the infamy, but he could see from the Royal's point of view how he would seem like a threat to their Hierarchy System structure. No wouldn't be surprised if they wanted him to become a Royal, something he'll never do. He just wanted to be left alone.
"Hey man, listen." William said, putting those thoughts behind. "I haven't told you yet, but I'm really sorry about this." He waved his hand over the mess in the bar. "How much is the repair company charging you this time?"
"Surprisingly, nothing." Orion shrugged.
"Oh?"
"Remember Natalya?" He said. "For some reason she felt bad, deciding to do the repairs for free this time. She called me yesterday, said she's coming today."
"Today?" William echoed.
Orion nodded. "She texted me earlier, said she's on her way."
William paused for a moment, he didn't know Natalya that well, meeting her that one time that day, but providing free services wasn't exactly a Royal thing to do. Granted, William didn't remember her wearing a golden bracelet, meaning she wasn't technically a Royal, just worked directly under them. Yet it still felt odd somehow, they wouldn't let her provide free services that easily.
"She'll be bringing a crew then?" William asked.
Orion shrugged. "I'm guessing so. She didn't say much during our texts, just said to wait, she'll take care of everything."
Considering all that's been happening around William, he couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious. Natalya didn't seem like a bad person when he first met her, but neither did Klaus, a Spectre member who joined the organization not so long ago, and whom William had snuffed out to his sister Claudia. Claudia said Klaus had later revealed himself as a Royal spy working for some high ranking Royal calling herself Lady, and asked to let her deal with him. William wasn't as trusting as his sister.
"Orion, I think maybe we shouldn't-"
William was interrupted by the the ringing of the Calming Clam's doorbells. He looked over to see Natalya enter, waving to Orion and smiling. "Hello."
William expected her to be followed by a Royal Repair Company crew, but no one else came in after her.
"You actually came." Orion got up, the golden cup in his hand dematerializing into mist behind his back. He walked over to the woman and shook her hand. William noticed a the hint of rising nervousness emitting from his friend after exchanging a few words with Natalya. Orion had shown signed of attraction towards her back then too.
William made sure to vanish his own golden cup, it disappeared in a puff of smoke, Natalya approached him with a greeting. "Hello." She said.
"Hey." He said, deciding to leave it at handshake and not follow it with a kiss to the cheek, like she had done with Orion after their initial handshake.
Natalya looked over at the whiskey bottle that William and Orion had been sharing drinks with, then chuckled. "You boys started drinking without me, eh?"
"You get a month's worth of free drinks if you fix the place up no charge." Orion told her, grabbing a cup from the counter, careful not to step on broken glass as he walked over, and filling it with whiskey. He offered the drink to her. "Here. If you came to talk and share embarrassing stories, you're a most welcomed guest."
"Awww..." Natalyan accepter the drink, downing it in one shot, then she said; "Quite kind of you, thanks. But I actually came to do as I told you. Repair the place. Shouldn't take more than a day."
Orion scratched the back of his head, looking towards the exit, and just like William, probably expecting to see a group of men to walk in any moment now. But Natalya hadn't lied, she did come alone.
"You expect to do this yourself?" Orion asked her.
"At first, yeah." She grabbed the whiskey bottle from his hand to refill her cup, which she then put to her lips, drinking the alcohol like water. After handing the bottle back to Orion, she walked over to William and tapped him on the shoulder. "But, if what I saw the other day wasn't a trick of my drunken stupor, then your friend here can give me a hand, speed things up. What do you say, pal?"
William looked over at Orion, who shrugged when their eyes met.
"How can I help y-" William stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide upon realizing. Natalya's Aura ignited, spreading from her chest, filling her body with a yellow glow visible, a golden fire burning within, invisible to all but him, who could see and sense Aura. "You..." He said.
Natalya smiled, then walked over to a broken table, smashed by mechanical arms when William faught the Royals, wooden pieces of it lay scattered nearby. "I'll just need you boys to keep this a secret between us, yeah?" The pieces of wood belonging to the table she was currently touching began to pick themselves up telekinetically by an invisible force, attaching themselves together, and like time being rewound, the table returned to its original state. Fixed.
