Chapter NineAthena offered her hand to the new arrival. The woman’s beaded braids jingled against the chains around her neck as she happily shook Athena’s hand. “Thank you again for coming on such short notice, Phantasy. With everything happening in the last few weeks, the very last thing the kids need is to worry about one of their own.” “I agree wholeheartedly, dear. But please, call me Terri. Phantasy is the company name.” Her bronze skin seemed to light up beneath her long flowing dress. Just the kind of look one might expect from television’s leading psychic and host of Phantasy Connections, America’s number one syndicated program. But unlike her competitors, she was a bonafide metahuman telepath. Phantasy looked down at the unconscious form of Bobbi Kwok. She gently stroked the teenager’s bald head. “I would never say no to a request from this school,” she said. “Despite my friend’s death, I still believe in Wave’s dream.” Flint, up to now standing in silence on the other side of the room, grunted. “You do a lot to show it.” “I’ll have you know that over three-quarters of my phone operators come from the degen community. A quarter of my psychics are, in fact, Epsilons. As a former advisor to the President, you should know this.” “And when was the last time you showed one of your charity cases on your fancy little show? Oh, that’s right. Never.” Phantasy was taken aback. “Well, I never. Of all of the self-absorbed, insolent—” Athena stepped between them. “Please, Terri. Flint and I are just frustrated. We’ve tried several different ways to revive Bobbi and stop the illusions.” Phantasy patted Athena on the shoulder. Her tone was matronly, despite the fact she was clearly not much older than Athena. “Yes, dear. I understand completely. All is forgiven. Perhaps it is best if we just get down to business. That’s the way Wave always did things.” “Of course,” Athena said. “Now as you both know if you watch my top-rated nationally syndicated show, I primarily use my psychic connection to in turn project illusions that help people understand better their own wants and desires. This case is obviously far different than that. Therefore I will need complete and total silence in order to focus on our young friend here.” “Not a problem,” Athena said. “I’ll just holler if you need anything.” Phantasy smiled. “I’ll just holler if I need anything.” Athena and Flint agreed and left the room. Phantasy found herself alone with Bobbi Kwok. She stroked the young woman’s forehead again and prayed she hadn’t lead Athena and Flint on. A malignant presence hovered around the girl. A presence Phantasy feared even her own considerable abilities could not break. She placed her palms flat against Bobbi’s temple and took a few deep breathes. Contact. ***** The hotel room was empty, had been for at least a few days. Devil Boy grimaced at the thoughts coursing through his head. He could be anywhere. I’ll never find him. Why am I even here? Because he’s my friend. And whatever happens to your friends, you stick by them. The hotel room was paid up for another week, but Devil Boy figured Thief must have moved on by now. If he was even here in the first place. With its large metahuman population, Federation, better known as Champion City, was almost Mecca to many degens. Devil Boy didn’t see it that way. The city seemed only slightly less hurtful and cruel to his people then the rest of the country. They just masked it better by forcing the mutated members of the community in to Degen Town. The aptly titled “ethnic” community did offer the best living conditions most degens could ever imagine, but it still hovered just above abject squalor. Still fells like a ghetto to me. I should know. I grew up here. Whatever his opinion of it, Degen Town seemed likely to be his only hope of getting a lead on his friend. Like it or not, he had no choice but to go back home. ***** No matter how many times she struck against the invisible barrier around her, Bobbi could not break free. I can’t get out of here. Might as well figure out where here is. Bobbi looked around herself. She seemed to be on the side of some kind of asteroid floating in the emptiness of space. If space was reddish-pink and the asteroids made of spongy material. Other asteroids floated nearby, but the force field surrounding her kept them out of reach. Lights flashed and blinked randomly through the empty sky. This must be thought-space. Months ago, Mindset had explained the concept to her in training class, but this was her first visit to the psychic plane. Bobbi shook her head. But how did I get here? And why can’t I leave? Her power was never enough to travel in to the strange realm before, but somehow she had found her way in. “Let me go!” Her scream sent reverberations through the field, but her cage held firm. “You have the right idea, but you need to focus more.” Bobbi turned to see an angel. The woman seemed to be made of glowing white light as she floated won on broad, strong wings. Her flowing skirts flowed wisp-like despite the lack of any wind. “What are you?” “Sorry. I sometimes forget my thought-form is so much different from the real world