The Shadow
Hero
Lela said:
I LOVE creating calendar systems! What do you want or need?
The Shadow Knows! (Final Update 6/3/04)
- Thread starter The Shadow
- Start date
I LOVE creating calendar systems! What do you want or need?
Lela
First Post
It may get a tad complicated, as there are two suns and one moon. One sun is very bright (10% brighter than ours) and only came into being two years ago. That's also the time when, essentially, another (very small) material plane crashed into this one, with most of the associated natural disasters you might expect.
The other sun isn't all that bright and not very warm. It's been around since, as far as anyone knows, the beginning of time.
The challange is that they don't exactly go across the sky together and days tend to blend together somewhat.
This is the first time I've done this so let me know what else you need.
The other sun isn't all that bright and not very warm. It's been around since, as far as anyone knows, the beginning of time.
The challange is that they don't exactly go across the sky together and days tend to blend together somewhat.
This is the first time I've done this so let me know what else you need.
The Shadow
Hero
Lela said:
I need to know quite a bit, but I'll email you so as not to clutter this thread.
The Shadow
Hero
OK, good news, bad news, and more good news. Plus news that may be very good or very bad, depending on your point of view.
Good News: SP is mostly over his sickness, which turned out to be, in the words of his doctor, "a very serious lung infection", though it wasn't pneumonia.
Bad News: He has so much to catch up with from being off his feet for a week that he can't game right now.
More Good News: He has sworn a blood oath that we will game Sunday night. And presumably also next Tuesday night.
Ambiguous News: He said the creative juices really flowed during his enforced off-time, and that he now knows much more about what the upcoming story arc will be like. Accompanying this statement with a chilling laugh. You be the judge.
Good News: SP is mostly over his sickness, which turned out to be, in the words of his doctor, "a very serious lung infection", though it wasn't pneumonia.
Bad News: He has so much to catch up with from being off his feet for a week that he can't game right now.
More Good News: He has sworn a blood oath that we will game Sunday night. And presumably also next Tuesday night.
Ambiguous News: He said the creative juices really flowed during his enforced off-time, and that he now knows much more about what the upcoming story arc will be like. Accompanying this statement with a chilling laugh. You be the judge.
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The Shadow
Hero
[Well, Gentle Readers, we didn't get our session on Sunday, all vows to the contrary... SP's hard drive chose that day to suddenly fry itself, just as he was preparing to back it up. (There are times of late when I've wondered if a higher power has it in for this game.) He lost quite a bit of notes and character sheets relating to this game.]
[Nonetheless, we soldiered on and got our first session in SIX weeks Tuesday night. It was fluffy and fairly short; we were both tired and had long days on the morrow. But hey, an update is an update, right? So, without further ado![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Alex managed to plant Jones' suitcase and other hot tech at the top of a radio tower the way Grace had suggested, but the experience was enough to alarm him about the state of the bike's health - the engine clearly was laboring to climb, making whining noises that definitely were not in the specs. "Getting this stuff down again may be interesting," he muttered to himself.
He made his way to Grace's house as agreed. He took it slow and easy, but even so arrived before her. He put the time to good use checking out a chilling thought he'd just had; but to his relief the base's comm panel reported neutrally that Carlos had not added any guests to the system, nor had anyone attempted entry. Eventually Grace drove up, with Carlos dead to the world in the passenger seat.
"Hi darlin'," she said wearily, her accent back in place. "Give me a hand with Carlos, will you?" Alex opened the door and gathered the boy's pajama-clad form into his arms with ease. "Did you have any trouble at the other end?" "No, Legion carried him for me. ... They've left, by the way." "I expected as much."
Alex carried Carlos inside and put him back to bed, taking up his seat by his side once more. Grace pulled up a chair and sat with him. After a time he asked her, "How long will he need to... well, be himself again?" Grace sighed. "It's hard to say at this point, Alex. A few days, at the very least. Possibly weeks." "But not months?" "I doubt it. Two months at the outside. He's a strong young man." "Of course he is," Alex replied bitterly. "He's had to be, just to survive." She nodded, saying nothing.
"How long are you willing to put him up? I need to check out the base to make sure it's safe." "I'll be around until Wednesday - I have Thanksgiving plans elsewhere. He's welcome to stay until then, if need be." "Thank you." "Don't mention it."
