Category: Story

Six Months Before Impact Day

“I think we’re just about ready,” I announced.

“Are you absolutely sure you want to go ahead with this?” Liz asked, a worried expression on her face.

“I’m not saying I’m looking forward to it,” I said. “But it’s the only way we’re ever gonna make any progress.”

“So long as everyone does their job, she’ll be perfectly safe,” Rachel said, with a pointed glance in Liz’s direction. Perfect timing.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Liz snapped. “Your job is already done, and you’re not exactly putting yourself on the line.”

“Oh that’s right,” Rachel said, taking the bait, “I forgot the only meaningful contributions come from an actual murderer.”

“I am not a murderer,” Liz said through gritted teeth. “I have never killed a single person in my life.”

“Right, right, sorry,” Rachel said dryly. “You haven’t actually killed anyone, you’ve only profited from murder. But I’m sure you never enjoyed the mansion your parents bought with their blood money, or the fancy clothes, or the five-star restaurants. And hey, they probably killed someone to pay for this apartment too, but I guess we can just ignore that, since they were kind enough to let us use it.”

“There’s a difference between an assassin and a murderer,” Liz said, clearly trying not to shout. “My parents don’t choose who lives and dies. They’re weapons, and if they don’t do it, someone else will.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Rachel said dismissively. “They’re still contributing to a system where those with money control the lives of those that don’t. Oh, but I’m sure they only kill bad people, right?”

“They—”

“They don’t choose, you just said so. So who does? Crime lords with more money than my family’s made in eight generations? Businessmen who profit of the labour of the working class? Politicians who represent people who make less than a tenth of what they do?”

Aidan put a hand on Liz’s arm. I could feel the tension from across the room, but didn’t say anything. Rachel was pressing all of Liz’s buttons perfectly.

Just like I’d told her to.

“Let’s not punish Liz for the actions of her parents,” Aidan said carefully. “Regardless of whether or not you agree with them, Liz is her own person, who makes her own choices, and she’s helping us.”

“Oh, she just has you wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she?” Rachel said, a vicious glint in her eye. She might be enjoying this too much…

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aidan demanded.

“Dude, she’s not into you,” Rachel said. “She’s leading you on, because she’s in love with Charlie, and she hates me because Charlie chose me.”

“How dare you,” Liz snapped, going very, very still.

Please don’t try to kill Rachel, I begged silently.

“Am I wrong?” Rachel goaded.

“It doesn’t matter,” Aidan insisted. “We’re here because we all want to help Charlie.”

“Right, like you don’t have anything to gain from this,” Rachel said threateningly.

“I don’t follow,” Aidan said, but there was a shift in him. He was cautious now, wary.

“You think I don’t know what you’re up to?” she asked. “You think I don’t know about your Stars?”

“It’s just an information network—”

“Sure, sure. And the half-million dollars you’ve made in the past month, that’s all to help Charlie?”

Liz looked at him, stunned. I followed suit, even though I already knew about it.

“Aidan, is that true?” I asked, hoping it didn’t sound too rehearsed.

“It’s not as bad as she makes it sound,” he said quickly. “I’ve been buying and selling information between high-profile gang members. It’s not like that’s a profit, I’m using it for you.”

“Really?”

“How do you think I’ve gotten all the names and locations I have?” he asked, with just an edge of desperation.

“So you’re not planning on just taking over with a gang of your own?” Rachel asked, and Aidan visibly flinched. It was a perfect hit, not just because of the tension, but because the guilt would delay him doing exactly that.

He’s so clever, and yet so easily to manipulate. He’ll be a lot harder to manage when I can’t keep a close eye on him.

“Why would I want that?” he asked.

“Why are you looking for a fight?” Liz demanded. Finally.

“Because unlike you, I actually care about Charlie,” Rachel said. “And I don’t trust either of you.”

“Can you stop acting like you’re better than us?” Liz snapped, inching closer and closer to her breaking point.

“Can you stop believing you’re better than me?” Rachel said. “I get it, you’re rich, you go to a private school, you could kill someone with a single touch but you’re too good to do it. Take your moral superiority and shove it up your arse, Liz.”

“You’re such a petty bitch,” Liz growled. “You wanna be jealous, fine. Be jealous. But take your issues somewhere else, because we have a job to do, and if you have a problem with me, you can just… fuck off!”