William and Orion shared a glance between each other, witnessing Natalya use her ability and wondering what had just happened. William looked her over, he had to check her arm again to see if he'd missed the golden bracelet, but no. She didn't have one. She wasn't a Royal. How had she managed to hide her ability while working with them?
"Go ahead then." She said, 'fixing' another broken table, the wooden pieces coming together and mending themselves. She looked over at William, smiling. "I suppose you've copied my ability by now. Care to give a girl a hand."
William again looked towards Orion, unsure of what to do. His friend shrugged. Not that it mattered. William had decided not to hide his power anymore. He wasn't afraid of the Royals. He had proven already that they couldn't beat him in a fight.
"Alright." He said at last, and copied Natalya's ability by manipulating his Aura type to match hers. This gave him access to her ability, which he understood now was to mend, or fix, anything she touches. He touched a piece of a broken chair and focused, like with Natalya, pieces belonging to it flew back into place, returning the chair to its original form. Very useful ability, he thought. Could it also heal physical wound, flesh wounds being similar in theory.
"Well, since we're all now out of the closet," Orion said, using his ability to create a golden cup from Aura which he offered to Natalya who accepted it with a smile and nod. He created two more, one for himself and one for William, then added, "Might as well enjoy the occasion."
William didn't like to brag, or as he now came to realize, never had the chance to do so, but he rejected the cup and created his own using Orion's ability. "Thanks, but I got my own."
"Show off." Orion said.
They both laughed. Minutes later, all three of them were at it in full, repairing the bar while drinking and listening to upbeat music which Orion decided to play on the speakers to keep the mood lifted. Perhaps it could've been the alcohol, since he'd already been drinking with Orion for awhile before Natalya arrived, but William felt oddly good. Putting his fears aside was like removing an unnecessary burden off his shoulder. Not caring whether the Royals knew of him, or whether they would come for him, felt liberating. His sister would definitely be mad at him for using his ability openly, but he'll deal with her anger when the time came. For now, he just wanted to enjoy this moment with his friend. Get things back to the way they were before this mess. It was the least he could do for Orion, who had been nothing but a loyal friend.
William continued mending chairs and tables with Natalya, while Orion's helped with organizing the furniture. With their tongues loose from the alcohol, it wasn't long before they started sharing not so embarrassing stories, William and Orion recounting their party phase before opening the Calming Clam and starting the business of running a bar. They even got to learn a bit more about Natalya's past, about her closest friends who were as close as William and Orion were. She refrained from providing their names, but William didn't fault her, as he himself had refrained from mentioning his sister. Orion didn't care, he very much liked Natalya and couldn't see past his rose colored lense.
William on the other hand, still held some suspicion towards the woman. He questioned her reasons for doing what she was doing, she said she felt bad for Orion and what he had gone through, but William wasn't buying it, even so far as suspecting her visit to the Clam the day the three Royals came looking for. It couldn't have been mere coincidence, not when Natalya was a User. But he didn't care, pushing his worries aside. What does he have to fear from the Royals anyway? If she was a spy sent to keep an eye on him, what could they really do to stop him?
Minutes turned to hours as the three continued to repair the Calming Clam, enjoying their work with drink and music. It was late afternoon when they finally stopped, William and Natalya feeling exhausted from overusing their abilities. They had pretty much repaired all there was to repair when it came to broken tables, chairs, bottles and cups, the ceiling fan, even the counter was back to normal. The only thing that Natalya's ability couldn't bring back was the spilled drinks.
"So... William, how many abilities can you hold at a time?" Natalya asked after they made themselves comfortable, sitting by a table near the counter. She was looking at him, her face resting in one hand while holding a golden cup in the other. Her smile was expectant.
William hesitated for a moment before answering. Even if her question was meant to probe, he saw no harm in telling her. "I donno, four. Maybe five."
Natalya let out a long whistle. "You're practically a god my man. An ability like yours... I mean you should be Lord Ruler."