Alex stared moodily into Carlos' sleeping face. Finally, he said, "Grace..." She looked startled at the tension in his voice. "What?" "How am I going to tell David about him? How do I tell him without hurting him?" Grace's eyes widened as the situation dawned on her. "Oh my." "Yes." She thought about it. "Well, how long have you been 'hiding' Carlos from him?" "I wasn't explicitly hiding him, it was more that I don't talk about the Shadow with him at all." "Yes, but how long?" "Eight months or so."
She went on, "And how long have you realized that Carlos was more to you than an associate?" Alex thought it over, then replied, "...A few days." Grace nodded. "Make that fact very clear to David. It's not like you have been keeping this relationship a secret from him for a long time." "How can I even broach the subject without hurting him?" She responded bluntly, "You can't. But pain is a part of growing up; he'll survive. ... To be sure, some ways of bringing it up are more hurtful than others. I don't recommend starting with, 'Oh, by the way, David, the Shadow has a surrogate son.'" Alex winced. "What do you suggest?" "The truth, with enough of a cushion that you don't add shock to the mix. Reaffirm his own place in your life. More than that, I can't really tell you."
Alex sighed. "It helps, thank you. How long should I wait on breaking the news?" "I'd tell him when he gets back. But I'd wait until Carlos is more stable - at least a week or two - before introducing them. It won't happen by Thanksgiving, I'm afraid." At his nod, she went on, "The wait will give David time to get used to the idea. With any luck, you'll be able to keep them from each others' throats." "'Each other'? I can see why David would be upset, but why would Carlos be?" She shrugged one of her patented languid models. "Unless David has changed since the last time I knew him, he has some personality traits that will drive Carlos crazy." "Oh."
After another moody interval, he asked quietly, "Did Jones do anything to him that you didn't tell me?" She responded quietly, "Not really. I spared you some of the little details, but you know everything important. Johnson... was a monster." Alex shot her a piercing glance. "Was he?" "All right. To be more precise, Johnson's behavior was monstrous." He nodded. "That... and a number of other things... is troubling me a good deal." She arched a brow curiously at him, but he told her, "I'm not ready to talk about it yet." "All right." They chatted a while about inconsequentials; after a time Alex said, "I should make a few calls." "Be my guest."
He tried Harvey first, and got him this time. "Harvey, it's Shadwell." "Well, Mr. Shadwell, good to hear from you! It's been a while." The exaggerated good cheer suggested that Harvey's wife was listening. "I called yesterday to let you know that I'd had a security breach, but it seems to be mostly taken care of now." "That's good to hear!" "I also wanted to know anything you can tell me about the cop-kidnappings over the last couple days." "Yes, I've heard of those; but I'm afraid I don't know much. I've been kinda out of the loop the last few days." Alex asked, concerned, "Yes, your wife said you were having some sort of procedure done. Are you OK?" "Well, I've been off my feet for a bit, but the doc says I should be right as rain in a week or so." "That's good to hear. I'll be in touch." He wished Harvey good health and hung up. After shooting off an email to Mike arranging a meeting at nine (at the Shadow's "home" computer, to assure him the message was authentic) Alex decided to give David another try.
The phone was answered on the first ring. "Hello??" "Hello son... I survived." David managed to hide most of his relief: "Well, I figured as much, given that you're talking to me. What's the situation like now?" "Much improved. I need a little time to investigate and verify that everything is as it seems, but right now it looks like you'll be able to come home this weekend." "Cool! That's good to know. Do you want me to make the arrangements and everything?" "It can't hurt." "Um. It's the weekend before Thanksgiving. That'll make it harder, won't it?" "...Good point, yes it will. It may not be possible to get a plane; you may have to take the bus." The short silence that followed was distinctly unenthusiastic. "Well, I guess. But maybe I can take the bus into town where there's a train station and do things that way? I don't want to take a bus that far." "I leave it in your hands, David." "Should I work it all out today?" "Give me a day to check everything out first. I'll call you tomorrow morning." "Got it."
"Where were you yesterday, by the way? I couldn't reach you." This time the short pause was a little squirmy. "Uh, well, I... There wasn't much in the way of good reading material around here..." Alex, knowing his son, inquired coolly, "Yes?" "...And I saw a couple cool-looking games..." "Go on." "...I bought a laptop yesterday to play them on. I didn't take the cell with me, sorry." "Hmm. How much did you spend?" David named a figure that, while definitely not bargain-basement, was also not extravagant. "I see." Before David could interject something defensive, Alex continued, "And what do you plan to do with this laptop?" "Bring it home and use it."
