When Color Sergeant Barnes entered the spartan waiting room, an unusual sight greeted him: Crystal with part of her sleeve gripped in her teeth while her hands, contorted to the left shoulder, picked and stretched at the fabric as she tried to reattach her sleeve. So focused on the task was she that she failed to notice she was no longer alone. The color sergeant quietly cleared his throat. Crystal spat out the shirt and whipped her head around, clearly surprised.
“Having a bit of trouble, miss?”
Her eyes darted to the sleeve, which once again slid down her shoulder and bunched up just above her bicep. Sheepishly, she explained, “A Chief Soldier got me. I’m OK, but the shirt isn’t. I was just trying to fix it; I don’t want the sleeve to get in the way.”
Just then, he noticed the burned edges of the fabric, a mark of an energy blade’s strike. The burn, deep gash, and bloodstain were something that he was used to seeing on Impervium combat armor. To witness the same destructive signs on a t-shirt, and to have the wearer alive and able to relate the tale… “That came from one of their gunblades?”
“Gunblades?” Crystal repeated. She shrugged. “I guess I still think of them as having either gun or sword. Yes, it was a gunblade.” The nearly severed sleeve slid lower. “I’ll have to remember that name. Do you have my cell phone?” she non-sequitured.
“I do.” He approached Crystal and showed the face of the display to her. “Due to recent events, some changes have been made to increase the security of your communication link to and from Vanguard. You will be unable to call any of your usual contacts while working with us. You will also be unable to add any new special volunteers to your team. Additionally, should you or any member of your team leave the war zone, the communication codes will automatically reset, cutting said individual from the team roster.”
Recent events, indeed! Tetsu Sensei gets greedy, Jenny chases him off, and now we’re stuck in zone and out of touch for who knows how long! Grr!
“Because of the time-sensitive nature of your task and the added security to your communication network, you will be able to contact The Lady Grey directly from now on. There will be no further need to pass through the security checkpoint. I trust this meets with your approval?”
Thank Heaven for the little blessings. “Yes, that’ll be nice.”
Color Sergeant Barnes passed the phone back to Crystal then stepped away. “Good luck to you, miss.”
I wish people would stop saying that. “Thank you, Color Sergeant Barnes.” She followed him out of the room. The color sergeant wandered off to his next task, while Crystal remained outside the waiting room. She leaned up against the wall, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply to calm her heart and mind. After a minute or so, she opened her eyes.
The clarity of focus brought an odd detail to her attention, a detail that might have otherwise been missed. Poking from around a corner was a tiny tuft of red hair, perched impossibly high on the wall, like a cardinal in a concrete forest. Crystal silently observed its movements. When satisfied that it was what she thought it was, she quietly murmured, “I’m still not happy with what you did.” Her voice was soft enough that passers by did not notice, but the scarlet tuft whisked back around the corner. Crystal left her place and followed it.
As she suspected, once she rounded the corner she saw Jenny standing there, with her back against the wall, ears splayed out, arms crossed, and an unhappy expression on her face. Crystal joined her at the wall to keep out of the way of foot traffic and did her best to not frown at her friend.
Jenny turned to face Crystal. “How did you know I was here?” Crystal tugged at an imaginary ear tip above her own head. The real fox ears folded back. “Oh.” She continued, “So, what’s going on?”
“The Rikti brought some heavy hitters through that portal before we got to it, and now we have to hunt them down and send them back.”
“Fine. Let’s go.” Jenny turned.
“Not yet!” Crystal snapped. Jenny swung back around. “We have to make things right between us first!”
“You want to have it out now?” Jenny challenged.
Crystal slowly inhaled and met Jenny’s gaze. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like that, but since you’re so eager, is there anything you’d like to say before I speak my peace?”
“Yeah! I’m NOT sorry he’s gone!”
Crystal took another deep breath. “I’m not entirely sorry Tetsu Sensei’s gone.”
“You don’t want him around, I don’t want him around, so what’s the problem?”
And another. “One problem is us. I don’t think it’s a good idea to head back out into the war zone while we’re feuding. Another problem is that I don’t want to have to think about whether or not you’re continuing to play games with the other red-siders on the team. There’s plenty to occupy my attention already.”