William said nothing, unsure of what to make of the woman's comment. Comments like those were bound to get you a beating by a Royal if heard. Natalya was either very brave, or very stupid.
"Maybe I'm being biased here but," Orion chimed in. "I believe Will could take the Lord Ruler in fight."
William shrugged. "Maybe."
The doorbells rang again, its sound heard through the soft music playing in the background.
"I thought I had a CLOSED sign on the door." Orion said.
William braced himself, expecting another Royal ambush like the one before, but relaxed after seen who it had entered. Jill. She followed by a tall looking man with brown hair.
Jill paused for a moment after noticing Natalya, then, after an awkward moment, walked over to their table, greeting William and Orion with the usual kiss to the cheek. Unlike with Natalya, William wanted Jill's touch. To Natalya, Jill just gave her a slight nod, which Natalya returned with a smile.
"I know it's only been a couple days, but I missed you." Jill said both Orion and William, winking at William, but for some reason she kept glancing towards Natalya.
"Gonna introduce your boyfriend?" Orion said, gesturing to the tall looking man that had followed Jill and was now standing back, looking like a serious businessman, hard expression and firm demeanor. But there was more to him than that.
"William, my dear, you alright?" Natalya said.
William didn't realize he had been staring at the man for an awkward amount. Whoever this man was, he wasn't a Royal, yet a familiar Aura flowed through him. An Aura that William had seen before, some nights ago when he helped his sister meet with a superhero.
"Oh, right!" Jill grabbed the man by the arm and dragged him forward. "His name's Obex." She said, then glared at Orion. "And he's not my boyfriend."
"Just a friend." The man said, nodding, then shook hands with Orion, then William. For some reason he ignored Natalya, who had decided to stay out of the interaction, yet kept watching.
"Have we met before?" William asked the man, Obex. Out of all the coincidences, this one had to be a gift from Lunam. Claudia had been looking for the Guardian of High Tier for days now, asking William to join her in her search, yet Jill had just brought the man here. What luck.
"Doubt it." Obex said, then turned to Jill. "Hey, need anything else? I'm in a hurry."
Jill shook her head. "Nope. Thanks for driving me here Obex. See you around."
Obex nodded, then left the bar, shooting William one last look before walking out the door, the doorbells ringing behind him. William was finally glad to put a face to the man who had saved his sister from Beodulf during Spectre's attack on Imperial Square. Now all he needed was deliver the good news to Claudia, then have them meet each other.
"So, what were you all doing?" Jill asked, after Obex was gone. She pointedly avoided Natalya's expectant gaze. Did they know each other or something? It was clear these was some tension between the two women.
"A lot." Orion said, preparing her a drink, using his ability to create a cup which he filled with whiskey and offered it to Jill. "Here. Got time for a chat?"
Jill raised an inquiring eyebrow at Orion, taking the cup from his hand. "Seems I have. What have you boys been hiding from me?"
Orion smiled, then told Jill everything, William jumping in for added details when necessary. Jill listened intently, sometimes she would make a nervous movement after glancing towards Natalya, who kept smiling the whole time while Orion talked about all that's happened since the Jill left the bar on Mayor Beodulf's speech day. Orion proceeded to show off his ability, materializing an empty bottle made of Aura, and explaining that he had kept his ability a secret to protect her and William. But after what had happened, he thought Jill deserved to know the truth, warning her that the Royals will return again. Probably looking for both him and William.
Jill nodded, saying she understood. She looked to William, who also told her about his ability. Even Natalya showed hers off, which made Jill very nervous. There was definitely something between them. William will have to ask Jill about it later tonight, when they were both alone, and hopefully about Obex too.
After Orion was done talking, Jill took a long sip from her drink. All in all, she seem to have taken the news well enough. She wasn't too surprised to hear her two friends had abilities. In fact, she was more shocked about Natalya's than Orion's or William's, which was odd all in of itself.
"So, beautiful, what's your ability?" Natalya asked Jill, moments after they finished their sharing session. William couldn't hide his suspicions anymore. This woman, Natalya, was more than she seemed, though he didn't know if she was dangerous or not.