Alex nodded and feigned surprise: "Well, what do you know! Christmas came early this year!" "Ow! Well, I guess that's fair." "There is one condition, though." Warily, "What?" Alex activated his Parental Command Voice and spake, "There Will Be no pornography kept on that computer." "Yes sir," David sulked back at him. (They'd had a major blowup the year before about David viewing Internet porn on the family computer. After a few months of tightly-restricted access - and paying the ISP bills - he seemed to have broken the habit.)
"Is there anything else, David?" "No, I think that's everything." "All right. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you, son." "Yeah, Dad. Take care!"
When Alex entered the bedroom again and took up his seat, Grace asked him, "Aren't you going in to work today?" "I'll go in later. I don't want him to wake up here by himself." Grace started to look very indignant, but he cut her off ruthlessly. "It has nothing to do with you, Grace, or whether I trust you or not. It has everything to do with me, and him, and the fact that I love him, and that I want to be here when he wakes up." Her face softened, despite his brusque tone. "All right, Alex. I understand." "How much longer should he sleep?" "Another hour or so. I'll leave the two of you alone for a bit." She suited actions to words, and Alex wrestled for a time with all comers in the ring of his mind.
He was busy throttling a big bruiser of a worry when Carlos stirred and his grip tightened on Alex's hand. Round, set, match. Alex squeezed back. The boy's eyes opened and he stared up at the ceiling before asking in that strangely distant, groggy voice, "Where am I?" "Grace's house, Carlos. You don't remember?" "Oh... Right. It's the same place." "Yes. How are you feeling?" "Weird, sir. And my head hurts." "I'm just glad you're in one piece." "Do you need me at the computer tonight?" (This said in ludicrous contrast with the feebleness of his tone and the limpness of his posture.) Alex told him firmly, "No, Carlos." "OK... I guess I'm not quite up to it yet. But don't worry, in a couple days I'll be good as ever and back on the job!"
Alex's tone firmed enough to scratch diamond. "No, Carlos. You won't be." He paused just long enough for the thought to register, then continued before the shock and panic hit. "I have an assignment for you." Carlos' relief was palpable. "Sure, sir! What is it?" Alex poked him in the chest. "You are ordered to get completely well before working again. That means getting plenty of rest and taking care of yourself."
The ghost of a smile haunted Carlos' lips for a moment, and with a trace of his old humor he said, "Yeah yeah, I get it. And if I don't... you'll know." Alex grinned at him. "Don't I always? It's part of the job description." They chuckled together for a moment, then Alex noted briskly, "We have some very important things to talk about. Do you want to get into it now, or would you rather have a shower and some breakfast first?" "Definitely breakfast." "That can be arranged. Do you need a hand?" "No sir, I can get up." With a couple tries, he managed, shakily. "What would you like to eat?" "Lots! ... And painkillers. My head is starting to really hurt." "All right."
Alex was leaving when Carlos looked down at himself and realized something. With an edge in his voice that Alex didn't fully understand, he asked, "Where are my clothes?!" "In the dresser, I imagine. I grabbed a few of your clothes on the way here, but I'm not sure just where Grace put them." "...Oh." "Is everything OK?" "Yeah." The boy headed into the bathroom, and was still splashing water on his face and staring at himself blearily in the mirror when Alex brought him bottles of Grace's Tylenol and Advil. Carlos accepted them gratefully and promptly swallowed two of each. He did seem to be in considerable pain; at any rate it was there to see on his face.
Going back into the kitchen, Alex designed a breakfast for double occupants and constructed it with a large fraction of Grace's eatables. Carlos wandered in, freshened up but still pajama-clad, and proceeded to inhale it all. "Ahhh. That' s much better, sir." "Good. Are you ready to discuss the important stuff now?" "Sure." "Excellent. Stand up."
