“It’s nice to meet you guys, too. I’ve heard a lot about all of you, and it’s good to have faces to match the names, finally,” Vivienne smiled.
“I hope none of it’s too bad,” Dappur joked.
Everyone finishes making their introductions, with V dapping up Doug and Raf. If it wasn’t clear to begin with, now they understand that I’m not Vivienne’s type. Vivienne takes Dapper’s place and gets ready to face off against Violet. Two of the strongest Neuvohumans in Quinstin are about to meet, not on the battlefield, but at a frat party, playing air hockey. Both women are insanely competitive. I’m sure this won’t become a problem.
From the first hit, I can tell that both of them are trying way too hard to win. The concept of competitiveness has never been something I fully understood. Evaluating your own worth by comparing it against others seems pointless. It might be because I lack a sense of self; I am what I am, regardless of what others do. Tramp’s pride hasn’t done anything to instill competitiveness in me, either. I don’t need to compete or compare; I know I’m superior. The only person with a claim to be better than me is Technologica, and she has a nearly two-hundred-year head start. If anything, her lack of progress shows her inferiority. I would’ve solved her problems by now.
When I focus back on my surroundings, I see both of them still going at it. Violet has an expressionless look of concentration. Vivienne is the exact opposite, her face as expressive as possible. Every bad swipe causes a slight frown that transforms into a smile whenever she gets the puck past Violet. The display above the table shows they’re tied at four apiece. The next person to score will be the winner. Vivienne smashes the puck off both her walls back and forth, trying to trip Violet up. She rockets her paddle forward, and I can already tell that V has won. She came out on top in their first interaction. It isn’t a fight, but she’ll be happy regardless. But Violet’s hand moves fast, too fast for a regular person, and blocks her shot. She counterattacks immediately, and it slams into Vivienne’s goal. It wasn’t too obvious, but anyone who knew about Virtue would know that she had just used her powers. Vivienne looks pissed. But to her credit, she relaxes her face. She smiles and then falls to her knees against the table, reaching up toward the ceiling.
“Noooooo. I thought I had that. Good game, Violet,” Vivienne said, offering her hand.
The others look awkward at the interaction. They know she just cheated, using her powers to cheat at air hockey, of all things. Pathetic.
“Good game. It was a close one,” Violet said stiffly.
“Yeah, a real close one,” Dappur smirked as the two girls shook hands.
“I’m sure you two could use a drink after that. I know I need a refill,” Raf said, holding up his empty cup.
“Hear! Hear!” Aubrey cheered.
The seven of us make our way toward one of the keg setups, with Vivienne making a point to talk to everyone. Violet dips behind so that we’re walking side by side.
“I didn’t know you had a trainer,” Violet said. “I mean, it’s obvious looking at you. But what kind of training is it?”
How very forward of her. She’s the polar opposite of Maria.
“Self-defense,” I answered—no point in lying.
“She’s teaching you how to fight?” Violet asked, seemingly shocked. “Why?”
“Relax, it’s not like I’m prepping to go out and be a vigilante. It just happens to be a phenomenal form of exercise, and it’s practical.”
“You’re right. More people should know how to defend themselves. Especially given the state of the world,” she said.
“I know what you mean. You never know what might happen when you run into a Neuvohuman. They’re unpredictable and dangerous,” I said, looking down at the floor.
How will you react, Virtue?
“Not all Neuvohumans are dangerous. There’s the BNA and the Heroes’ Union and other Cape groups,” she said, pushing back slightly.
“You sound like Aubrey. It’s been proven that a Cape’s presence in a city has an almost alluring effect on Cowls. And that creates a boiling pot that spills over to the civilians. But I don’t want to have another Ethics debate; I want to drink and have fun,” I said, moving up to where Vivienne was helping Dappur do a kegstand.
“Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go,” the rest of the group cheered.
Vivienne and Raf help Dappur back to the ground, and he lets out a huge burp.
“I’M UNSTOPPABLE!” Dappur shouted.
I grab a second beer and down it quickly. I’ll need to catch up with the rest of them. I spot a girl behind a tiki bar pouring shots, and I head over. She has wavy auburn hair that she keeps blowing off her face as she tries to open a bottle of liquor. As I get closer, I notice it’s Dicerno. I never got to try that at the last party I went to. She’s got a shorter cerulean dress on that shows off a lot of skin; I can tell she’s confident. She’s on the shorter side, maybe five-one, and curvy. She’s got glitter going across the bridge of her nose, and I can see a couple of tattoos of all kinds of aquatic life scattered over her arms.
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“You need help with that?” I asked.
“No, go away. I don’t need your help,” she said dismissively.
“You sure? Seems a little stuck,” Vivienne said.
She must have walked up when she saw me over here. With how loud the music is and the persistent weed smoke lingering overhead like smog, it’s no surprise I didn’t notice her. The girl looks at Vivienne, and her eyes go wide as she blushes.
“You don’t mind helping me?”
“For a beautiful woman? I’d be happy to,” V answered.
Vivienne steps around the counter to assist her. The smaller girl is practically fawning over her, and she's making a point to assert her assets. Vivienne gets the bottle open for her and pours them both a shot. The disgusting piece inside of me has me entranced as I watch the two women flirt—the music thumping as they knock back a shot and start dancing. I tear my eyes away. I wish my power knew what personality piece I would get before I took it. The fact that it can affect my desire or lack thereof so severely is something I need to watch out for.
