Cassandra and The Super touched down on the ground, Rose not even turning around from her spot on the ground; she was still looking over The Blue Octo. A third pair of feet settled on the ground, and upon hearing this, she turned, and was met with Alfonso.
"Oh, great," said Rose. "Another person you've neglected. Seems to me it's my turn; I'm waiting."
"Ha, ha," said The Super, sarcastically. He was sick and tired of her passive-aggressively lecturing him, but then again, every argument she made had some pretty good evidence supporting it. He just couldn't get mad at her; he only related to her opinions. But that didn't mean he couldn't act mad. The Super saw it this way: he'd rather have everyone leave his personal life alone. If he led them to believe he was sensitive, maybe they'd give him some space, respect him a bit. Or, maybe not. It was an experiment in progress.
See, he wasn't trying to be mean in any way, shape, or form. He just sometimes got so focused on things that everything else melted away, and it wasn't his problem anymore. Except they didn't really melt away, and he knew it. But that didn't stop him.
He didn't used to forget about people, or how many years it's been since that thing happened; this was a recent development, started when he signed on with the new people. He'd started degrading since then, really -- he needed to quit that organization soon. It had seemed like a good idea to him, as a new, inexperienced hero, but now he knew it was just oppressive. Plus, he didn't know who he really was working for. The world may end soon, he told himself; it was time for change.
He turned his thoughts toward the creature lying in front of Rose, unconscious for the fourth time. "Well?" he asked. "Have you gotten anything?" Though he did fake most of his anger, his frustration with The Blue Octo was very real. Just the fact that the thing was here reminded him of his past, before he lost so much. It was a physical link to the past, shouting in his face the mistakes he could never forget, reminding him so vividly of a better past, shoving his mind into a tiny box that contained an old world.
He didn't need more containment; he needed freedom. But he couldn't walk away. He couldn't just stop being the hero he was, or act insane without rhyme or reason. He couldn't disappear without warning and come back days later. He couldn't be who he really wanted to be: free of these huge commitments, able to do so much more with less responsibilities. He knew where he came from -- sort of-- and he had pictured himself living there, maybe even starting a family. But then he'd gotten a call about The Blue Octo, and he came back to Earth to stop him... and he'd never left. Maybe he should quit herowork altogether...
He felt the rage toward The Blue Octo grow again, rising up inside of him, and he managed to trap it, but not before it got to his eyebrows. Man, he could feel those things furrow so deep he thought he might not be able to see through them.
Rose looked into The Super's eyes, and he saw fear glint in the back of her eyes, just for an instant, and then they glazed over. They lost their shine, hardened in their sockets, and Rose pulled a mean face. She was the kind of person who looked nice... until you saw her grimace. This specific grmace, however, seemed to be hiding something. Of course, he was just speculating, anyway -- what did he know about humans?
Rose turned back to stare at Octo, and said quietly, "Not yet." For a second, The Super wondered what she meant, but then he realized she was answering his own question. His mind could move so fast, yet he could remember so little....
"Fine," said The Super. "We'll take him back to HQ."
"And how, exactly, are we going to do that?" asked Alfonzo. "There's only two people with powers here. Unless you can levitate objects with your mind--"
"You seem to forget," interrupted The Super, "that I can carry just about anything I want, whether it be human, octopus, or continent. Don't insult me with your under-estimations." What a fool! Treating him like he was less powerful than he was... this boy should be taught a lesson. He started heating his eyes for laser execution, but then he stopped. What would that accomplish? It would only hinder the saving of the world even more. His mind cleared, and he felt shame. He was turning into the kind of person he used to fight against; he was becoming what he had feared would happen... He stopped thinking in riddles, remembered that Alfonso had enough of The Super's torment for one day.
The Super sighed. "Sorry. Just, you know, rough day and all."
Alfonzo gave him the kind of glare that said his apology was not accepted. "Let's just go."
The Super picked up Octo and Rose climbed onto his back. "Get ready for a bumpy ride," The Super said quietly to Octo, who of course was still unconscious. "Old friend."
Rose gave The Super a look, and The Super pleaded with his eyes for her not to mention what he just said. She nodded, with the smallest hint of a friendly smile, and then they were in the air, sailing over a bright orange terrain colored even more vibrantly by the setting sun. They'd been out here all day; the others, back at home, were probably worried.
Well, then, thought The Super. Better hurry home. Don't want to be late for dinner.
~PolarFarina
No comments:
Post a Comment