Carlos obeyed, looking puzzled. Then he froze in shock when Alex hugged him tightly and said with fierce intensity, "I love you." Carlos returned the embrace gently, hesitantly, almost as if afraid it might not be real; he mumbled something that might have been, "I love you too," against Alex's chest. They stood that way for a long time, then parted. Carlos was visibly struggling with a whole gamut of emotions, while Alex was overcome with deja vu. Alex told him gently, "This was actually the second time. You don't remember the first one." The boy's face twisted and he looked away for a long moment.
When he looked back, Alex met his eyes and told him quietly, "The man who hurt you is dead. His name was Richard Jones." Carlos nodded, saying nothing. "He had a lot to answer for." Carlos nodded again and closed his eyes. Alex squeezed his shoulder. After a time he added, "Torrance is dead too." Carlos managed a weak chuckle. "Sounds like it was quite a night." "Yes. It was."
"What about Legion? Are they really good guys now?" "I don't know that I'd go that far, but they are allies, yes. And they certainly aren't a rampaging monster any more." "So who's the big bad guy now?" "In the short run, nobody I know of at this time. In the long run, probably the Overmind Project." "We've got a bit of a breather then." "It would seem so, though I need to make sure that Jones didn't leave behind any information that can hurt us."
A bit plaintively, "When can I work with you again, sir?" "When you're well, Carlos. We're not sure just how long that will take, but it will happen." "I feel like I could be up to it again soon..." "Were you 'up to it' all the time even before all this?" "What do you mean, sir?"
Alex sighed. He hadn't meant to bring it up just yet, but... "Carlos, have you been hiding things from me?" The boy blinked and repeated, "What do you mean, sir?" "Just what I said." "I... I don't think so, sir... Why do you ask?" "How much caffeine do you drink in a day to keep up your schedule?" "Well, some. I drink some pop." "How much is 'some'?" "Oh, you know, a couple bottles." "How big of bottles, Carlos?" Carlos made a vague gesture that might encompass anything from twenty ounces to two liters. "You know, sir. Bottles." "I don't recall seeing any of these bottles." "Well, I recycle them, you know." Though ostensibly calm, Carlos was starting to look increasingly flustered. "You drink coffee too?" "Yeah... a couple cups in the morning, to wake up." His voice was starting to crack.
Grace, who had started to come in during these last few sentences, made some urgent 'back off' gestures to Alex from behind Carlos' back, looking alarmed. But Alex had already figured it out for himself, and said soothingly to the now-visibly nerve-wracked young man, "I'm not angry with you, Carlos, and I think you do a very good job. It's just that I love you, and I want you stay healthy. We'll talk about it later, OK?" Carlos nodded shakily. "OK, sir."
Grace then made a point of coming in audibly for Carlos' benefit. "Carlos, it's time we checked out how you're doing inside." Carlos immediately looked anxiously over to Alex for permission or perhaps reassurance. Alex nodded firmly, and the boy moved toward her docilely. She gestured to the next room and teased, "Come along, Mr. Castaneda!" That caused Carlos to send another bewildered look Alex's way, imploring him with the unasked question, Did you tell her...? Grace laughed and said, "Now, Carlos. I'm your doctor - the doctor of your mind. I pick up these little things." Alex told him quietly, "She was the only one I knew of who could help you, Carlos. We nearly lost you." Carlos nodded numbly and went along with Grace, visibly shaken.
While they were busy, Alex got ready for work to steady his own nerves. Then he waited impassively, as opposed to patiently. After an interminable interval, Grace came back in, a bewildered and upset-looking Carlos trailing behind. "We've made a good start. Carlos, the Shadow needs to go to work now, so now's the time to say goodbye." (She used the same patient, bright tone on him that people use with little children and pets.)
The young man stood there for a moment, unsure, then stuck out his hand hesitantly. "Goodbye, sir. Have a good day." Alex shook his hand firmly. "Thanks son, you too!" He got only a glimpse of the shocked pleasure blossoming on Carlos' face as he turned away, smiling slightly to himself.
Then Grace had to go and spoil it. "I'll be right back, Carlos, I need to lock the door after the Shadow." She followed him to the door and touched his arm, sending, It's worse than I thought. He's badly wounded. Alex sighed, slumping. He will heal? Yes. How long? It's still hard to say. But I'm more inclined to 'weeks' now, rather than 'days'. Alex nodded. I should get back to him, or he'll get suspicious and fret. Thank you for all your work, Grace.
With that, he made his way to work under a cloud. "Another day in the adventures of Superman," he muttered bitterly. "Defender of truth, justice, and the American way."