me.” With her words the angelic image faded, and in its place stood a television celebrity. “Now you’re going to make yourself look like Phantasy.” “I am Phantasy.” “Shyeah, right. And I’m Oprah.” Phantasy smiled. “I’m deadly serious, Bobbi. Your friends are worried about you.” “Yeah well, it’s not like I chose to be here. Who would want to be stranded in here?” “You, I think. Or at least your subconscious. You’re hiding from something, Bobbi. We need to find out what it is.” “If it will get me out of here, I’m all for it.” “Good. I need you to focus. Imagine a battering ram and focus all your mental power behind it. I will fortify it, but only you can generate it.” “All right, I’ll try.” “No. Thought-space operates on absolutes. You must do it, not try to do it.” “All right already.” Bobbi closed her eyes and focused her thoughts. In her head, she could feel the form of a massive battering ram, just like the one she saw in Lord of the Rings. She opened her eyes to see the ram hovering before her. “Keep your focus, Bobbi. You can do it. Smash the wall.” Bobbi closed her eyes again and felt the ram with her mind. The ram seemed as real as her own hand. With a gesture she sent the ram towards the force barrier. It struck with all her strength and the barrier shattered in to thousands of shards that vanished as they fell. “You’re a faster leaner, young lady. It took me weeks to form my first thought-construct.” “Thanks. Can I go home now?” “You’re fully capable but something inside you is still terrorizing your fellow students with illusions. We need to find out why.” “All right. How do we do this?” “Take my hand.” Bobbi took the offered hand. Phantasy’s form immediately shifted back to that of the silver-white angel. “Hold on tight,” Phantasy said. She shot upwards in to the depths of thought-space. Bobbi was glad her mind-form didn’t have a stomach as such, as she was sure she would have lost her lunch. Bobbi looked down at the emptiness of the thoughtscape as it flowed and altered all around them. Phantasy scanned everything with her eyes. Bobbi tried to keep up with Phantasy’s rapidly moving vision, but to little avail. “There,” Phantasy said. As she spoke, a thread appeared from nowhere. One end rested in a relaxed loop around Bobbi’s wrist. The other stretched towards a distant asteroid. “Somehow you’ve formed a mental link with another individual. A family member or close friend most likely.” “Wouldn’t I know if I made a psychic link?” “Not necessarily,” Phantasy said. She started to lower them towards the terminating end of the bond. “Do you have a boyfriend? A very close friend?” “Not really,” Bobbi said. “I mean, Beauty and I are buddies, but we’re not really that close. Beauty’s not really that close to anyone, ‘cept maybe Air Raid. Hell, she left the Academy without even saying bye.” “A conundrum indeed.” They touched down on another island in the thought-stream, but this one was far different than Bobbi’s previous accommodations. This rock was far from barren; it was covered with an unnaturally dark, thick forest. Strange chants seemed to emanate from nowhere in particular. “What is this?” Bobbi said. “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen a thought-form quite like this before.” “What do we do?” “I will try to pull the subject in to thought-space and we can get our answers.” Phantasy glowed brighter for a moment and the ground rumbled beneath their feet. Bobbi tried her best not to panic as the darkness began to coalesce in to a human form. A form she recognized. “Psalm?” Psalm’s thought-form was unclothed and sexless. Her tattoos remained, but they shifted on her body like living things. “What the hell just happened? Where am I?” “Psalm?” Bobbi turned to Phantasy. “But I—I barely even know her.” “Bobbi? Last I knew you were out in the med labs. Athena thought you had something to do with the images from the future.” “You know about them?” “Know about them? Girl, they’re the reason why I’m at this godforsaken school of yours.” Phantasy and Bobbi’s eyes met. “I thought it was supposed to be a connection to someone close to me,” Bobbi said. “Psalm and I have said maybe a dozen words to each other since she came to the Academy.” Phantasy looked back up in to thought-space. “It shouldn’t have happened at all. Someone forced the connection. Someone wanted this to happen.” The rustling of the trees suddenly built up. The sound oozed in to an evil chuckle. The three women looked around for its source, but found nothing. “Fools. All of you, fools.” Phantasy grabbed the young women and pushed them back behind her. “Bobbi, I need you to concentrate. Focus on yourself and Psalm back in real space. I’ll hold it off.” “What is it?” Bobbi yelled over the growing laughter. “Something evil. Truly evil. Now go! Go before it’s too late!” Psalm grabbed Bobbi’s shoulder. “You heard the lady. Whatever that thing is, you and I don’t stand a chance against it.” Wind whipped around them and the dark forest howled. “Let’s get while the getting’s good!” Bobbi closed her eyes and concentrated with all her resolve. She envisioned the med lab in her head. She could see herself on the diagnostic