I think that was the first time I ever heard Liz swear. It was a little scary, but mostly funny, and I had to try really hard not to laugh.

I kept a straight face as Rachel slammed her fists down on the table, rising with a furious energy.

“Fine. You win.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, right on cue.

“I’m leaving,” Rachel said. “I’m sorry.”

“You can’t!” I pleaded, glancing back at Liz and Aidan.

“It’s like Liz said, my job is done,” Rachel said. “You don’t need me anymore, and I’m clearly not wanted here. So I’m gonna go.”

“Rachel, I can’t do this without you!” I cried, grabbing her arm.

“Yes, you can,” she said. “Just try not to let these idiots talk you into something stupid.”

Before I could stop her, she stormed out of the building, leaving Aidan and Liz flabbergasted. After several minutes of silence, I glared at them.

“Are you happy now?”

“That was her fault,” Liz said.

“Do you guys not get how important she is to me?” I asked. “Could you not have even made an effort?”

“Charlie, we’ve been making an effort,” Aidan said. “For months now.”

“She was the one who had a problem with us,” Liz added. “We know you love her, but surely you have to see that.”

“Fine,” I said. “It’s done now, anyway.”

“You’re not gonna go after her?” Aidan asked.

“No. She clearly doesn’t want me to, and like she said, we have work to do.”

“Let’s get to work, then,” Liz said.

Next Week: This Is Beyond Ridiculous

Seven Months Before Impact Day

“You know, I’m happy to have some alone time with you, but this isn’t really how I imagined spending it,” I said, glancing nervously at the array of tools Rachel had assembled.

“I dunno, I’m kind of looking forward to it,” she said, grinning.

“What if something actually works?” I asked, realising I hadn’t even considered the concept of my own mortality for months. “What if you actually manage to kill me?”

“Charlie,” she said, holding my hand and staring into my eyes. “I absolutely guarantee nothing I do will kill you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I dunno,” she said, grinning. “But I am.”

For some reason, that was enough for me. If Rachel was sure about something, that basically made it a fact.

“Alright,” I said, sighing. “Let’s find out just how much I can survive.”

For two days, Rachel set about testing the limits of my immortality. She cut me open, shot me, electrocuted me, crushed me, blew me up…

Every second of it was excruciating. No matter how many times I died, it never got any less painful. My body healed, but the pain stuck with me.

Incredibly, it seemed like not even complete obliteration kept me out. There was always something left, always enough for the rest of me to piece itself together from. Rachel noted everything down, keeping detailed logs, all while piecing together a mental picture that seemed unfathomable even to me.

“So, doc, what’s the diagnosis?” I joked, stretching out after being blown up from the inside. Rachel raised her eyebrows.

“You really wanna know?”

“Wait, you actually have an answer?”

“Kind of,” she said. “Imagine it like this. For most people, the body is like a… a container, for the soul. You break the container too much, the soul escapes, and the person is dead. After that, I have no idea what happens.”

“So we’re just like, straight-up confirming that people have souls, then?”

“Yep. Every last one of us.”

“Even me?”

“Even you,” she said. “Only with you, it’s kind of the other way around.”

“My soul contains my body?”

“No, but your body isn’t there to contain it. Your soul is like… a permanent fixture, y’know. Even without a container, it’s not going anywhere. For whatever reason, it likes where it is. But it also likes having a meatsack, because it needs that to interact with the world. Otherwise, you’d be like Sadie.”

“Okay…”

“Nothing in this world can touch your soul,” Rachel continued. “And it seems to have access to a limitless supply of energy, so it just keeps putting your body back together whenever it gets damaged. And that’s why no amount of damage will ever be able to kill you.”

“And what makes my soul so special?”

“Haven’t the foggiest,” she said cheerfully. “But there’ll be plenty of time to figure that out later. What’s important is that I have what I need. The plan’s gonna work.”

“But what if—”

“Trust me,” she said, kissing me. “Everything’s gonna work out just fine.”

“I do trust you,” I told her. “I just hate not being involved.”

We returned to the apartment Sunday evening, finding Aidan and Liz sitting at the table, playing chess, of all things.

“How was your romantic getaway?” Aidan asked, smirking. Did he suspect anything? Surely not.