[The last thing Carlos would have remembered saying to Alex was his 'joke', "Thanks Dad, you too!", so that little moment near the end was quite deliberately planned by both me and Alex.]
[Funny how long this game turned out in writing. It was a fairly packed session. I find that RP-heavy sessions are like that, while combat - though it takes time to resolve in-game - ends up more compact in written form.]
[Anyway, SP says that barring further acts of God, he'll call for further gaming on either Thursday or Sunday to make up for the long hiatus. Possibly even both, though I'm not to count on that. So you may be getting more updates quite soon, imagine that.]
[Nonetheless, we soldiered on and got our first session in SIX weeks Tuesday night. It was fluffy and fairly short; we were both tired and had long days on the morrow. But hey, an update is an update, right?
So, without further adoAlex managed to plant Jones' suitcase and other hot tech at the top of a radio tower the way Grace had suggested, but the experience was enough to alarm him about the state of the bike's health - the engine clearly was laboring to climb, making whining noises that definitely were not in the specs. "Getting this stuff down again may be interesting," he muttered to himself.
He made his way to Grace's house as agreed. He took it slow and easy, but even so arrived before her. He put the time to good use checking out a chilling thought he'd just had; but to his relief the base's comm panel reported neutrally that Carlos had not added any guests to the system, nor had anyone attempted entry. Eventually Grace drove up, with Carlos dead to the world in the passenger seat.
"Hi darlin'," she said wearily, her accent back in place. "Give me a hand with Carlos, will you?" Alex opened the door and gathered the boy's pajama-clad form into his arms with ease. "Did you have any trouble at the other end?" "No, Legion carried him for me. ... They've left, by the way." "I expected as much."
Alex carried Carlos inside and put him back to bed, taking up his seat by his side once more. Grace pulled up a chair and sat with him. After a time he asked her, "How long will he need to... well, be himself again?" Grace sighed. "It's hard to say at this point, Alex. A few days, at the very least. Possibly weeks." "But not months?" "I doubt it. Two months at the outside. He's a strong young man." "Of course he is," Alex replied bitterly. "He's had to be, just to survive." She nodded, saying nothing.
"How long are you willing to put him up? I need to check out the base to make sure it's safe." "I'll be around until Wednesday - I have Thanksgiving plans elsewhere. He's welcome to stay until then, if need be." "Thank you." "Don't mention it."
Alex stared moodily into Carlos' sleeping face. Finally, he said, "Grace..." She looked startled at the tension in his voice. "What?" "How am I going to tell David about him? How do I tell him without hurting him?" Grace's eyes widened as the situation dawned on her. "Oh my." "Yes." She thought about it. "Well, how long have you been 'hiding' Carlos from him?" "I wasn't explicitly hiding him, it was more that I don't talk about the Shadow with him at all." "Yes, but how long?" "Eight months or so."
She went on, "And how long have you realized that Carlos was more to you than an associate?" Alex thought it over, then replied, "...A few days." Grace nodded. "Make that fact very clear to David. It's not like you have been keeping this relationship a secret from him for a long time." "How can I even broach the subject without hurting him?" She responded bluntly, "You can't. But pain is a part of growing up; he'll survive. ... To be sure, some ways of bringing it up are more hurtful than others. I don't recommend starting with, 'Oh, by the way, David, the Shadow has a surrogate son.'" Alex winced. "What do you suggest?" "The truth, with enough of a cushion that you don't add shock to the mix. Reaffirm his own place in your life. More than that, I can't really tell you."
Alex sighed. "It helps, thank you. How long should I wait on breaking the news?" "I'd tell him when he gets back. But I'd wait until Carlos is more stable - at least a week or two - before introducing them. It won't happen by Thanksgiving, I'm afraid." At his nod, she went on, "The wait will give David time to get used to the idea. With any luck, you'll be able to keep them from each others' throats." "'Each other'? I can see why David would be upset, but why would Carlos be?" She shrugged one of her patented languid models. "Unless David has changed since the last time I knew him, he has some personality traits that will drive Carlos crazy." "Oh."