Jenny bristled. “You don’t trust me anymore? Is that it?” she screeched.
The deep breathing wasn’t helping as much as Crystal wanted. She spat, “You know how dangerous this work is! Do you want to go crawling through Rikti-infested ruins with anything on your mind other than the task at hand? Speaking for myself, I can’t handle any more! I’m having enough trouble already just keeping my pyrophobia in check!”
That took some of the wind out of Jenny’s sails. Her ears unfolded from the back of her skull as the fury drained from Jenny’s face. “I’m sorry. This must be hard on you.”
“It’s not you,” Crystal responded calmly. Now that Jenny was beginning to relax, Crystal started winning the battle with her own anger. “We’ve teamed before. I know you have the control to keep from blasting me accidentally, but there’s StarDust and Bellona, both of whom I’ve never worked with before, and Tetsu Sensei had that fire guy and those flaming oil slick arrows. Memories of rescuing Penny might replace the nightmare where the Praetorian Infernal and his demons raid a Longbow weapons depot, take all the flamethrowers, and the city calls me in to stop them.”
“That would be funny if I hadn’t seen the burn marks myself. You’d think ice would provide more protection from fire than that.”
Crystal nodded. “So, getting back to the previous conversation, what makes you think I don’t trust you anymore?”
Jenny frowned as she contemplated her answer. “I was mad. I don’t really believe it, but… you got all upset after I tried to keep you from getting hurt, and you as much as said if we went off before settling things you’d be keeping an eye on me.”
“That must have been the Tank talking. You know, the one who tries to calm people down but only makes them angry?” Jenny smiled and nodded. “I hope you know I didn’t mean to suggest that I don’t trust you.”
“I do.”
“And I know you did what you did to Tetsu Sensei to protect me. That’s why I can’t stay mad at you.”
Jenny’s ears twitched. “If you know I was thinking of your well-being, why are we back to this again?”
“I’m not taking another shot at you! I mean… I guess I should have mentioned what I was planning before we got too involved in things, and for that, I’m sorry. This team, it’s a rare opportunity for us.”
“Opportunity? Opportunity for… oh, no!”
“Oh, yes! Come on! We had a common purpose with the Clockwork King! And there were three supervillains on our team! Maybe you noticed how Tetsu Sensei was starting to contribute more and threaten less as time went on?”
“You’re out of your mind! There’s no way anyone but you could believe he was issuing fewer threats! And contribute?” Jenny snorted. “He was nothing but a pain in the a- butt!”
“Well, maybe I was still a little out of it, but when you pulled me away from the Clocks, whose voice was I hearing over the team network coordinating our withdrawal?”
Jenny opened her mouth to object, and then closed it without speaking. The truth behind Crystal’s reminder left a bad taste in her mouth, and it showed in the sour expression on her face.
“Think whatever you will of him,” continued Crystal, “but give credit where credit is due. I did get him to agree to let me go first and to stop throwing his ninjas into fights they couldn’t win. And he was pretty agreeable to my way of pacing combats after the ambush.”
“Actually, that was me glaring at him from behind you.” Crystal scowled at her. “Give credit where credit is due!” Jenny impishly repeated.
“I still think I could have worked out an arrangement with him!”
“You think you can work with anybody, but there’s some people you just can’t reach!”
“I don’t accept that. I think there’s a way to resolve all differences peacefully, given time and effort. Yes, it’s easier with the folks who live on this side of the War Walls, but that’s only because we’re reminded daily of the magnitude of the problems that we collectively have to deal with.
“Maybe those from the Rogue Isles are more difficult to work with, but that’s because we don’t come from the same environment. First we need to take the time to learn where they came from, so to speak, and why they are the way we perceive them. Only then can we begin to work towards a peaceful and cooperative working arrangement.”
“Yeah, and I’m sure Tetsu Sensei was such a pill ‘cause he didn’t get his prunes this morning,” Jenny sarcastically speculated.