“None of your business,” I said, rolling my eyes. Liz looked away. “Chess? Really?”

“It’s fun,” Aidan said defensively.

“It’s clichéd,” I retorted.

“Is everything ready?” Rachel asked, cutting through the awkwardness.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Liz asked. The tension between her and Rachel was… difficult.

“Just answer the question,” Rachel snapped.

“We’re all good,” Aidan said. “I’ve got eyes on the target as we speak, every movement planned, and every possibility covered.”

“Wait, since when do you have ‘eyes’ to put on targets?” I asked, pretending to know less than I really did.

“I hired some help,” Aidan said casually. “Anonymously, don’t worry. When you know how to play the game, people are just like chess pieces.”

“And you know how to play the game?”

“I’m a fast learner,” he said. “Your girlfriend helped, anyway.”

I raised an eyebrow at Rachel, as if she hadn’t already filled me in on all of it.

“I wrote some software,” she said, shaking her head as if it was nothing. “Just some handy tools for things like hacking, staying anonymous and keeping contacts… organised.”

“I didn’t even know you could program,” I lied.

“Neither did I,” she said. “Turns out it’s not so different to building things. You just have to know how all the pieces work.”

“What would we do without you?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she teased.

“We’d manage,” Liz said irritably.

Aidan and I exchanged uncomfortable glances. “We should probably get home,” he said. “Dad’s gonna start worrying.”

“I should get home too,” Liz said.

“Works for me,” Rachel said. “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on things. I have more ideas I wanna work on, anyway.”

We said our goodbyes, and Aidan and I once again took the bus home together. In what was starting to become tradition, he waited until we were alone to talk.

“Did something happen with you and Liz?” he asked.

“She didn’t tell you?”

“I didn’t want to pry,” he said.

“I probably shouldn’t talk about it,” I told him.

“Is it that bad?”

“No, it’s just…” I sighed. “What’s going on with you two?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I…” He bit his lip, and looked out the window, away from me. “I don’t know. Even after all these years, she’s impossible to read.”

“But you like her, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that. Not that I don’t like her, but, like, how can you like someone when you’re not even sure if they like you?”

“Do you want her to like you?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Well, then.”

“Oh.”

“I’m not sure you’re her type,” I said carefully.

“I’m not anyone’s type,” he replied despondently.

“Since when?”

“Since always?”

“Dude, I just mean, I think she’s gay,” I said.

“Oh,” he said, before the other piece fell into place. “Oh. So that’s what—”

“You need some straight girls in your life,” I said.

“I’m beginning to doubt there are any in this damn city,” he said, and we both laughed.

Next Week: I’m Going To Break You

Seven Months Before Impact Day

After a month of solid training, planning and preparing, everything was finally ready. All the pieces were in place, and all that was left was to give the push that set it all off.

Things were tense with Liz for a while, but the friendship endured. I may not have wanted to date her, but she was precious to me, and I worked hard to make sure she knew that. We reconciled, and she and Aidan were entirely invested in my mission. They were so loyal; it almost broke my heart to think that wasn’t going to last much longer.

I didn’t want to use them, but there was no other way. The stakes were so much higher than anyone realised, and I couldn’t let sentiment get in the way of what needed to be done. Once it was done, they’d understand, surely. I could explain it all to them, and they’d forgive me. Together, I really believed we could save the city.

Besides, they both needed a push to become what I knew they could be. Liz might not have wanted to be a killer, but she was born to be a hero. She was the perfect sidekick, and once it was all done, I felt sure she’d embrace her destiny. She had too much potential to spend it on anything other than helping people.

And Aidan, he was incredible. I wasn’t sure if he even realised it, but his ability to manage information, contacts and plans was almost preternatural. With him helping with the planning and running of missions, it was all but guaranteed things would go smoothly. He was exactly what I needed.

Of course, Rachel continued to excel. Her brilliant mind continued to allow her to create more and more useful tools for me, and while I might not have been Batman, I sure was getting close. She was the only one who knew what I was really planning, the only reason any of it was possible. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in crime.

Sadie eventually came to terms with my new lifestyle, often coming with me to play lookout or just keep my company. Things weren’t necessarily great, but as she put it, at least they were interesting. It was more than I’d hoped for.