After another moody interval, he asked quietly, "Did Jones do anything to him that you didn't tell me?" She responded quietly, "Not really. I spared you some of the little details, but you know everything important. Johnson... was a monster." Alex shot her a piercing glance. "Was he?" "All right. To be more precise, Johnson's behavior was monstrous." He nodded. "That... and a number of other things... is troubling me a good deal." She arched a brow curiously at him, but he told her, "I'm not ready to talk about it yet." "All right." They chatted a while about inconsequentials; after a time Alex said, "I should make a few calls." "Be my guest."
He tried Harvey first, and got him this time. "Harvey, it's Shadwell." "Well, Mr. Shadwell, good to hear from you! It's been a while." The exaggerated good cheer suggested that Harvey's wife was listening. "I called yesterday to let you know that I'd had a security breach, but it seems to be mostly taken care of now." "That's good to hear!" "I also wanted to know anything you can tell me about the cop-kidnappings over the last couple days." "Yes, I've heard of those; but I'm afraid I don't know much. I've been kinda out of the loop the last few days." Alex asked, concerned, "Yes, your wife said you were having some sort of procedure done. Are you OK?" "Well, I've been off my feet for a bit, but the doc says I should be right as rain in a week or so." "That's good to hear. I'll be in touch." He wished Harvey good health and hung up. After shooting off an email to Mike arranging a meeting at nine (at the Shadow's "home" computer, to assure him the message was authentic) Alex decided to give David another try.
The phone was answered on the first ring. "Hello??" "Hello son... I survived." David managed to hide most of his relief: "Well, I figured as much, given that you're talking to me. What's the situation like now?" "Much improved. I need a little time to investigate and verify that everything is as it seems, but right now it looks like you'll be able to come home this weekend." "Cool! That's good to know. Do you want me to make the arrangements and everything?" "It can't hurt." "Um. It's the weekend before Thanksgiving. That'll make it harder, won't it?" "...Good point, yes it will. It may not be possible to get a plane; you may have to take the bus." The short silence that followed was distinctly unenthusiastic. "Well, I guess. But maybe I can take the bus into town where there's a train station and do things that way? I don't want to take a bus that far." "I leave it in your hands, David." "Should I work it all out today?" "Give me a day to check everything out first. I'll call you tomorrow morning." "Got it."
"Where were you yesterday, by the way? I couldn't reach you." This time the short pause was a little squirmy. "Uh, well, I... There wasn't much in the way of good reading material around here..." Alex, knowing his son, inquired coolly, "Yes?" "...And I saw a couple cool-looking games..." "Go on." "...I bought a laptop yesterday to play them on. I didn't take the cell with me, sorry." "Hmm. How much did you spend?" David named a figure that, while definitely not bargain-basement, was also not extravagant. "I see." Before David could interject something defensive, Alex continued, "And what do you plan to do with this laptop?" "Bring it home and use it."
Alex nodded and feigned surprise: "Well, what do you know! Christmas came early this year!" "Ow! Well, I guess that's fair." "There is one condition, though." Warily, "What?" Alex activated his Parental Command Voice and spake, "There Will Be no pornography kept on that computer." "Yes sir," David sulked back at him. (They'd had a major blowup the year before about David viewing Internet porn on the family computer. After a few months of tightly-restricted access - and paying the ISP bills - he seemed to have broken the habit.)
"Is there anything else, David?" "No, I think that's everything." "All right. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you, son." "Yeah, Dad. Take care!"
When Alex entered the bedroom again and took up his seat, Grace asked him, "Aren't you going in to work today?" "I'll go in later. I don't want him to wake up here by himself." Grace started to look very indignant, but he cut her off ruthlessly. "It has nothing to do with you, Grace, or whether I trust you or not. It has everything to do with me, and him, and the fact that I love him, and that I want to be here when he wakes up." Her face softened, despite his brusque tone. "All right, Alex. I understand." "How much longer should he sleep?" "Another hour or so. I'll leave the two of you alone for a bit." She suited actions to words, and Alex wrestled for a time with all comers in the ring of his mind.
He was busy throttling a big bruiser of a worry when Carlos stirred and his grip tightened on Alex's hand. Round, set, match. Alex squeezed back. The boy's eyes opened and he stared up at the ceiling before asking in that strangely distant, groggy voice, "Where am I?" "Grace's house, Carlos. You don't remember?" "Oh... Right. It's the same place." "Yes. How are you feeling?" "Weird, sir. And my head hurts." "I'm just glad you're in one piece." "Do you need me at the computer tonight?" (This said in ludicrous contrast with the feebleness of his tone and the limpness of his posture.) Alex told him firmly, "No, Carlos." "OK... I guess I'm not quite up to it yet. But don't worry, in a couple days I'll be good as ever and back on the job!"