I grab the Dicerno bottle from the counter and take a long drink. Despite the cool temperature of the liquid, a burning sensation fills my mouth and throat. Warmth spreads throughout my chest, and I take another drink. Marcus and the rest of them were right; this is fantastic. I smack my lips and continue sipping, wandering away from my group.
______________________________________________________________________
I stumbled forward, the sounds of the party fading. Where am I? I must’ve blacked out. I haven't seen anyone in, well, I don't know how long it's been. My hand presses against the wall in an attempt to keep me upright as I try to get outside for some fresh air. The room spins, and I can't seem to keep track of my feet. Alcohol is pretty great.
My quest finds success when I walk into a glass patio door. Ow. I'm so close to freedom. I fumble around with the handle and almost drop my bottle. That wouldn't be good. The door slides open, and I step out onto a balcony with some chairs and a table full of empty beers. I guess I'm on the second floor.
The white plastic chair beckons to me, and I plop down into it. My legs thank me, and I close my eyes as I lean back. The night air feels amazing, the slight chill contrasting with how warm my face feels. The party must be over or winding down; I can't hear any music or people outside. My bottle is almost empty, but I feel quite full. One last swig finishes it off, and I put it on the table next to me. I can't believe I was ever against drinking. All in all, this party wasn't too bad, especially compared to the last one I went to.
I have no idea where Vivienne or the others went, I don't even know what time it is. My phone is dead, and the screen is black when I check it. I slide it back into my pocket and relax. There's nothing I can do right now except take a nap and wait to sober up. Right now, when I’m alone, I can relax my face and stop pretending. My moniker truly fits me: Nobody, a blank slate of a person, an empty frame featuring a faceless creature. I rest my eyes for a moment.
“That's him.”
Before I can turn around to see who's talking, I hear several footsteps and then feel liquid splash onto my head. My sleeve soaks up most of what smells like beer as I wipe my face. What the fuck. A hand on my hoodie yanks me out of the plastic chair and through the sliding door. Despite my swimming vision, I can clearly see three guys standing around me. One of them looks angry, but I don't recognize them. The alcohol seems to be having a bit of an effect on me. The sudden violence has a slight sobering effect on me. How long was I out for?
“This motherfucker tried to punk me in front of Kayla,” the guy who grabbed me said.
It’s dark in the room, but I’m pretty sure this is some kind of common area in the house. There’s a pool table, bean bags, a wall-mounted flat-screen TV, and a bunch of high-top tables. Despite the beer soaking into my hoodie, I’m quite comfortable lying down on the carpet in here. It’s nice and soft.
“Get him up, pledges,” the guy said.
The other two guys lift me off the ground, and I finally figure out who the guy yelling at me is. It’s that douche who bumped into me earlier. My rest, however long that it was, combined with the cool night, is accelerating the rate at which I’m sobering up. The alcohol is still muddling my senses, but I’m not too drunk to understand what they’re trying to do here. The first guy grabs my face, glaring at me.
“Apologize for being a dick.”
“What?” I asked.
The guy lets go, and I let out a yawn as he stomps away. The angry frat boy comes back and throws a drink in my face. The cold liquid gets in my eyes, and some goes up my nose. It actually is helping wake me up, but I can feel my patience wearing thin. I cough as some of the beer goes down the back of my nose. The reality that he’s put his hands on me and poured two beers on me is making it very hard not to hurt him. Now I’m pissed off. Punch’s personality piece is basically screaming in my ear to respond violently.
“Just apologize, and we don't have to take this any further,” he said.
“Hey, Todd, this feels kinda messed up,” the guy on my left said.
“Yeah, you already got back at him. He’s soaked in beer. You know the University’s policy on bullying. I can’t get kicked out,” the guy to my right said.
“Yeah, Todd, you should listen to these two,” I said casually.
“Great, now he knows my name. Everybody shut up. I'm thinking,” Todd said.
“Are you? What exactly was the plan here? Roll up with these two and beat me into submission if I don’t apologize?” I asked.
“No, I mean yes, kinda? Dude, just stop fucking talking and apologize,” Todd said.
This is painfully cliche. Every party I go to ends with cartoonishly evil bullies.
“Todd, you don’t strike me as the long-term planning type, but take it from me, you really want a foolproof plan before trying something like this. What’s to stop me from just reporting you after you attack me? I’ve seen all of your faces. And you’re doing this for this Kate girl? You aren’t going to make it very far in life if you lash out at people whenever your fragile pride is threatened,” I said.
This guy is an idiot—a pathetically weakminded simpleton with more bravado than brain.
“Her name’s not Kate, it’s Kayla you asshole. And she’s my girlfriend. You made me look like a weak bitch in front of her," Todd said.
“Todd, I didn’t make you look like a weak bitch in front of your girlfriend. You already were one,” I sighed.
Current Powers/Personality Pieces Nobody has:
- Alter ability to choose where your center of gravity is/ Addictive personality (Froggy)
2. Manipulator ability to create up to three orbs of sound that can absorb all sound within and then be released all at once at a later time/ Joy (Murmur)
3. Mentalist/Alter ability to see trajectories of moving objects and can make themselves and other nonliving things bouncy in a way that defies physics/ Pride (Tramp)
4. Traveller ability to pull objects to themselves, pull themselves to objects, and swap themselves or objects through tunnels in reality/ Compassion (Callback)
5. Caster ability to create short-range kinetic beams from their extremities/ Aggression (Punch)
6. Traveller/Alter/Manipulator ability to separate their body into sections, dissolve said sections, clone pieces of their body, and rematerialize them anywhere in sight/ Increased libido and voyeuristic tendencies (Jeremy Swaim)