Jill gave the woman nervous laugh. "Unfortunately, I'm not as lucky. I am nothing but a Commoner."
Commoner? William thought. Commoner was the term used by the Royals to refer to non-Users, people without abilities.
Natalya's searching gaze stayed on Jill for far longer than it should have, before the older woman finally shrugged then stood up. "Unfortunately indeed. Well, I have kept my promise." She turned to Orion and kissed him on the cheek, causing the normally stoic man to blush.
"I have enjoyed both your company." She added, nodding towards William before returning her attention to Orion. "I hope that your offer still stands, eh."
Orion recovered from the unexpected show of affection quickly enough, then nodded at her. "Of course. Free drinks, one month. I'll be expecting your visits often then?"
Natalya smiled and nodded. "See you soon." She waved goodbye to William and Jill then left, the doorbells ringing behind her.
"So, what now?" Jill asked, taking a sip from her drink.
"Now," Orion said. "We get the place ready to reopen tomorrow."
***
They finished tidying up the place a handful of hours later, making sure that the Calming Clam was ready to return to business the next day, them hoping that customers would start showing up and not bet deterred by the fact that there has already been two Royal fights in less than a month. Orion made sure everything was were it needed to be, asking William to arrange the tables, chairs, and the pool table. Jill did the ordering of the drinks, cleaning the cups and rearranging the bottles on the counter wall.
"I'll leave the closing to you." Orion told William. "Make sure you take Jill home afterwards." He added before walking out, leaving William and Jill alone.
William took this opportunity to ask his questions. "Hey, umm, Jill?"
"What's up?" She was currently cleaning the counter with a piece of cloth, an unnecessary act since the place was as clean as it'll get. William guessed she was trying to look busy, or perhaps nervous.
"I know this'll sound bit strange, but... about your boyfriend..."
Jill looked up suddenly. "What Obex? I told you guys already, he's not my boyfriend. I... am interested in another guy." For some reason she blushed and refused to make eye contact with William. "Anyways, what about him?"
William wasn't going to deny how glad he felt hearing say that, he found her beautiful, with blonde hair and greens eyes, he wanted nothing more than to allow his attraction towards her pull him over. Perhaps the guy she was interested in was him...
He shook his head, feeling a bit nervous himself but managing to push it aside. Thoughts for another time. "I, ugh, want you to ask him if he'll be able to meet with me in person?"
Jill raised an eyebrow, looking at him.
"Whatever you're thinking, it's not it." William added quickly. "Trust me. Let's just say he and my sister know each other and I'm concern about her, I wanna ask the guy a few questions s'all."
Jill chuckled. "There's no need to get flustered, Will. I understand, trust me. Here." She pulled out a piece of napkin paper and a pen from under the counter, then wrote a number on it, followed by an address. "You can call him on this number, and this address is his workplace. High Tier's Golden Corral."
William took the napkin hesitantly, folding into his pocket, then thanking her.
"I've gotta tell you something too." She said, after a moment's pause, her finger tracing a circle on the counter.
"What is it?"
"I'm leaving New Miami, to go see my daughter." She said. "Just for a couple of days, I'll be letting Orion know tomorrow."
William wasn't aware Jill had a daughter, first time hearing about it in fact, but he refrained from asking about it. It didn't change his feelings towards her, so instead he asked; "When do you leave?"
"In a few days, maybe?" She said, shrugging. "Depends. Want me to call you beforehand and let you know-"
"Yes!" William said, not realizing his response had come way to quick, interrupting Jill while sounding a bit desperate. "I mean... yes. Please let me know, I'll escort you to the border."
Jill looked up at him and smiled, a smile that made his cheek blush and his heart flutter. His feelings for her were unmistakable, he realized, he only wished they were mutual. he intended to find out soon.
"So... taking me home then?" She said, winking, playfully punching him on the shoulder.
William nodded, his cheeks must've been red as a tomato because Jill's smile widened, then she giggled.