“Well, we’ll never know now, will we?” Crystal snapped. She immediately cringed and slapped a hand over her face in a futile effort to conceal the crimson stain of embarrassment. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. That was uncalled for, and it’s a moot point, anyways. Even if I could invite him back, I don’t think I’d like to.”
“And I wouldn’t have him back!”
“But there’s two more left! Will you help me work with them? I’d like to help them both out. I don’t mean just to get them to cooperate on our missions, but to get them to turn away from the lifestyle they’ve lived over there.”
Jenny took a half step back, subconsciously distancing herself from the idea. “You don’t want much, do you? Try and redeem Thunder Dragon and the whiny witch? I think you’d have more luck attacking the Rikti spaceship by yourself!”
“You know how big I am on forgiveness and redemption. Will you help me?”
Jenny groaned. “This is another of those things where you’re going forward no matter what I say, isn’t it?”
Crystal nodded.
“Do you even have a plan?”
“I thought I’d start with Bellona. I get the impression that Thunder Dragon is helping us for his own reasons, and, since he’s not even human, it may take too long just to try and understand him. Besides, you and she have something in common.”
“Yuk! No way!”
“Oh, really? Then why did you react so strongly when she mentioned how much drama she went through over her appearance? And how it all started at birth?”
“And how she went on to become a crook, a killer, and who knows what else, all because she was too selfish and weak to work through all the crap people were giving her?”
“Well, she did mention that both her parents were giving her grief. You have a mom who loves you. And you have Maddy, a friend who’s more like a sister than anything else. Think about how things might have been different in your life if your mom wasn’t as nice as she is, or if Maddy hadn’t had your back for all those years. What would you be like today if everything else stayed the same but you didn’t have that support and approval? When I think about growing up in a hostile, unsupportive environment like that, I’d think you’d say, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’”
“IF that stuff she said was true!” Jenny snarled. “And I don’t believe for a second that she took any heat for her looks! That purple and gray hair is a dye job; I saw roots! The only thing that’s freakish about her is her attitude! She’s got no claim to looking weird!”
“A strange appearance is a relative thing. Just look around and see for yourself.”
Jenny snorted and looked away. “Yeah, some places it’s perfectly natural to see an eight-foot-tall, red-skinned, fox-eared freak.”
Crystal lunged for Jenny, launching herself into the air and seizing both sides of her face between her hands. She pulled her gaze back, restoring eye contact, and hovered to hold her face inches away from Jenny’s. “Don’t you talk like that! It’s not true, and it’s not good for you!” As Jenny fidgeted, Crystal resumed her pitch. “You’ve never believed me when I’ve told you how much I love your ears. I wish you would, but I understand it’s probably outside your experience. So many people have said so many nasty things about you that, even when you’re complimented on your appearance, you think you’re being teased.”
As Crystal released her friend’s face and slowly returned to the floor, she continued, “I had a similar conversation with DarqSyde not too long ago. We were in the Praetorian universe dealing with yet another Tyrant plot, and at some point I remarked about how bad I felt for all his soldiers we had to punch out, and he came back with something like, ‘They have free will and they made their choice’. At the time I didn’t argue the point further, partly because we were busy fighting, and partly because he’s a really scary guy, but his point wasn’t totally valid. Yes, I’m sure they chose to do the things they do, but coming from that world they couldn’t have the same background we do, and what we’ve decided is the right thing to do is likely outside their experience. They disturb our peace, and we have to oppose them to protect ourselves, but I can’t vilify them. It’s unreasonable to hold them to our standards of behavior without a common reference.
“So, that’s what I want you to do. I want you to help me set an example for Bellona.”
Jenny squinted at Crystal, pinched her fingers together, and in an over-the-top imitation of a Family hood asked, “Youse wants I should make an example a’ her?”
Crystal stuck out her tongue. “No, Don Feldman, I said ‘set an example’, not ‘make an example’!” While Jenny giggled, Crystal went on, “I’m serious about this! I want you to stop picking at her, and when she gets nasty, stay nice. I know you can do that. Remember, ‘A gentle word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.’ Don’t counterattack or escalate, just deflect.”
“It sounds like she’s got enough anger to shrug off any kind words.”