table, feel the cold metal of it— Bobbi shot awake with a cry. Athena and Flint rushed through the door at the sudden sound of her awakening. Phantasy sat slumped over the end of the table. “Please,” Bobbi said. “One of you has got to check on Psalm. Make sure she’s all right.” “Psalm?” Flint said. “What’s she—” “Just go, please,” Athena said. “Let’s trust the girl on this one.” Flint nodded and hurried out of the room. Athena gently pushed up on Bobbi’s chin to make the girl look at her. “What happened?” “It’s a long story, and I’m not even sure of it all, but Phantasy— Oh my god, Phantasy!” They both turned to Phantasy as she sat limp in the chair beside the table. “We’ve got to help her, Athena! There was something in there and—” “Calm down, child. I’m all right.” Bobbi and Athena’s eyes went wide as Phantasy calmly sat back up. “Thank God,” Bobbi said. She leaned over to the older psychic and wrapped her arms around her. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” “Calm down please, child. We still need to install some blocks between Psalm and yourself, but you will be all right. And you will be free of whatever that monstrosity was.” Phantasy grinned. “And after that, this whole thing will be behind you once and for all.” ***** Devil Boy hated Degen Town, but from the looks he received from the members of its populace that recognized him, the feeling was mutual. Epsilons weren’t looked on too highly by many other degens, for whatever reason Devil Boy could never quite grasp. Being a member, even a new one, of Epsilon made him a top face on which to focus their anger and hatred. He tried his best to ignore the looks. He let his nose do the walking for him. His tracking abilities were far above those of a normal human, but compared to someone like Bagheera they were so-so at best. But he knew as well as anyone that asking around for a specific degen would be equivalent to looking for one distinct need in a pile of a hundred thousand needles. And when all the other needles hated you and the one needle you are looking for could be invisible… So Devil Boy used his super-sensitive nose. Bagheera had once tried to teach him his tracking techniques, but Devil was less than a stellar student. Now he used every trick he could remember to fine-tune his chances of finding Thief. And it seemed to be working. The smell he was following was not distinctively Thief, but it did carry traces of the Eastman academy. He followed the trail in to a dank, dirty alley way and to the tenement building that closed off said alley’s far end. He tried the door and found it unlocked. The door screeched as it opened, but nothing moved in response. Refuse lined the ground. A squatter’s paradise. He walked further in to the large, otherwise empty room, following the scent. He tried his best to filter out the overpowering stench of garbage and continued in to the center of the room, where the Academy-scent was strongest. A dead end. His foot hit something big amidst the garbage. He reached down and shoved the newspapers and food scraps aside. A backpack. An Eastman Academy backpack. The door slammed shut behind him. Devil Boy whirled around, but only saw the debris as it floated away from the door. “Who’s there?” A chuckle rose from behind him. He turned, but it moved to the far side of the room. “Who are you?” The refuse rose in front of him and slowly formed the shape of a massive human. “The name’s Ooze, Epsilon. I’m the guy what’s gonna kill you.” ***** “So I’ve trapped the malignant force in side a net of psychic energy and placed a block on the connection the force made between Bobbi and Psalm. Which should bring to an end both problems.” Athena nodded from the other side of the desk. She couldn’t have been happier about Phantasy’s report. “That’s wonderful news. My students and I really do thank you.” “I sense much trepidation in you, Athena. What’s causing it? Athena shook her head. “Psychics.” She sighed. “I guess I feel responsible for this. I brought Psalm in to this school without another thought. I just wonder—” “Wonder if a metahuman should be running a school for epsilons?” “Yes.” “Open your top right drawer and pull out the envelope inside.” “I thought you didn’t read minds without permission, Terri.” “Surface thoughts are hard to miss. And that invitation weighs heavily on your mind doesn’t it?” Athena nodded. “It did the same for me when I received mine. But joining the Order was the best move I ever made.” “You mean, you’re—” “For seven years now, Athena. Some of the most powerful metahumans in the world make up the inner circle. To be invited alone is a high honor.” “I don’t know. I—” “Give it a try. Once inside, I think you will be amazed at all the good you can accomplish. Far more than you could ever hope to achieve as a simple teacher, that is for certain. “But the students—” “—have Flint. He can easily run the school while you’re absent. Just come in to the initiation. If you don’t want a part in it you can always return to the school with no harm done to either organization.” “All right. I’ll do it.”
“I thought you would.”
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