Alex's tone firmed enough to scratch diamond. "No, Carlos. You won't be." He paused just long enough for the thought to register, then continued before the shock and panic hit. "I have an assignment for you." Carlos' relief was palpable. "Sure, sir! What is it?" Alex poked him in the chest. "You are ordered to get completely well before working again. That means getting plenty of rest and taking care of yourself."
The ghost of a smile haunted Carlos' lips for a moment, and with a trace of his old humor he said, "Yeah yeah, I get it. And if I don't... you'll know." Alex grinned at him. "Don't I always? It's part of the job description." They chuckled together for a moment, then Alex noted briskly, "We have some very important things to talk about. Do you want to get into it now, or would you rather have a shower and some breakfast first?" "Definitely breakfast." "That can be arranged. Do you need a hand?" "No sir, I can get up." With a couple tries, he managed, shakily. "What would you like to eat?" "Lots! ... And painkillers. My head is starting to really hurt." "All right."
Alex was leaving when Carlos looked down at himself and realized something. With an edge in his voice that Alex didn't fully understand, he asked, "Where are my clothes?!" "In the dresser, I imagine. I grabbed a few of your clothes on the way here, but I'm not sure just where Grace put them." "...Oh." "Is everything OK?" "Yeah." The boy headed into the bathroom, and was still splashing water on his face and staring at himself blearily in the mirror when Alex brought him bottles of Grace's Tylenol and Advil. Carlos accepted them gratefully and promptly swallowed two of each. He did seem to be in considerable pain; at any rate it was there to see on his face.
Going back into the kitchen, Alex designed a breakfast for double occupants and constructed it with a large fraction of Grace's eatables. Carlos wandered in, freshened up but still pajama-clad, and proceeded to inhale it all. "Ahhh. That' s much better, sir." "Good. Are you ready to discuss the important stuff now?" "Sure." "Excellent. Stand up."
Carlos obeyed, looking puzzled. Then he froze in shock when Alex hugged him tightly and said with fierce intensity, "I love you." Carlos returned the embrace gently, hesitantly, almost as if afraid it might not be real; he mumbled something that might have been, "I love you too," against Alex's chest. They stood that way for a long time, then parted. Carlos was visibly struggling with a whole gamut of emotions, while Alex was overcome with deja vu. Alex told him gently, "This was actually the second time. You don't remember the first one." The boy's face twisted and he looked away for a long moment.
When he looked back, Alex met his eyes and told him quietly, "The man who hurt you is dead. His name was Richard Jones." Carlos nodded, saying nothing. "He had a lot to answer for." Carlos nodded again and closed his eyes. Alex squeezed his shoulder. After a time he added, "Torrance is dead too." Carlos managed a weak chuckle. "Sounds like it was quite a night." "Yes. It was."
"What about Legion? Are they really good guys now?" "I don't know that I'd go that far, but they are allies, yes. And they certainly aren't a rampaging monster any more." "So who's the big bad guy now?" "In the short run, nobody I know of at this time. In the long run, probably the Overmind Project." "We've got a bit of a breather then." "It would seem so, though I need to make sure that Jones didn't leave behind any information that can hurt us."
A bit plaintively, "When can I work with you again, sir?" "When you're well, Carlos. We're not sure just how long that will take, but it will happen." "I feel like I could be up to it again soon..." "Were you 'up to it' all the time even before all this?" "What do you mean, sir?"
Alex sighed. He hadn't meant to bring it up just yet, but... "Carlos, have you been hiding things from me?" The boy blinked and repeated, "What do you mean, sir?" "Just what I said." "I... I don't think so, sir... Why do you ask?" "How much caffeine do you drink in a day to keep up your schedule?" "Well, some. I drink some pop." "How much is 'some'?" "Oh, you know, a couple bottles." "How big of bottles, Carlos?" Carlos made a vague gesture that might encompass anything from twenty ounces to two liters. "You know, sir. Bottles." "I don't recall seeing any of these bottles." "Well, I recycle them, you know." Though ostensibly calm, Carlos was starting to look increasingly flustered. "You drink coffee too?" "Yeah... a couple cups in the morning, to wake up." His voice was starting to crack.