“That’s why we need to double-team her. We’ll both give compliments and praise for good teamwork, thanks for her contributions, and, of course, it all has to be sincere.”
“Sincere? I can be nice, but that’s above and beyond! Maybe if I really believed she took all that abuse I could identify with her, but I still think she’s just being selfish and weak.”
“Well, then how about, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’”
“OK, I can get behind the ‘burning coals’ plan.”
“It’s better thought of as stirring up and re-igniting the conscience than to cause suffering for suffering’s sake,” Crystal explained. “We need to show her what she’s missed by turning away from a goodly life, and, hopefully, encourage her to re-examine her view of the world.”
Jenny leaned back against the wall, folded her arms across her chest, and looked down at Crystal. She sighed, “It’s hard enough to find and stop the villains, but now you’re trying to reform them, too?
Crystal flatly stated, “I expect good to triumph over evil every time. I also won’t stop working towards that goal. Bellona was right when she pointed out the depressing cycle of defeat-arrest-escape. You and I both know it’s there, and there’s only two ways out of it that I can think of. One is her method. The other is to permanently convince the predators to turn from their ways, and, given how many of them still operate in the open in Paragon, I don’t think the savage beatings they receive on a daily basis are working. It’s time to get serious about ending their predatory urges for good.”
Her long ears twitched as Jenny pondered the magnitude of Crystal’s request. There was no doubt she was serious about it. The only questions to be considered were the potential obstacles to success and her determination to see things through to the end. The obstacles were formidable. So was Crystal’s stubborn streak. In the end, it came down to a question of Jenny’s own support for the idea, and she could find no fault with the theory. The execution would just have to be worked out on the fly. After making her decision, she nodded affirmative and said, “All right, I’ll help you.”
Crystal beamed.
Jenny held up a hand. “I’m not as deliberate or patient as you,” she cautioned. “I may say something before I think about it that sets her off.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Crystal affirmed. “You’re a nice person, and I have faith in you.”
The compliment felt good, though it made Jenny a little uncomfortable as well. “Thanks. I also want to warn you that if she tries to blast you, I’ll punch her lights out. No arguments, no warnings, no asking her to please stop. Just BAM!” She smacked a fist into her palm. “I’ve seen you take fire attacks before. I won’t sit by and let you take them again, not if I can do anything about it.”
Crystal frowned, but nodded, understanding her friend’s intent. “OK. And if she tries to blast you, you’ll find me standing in the way, ready to take the hit.”
Now it was Jenny’s turn to frown. “Well, that’s totally not what I wanted! Is it too late for me to back out of this crazy plan of yours?”
“Way too late!” Crystal primly declared.
Jenny sighed. “I guess I’ll have to be careful what I say.”
“Yeah, me too.” Crystal continued, “’Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’ A good plan under any circumstance, but it’s critical if this is going to work. I hope I’ll have the strength to see this through.”
“Pfft! You have enough nice for three people!” Crystal dropped her gaze to the floor in response. Sensing that there was nothing more to be said on the matter, Jenny asked, “Do you think we’re good to go now?”
“Yes, I think so,” Crystal quietly replied. She once more brought her gaze up into Jenny’s and apologized, “I’m sorry for being snippy with you.”
“And I’m sorry for inadvertently thwarting your plans,” Jenny responded.
Crystal huffed, “You make it sound like I was doing something sinister!”
“Sinister, no, but you did have a secret plan, and now that you’ve involved me you’re conspiring as well. In a good way!” Jenny added.
“All right then, no more conspiring; it’s time to get back to work.” Crystal pulled out her cell phone and began tapping in new commands. “While I’m updating everyone with the mission briefing, would you mind doing something for me?”
Reflexively, Jenny cringed, and her ears drooped. “Oh, no!”
“Now stop that!” Crystal blasted. “I do not cause enough trouble for you to warrant such suspicion!”
“All right, I’m sorry.” Jenny straightened up and did her best to hide her apprehension. “What did you want?”
Crystal waved in the general direction of Jenny’s phone. “Go online, if you can, and see if you can find a dictionary of 70’s slang. I can only understand about half of what Supa Fly says.”