Wendy, for the most part, stayed out of our way. That was just fine. Every so often, I prodded her, asking her to help, to fight with me, because that’s what I needed her to believe I wanted. Every time, she refused, much to my relief. She gave no indication she knew what I was really planning.

“Alright, here’s what I’ve got,” Aidan said, as Liz, Rachel and I took our seats around the dining table in our new ‘secret’ base, an apartment owned by Liz’s parents that they never used. Some kind of emergency safehouse they didn’t mind loaning to her without asking questions. Aidan placed a laptop on the table, swivelling it so we could see the screen.

“Did you make a slideshow?” Liz asked, smirking at him.

“As a matter of fact, I did,” he retorted.

“You’re such a nerd.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Less flirting, more working,” I interrupted, and they both blushed.

“There are four major gangs in the city,” Aidan said. “Vengeance, The Clan, The Imperials, and The Stars.”

“I’ve never heard of the Stars,” Liz said.

“They’re new, and not really worth our time right now,” Aidan said. “Their activities are all pretty low-key, they don’t hold any territory, and they haven’t caused much trouble.”

“Odd.”

“I didn’t even know they were distinct gangs,” I admitted. “I thought they were all just, kind of… Actually, I don’t know what I thought.”

“That much is obvious,” Aidan said critically. “You didn’t think, and that’s why you never made any headway. Honestly, without us, this was doomed from the start.”

“Well, that’s why you’re here,” I said sweetly. “So, what’s our next move?”

“We focus on Vengeance,” he said. “They’re the biggest, and most dangerous. Taking them down has the biggest impact, and sends the strongest message.”

“Lovely,” I said. “How do we take them down?”

“Well, like we discussed before, you need to get yourself ‘captured’ by them. Right now, they don’t know you’re not working alone. Rachel provides you with a tracking device, and Liz rescues you, taking one of their leaders at the same time, and we interrogate them.”

“I thought we were luring them out with fake military technology?” I asked.

“That’s for phase 2,” he said. “Just trust me, okay?”

“Always,” I lied.

“We’re going to convince them this is a much bigger operation than it is,” he explained. “That’s what you’ll tell them, when you get captured. And when Liz rescues you, it’ll confirm it. When I leak that we have some big-time hardware, they’ll pull out all the stops to get their hands on it.”

“Only, it’ll be a trap,” Rachel chimed in. “We let them take the device, use it to spy on them for a bit, then set it off, hopefully gassing some of their higher-up members, letting us swoop in, recover it, kidnap a bunch of them, and keep climbing that ladder.”

“Sounds solid to me,” I said. “Alright. Let’s do this thing.”

“Great. Rachel, you get Charlie ready. Liz, you and I have some last-minute planning to do.”

Aidan and Liz disappeared into the office, and Rachel and I made our way into the bedroom. She pulled out a sturdy black briefcase.

“More presents?” I asked.

“Not the fun kind,” she said, opening it. “For once, your immortality is actually working against us.”

“How so?”

“Your body rejects foreign objects too quickly,” she said. “I can’t just implant a sub-dermal tracking chip, it’d get pushed out within minutes. So I gotta plant it way deeper, and wrap it in something your body won’t reject, while somehow still be able to receive its signal.”

“Hey, if anyone can do it, I’m sure you can,” I said.

“Oh, I already figured it out,” she told me. “It just won’t be very comfortable for you.” It was only then I noticed there was a plastic sheet over the bed, and surrounding floor. “Take your top off and lie down.”

“Uh…”

“What, no flirty quip this time?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Right now I’m more concerned with that scalpel you’re holding,” I said.

“Told you it wouldn’t be comfortable.”

I sighed, pulling off my top and lying down on the bed. She climbed on top of me, wrapped in a surgical smock and wearing gloves.

“At least talk me through what you’re doing,” I grumbled.

“If you want…”

“I do.”

“Alright. I’m going to cut open your chest, and drill into your collarbone, leaving a small gap for me to insert the chip. Bone won’t reject it the way flesh will, and it’ll be close to the surface.”

“I really wish anaesthetic worked on me,” I muttered.

“Me too, love.”

“Well, fair is fair. My body is yours. Cut me open.”

Next Week: Not Broody Enough To Be A Superhero