Grace, who had started to come in during these last few sentences, made some urgent 'back off' gestures to Alex from behind Carlos' back, looking alarmed. But Alex had already figured it out for himself, and said soothingly to the now-visibly nerve-wracked young man, "I'm not angry with you, Carlos, and I think you do a very good job. It's just that I love you, and I want you stay healthy. We'll talk about it later, OK?" Carlos nodded shakily. "OK, sir."
Grace then made a point of coming in audibly for Carlos' benefit. "Carlos, it's time we checked out how you're doing inside." Carlos immediately looked anxiously over to Alex for permission or perhaps reassurance. Alex nodded firmly, and the boy moved toward her docilely. She gestured to the next room and teased, "Come along, Mr. Castaneda!" That caused Carlos to send another bewildered look Alex's way, imploring him with the unasked question, Did you tell her...? Grace laughed and said, "Now, Carlos. I'm your doctor - the doctor of your mind. I pick up these little things." Alex told him quietly, "She was the only one I knew of who could help you, Carlos. We nearly lost you." Carlos nodded numbly and went along with Grace, visibly shaken.
While they were busy, Alex got ready for work to steady his own nerves. Then he waited impassively, as opposed to patiently. After an interminable interval, Grace came back in, a bewildered and upset-looking Carlos trailing behind. "We've made a good start. Carlos, the Shadow needs to go to work now, so now's the time to say goodbye." (She used the same patient, bright tone on him that people use with little children and pets.)
The young man stood there for a moment, unsure, then stuck out his hand hesitantly. "Goodbye, sir. Have a good day." Alex shook his hand firmly. "Thanks son, you too!" He got only a glimpse of the shocked pleasure blossoming on Carlos' face as he turned away, smiling slightly to himself.
Then Grace had to go and spoil it. "I'll be right back, Carlos, I need to lock the door after the Shadow." She followed him to the door and touched his arm, sending, It's worse than I thought. He's badly wounded. Alex sighed, slumping. He will heal? Yes. How long? It's still hard to say. But I'm more inclined to 'weeks' now, rather than 'days'. Alex nodded. I should get back to him, or he'll get suspicious and fret. Thank you for all your work, Grace.
With that, he made his way to work under a cloud. "Another day in the adventures of Superman," he muttered bitterly. "Defender of truth, justice, and the American way."
[The last thing Carlos would have remembered saying to Alex was his 'joke', "Thanks Dad, you too!", so that little moment near the end was quite deliberately planned by both me and Alex.]
[Funny how long this game turned out in writing. It was a fairly packed session. I find that RP-heavy sessions are like that, while combat - though it takes time to resolve in-game - ends up more compact in written form.]
[Anyway, SP says that barring further acts of God, he'll call for further gaming on either Thursday or Sunday to make up for the long hiatus. Possibly even both, though I'm not to count on that. So you may be getting more updates quite soon, imagine that.]
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thatdarncat
Overlord of Chat
hey, did I get here before anyone else replied? COOL!
Great read, great characters and VERY interesting story.
Great read, great characters and VERY interesting story.
The Shadow
Hero
thatdarncat said:
Thanks much, you darn cat you.
Always glad to meet a new reader. Stop on by again!And sheesh, what is it with kittens? On this board, there's someone with a kitten in a dryer. On the M&M board, there's a guy who keeps talking about his Orbital Kitten Impeller.
GreyShadow
Explorer
Great stuff!
I take it that the Shadow will be buying a dog in the next installment?
I take it that the Shadow will be buying a dog in the next installment?
Lela
First Post
Congrats Thatdarncat, with e-mail notification down I've been rather EN-impared whilst starting my new classes (holy crap, how can 6 block credits be this hard?).
Shadow, way to hold onto Carlos. Don't let those sons of motherless billy goats take anything that special away from you.
Speaking of which, I am curious, any idea of what kind of damage Grace has found? Memory and emotion certainly but is there any additional detail you found/figured out?
Shadow, way to hold onto Carlos. Don't let those sons of motherless billy goats take anything that special away from you.
Speaking of which, I am curious, any idea of what kind of damage Grace has found? Memory and emotion certainly but is there any additional detail you found/figured out?
