Journal Entry 13
That was when I decided that I would never let a tragedy happen before my eyes ever again.
Chapter 5: "Traced"
"A school? Really, my friend? The shadow Visionary is a kid?" the tall figure of Arthur Fredericks scowled.
"He could also be a member of the staff, or he could have just stopped by here before leaving in human form. It could have been a completely random decision," the shorter Micah Cortez muttered.
"Hmm," Arthur scratched his mustache. He was a tanned man wearing a dark tie over his white dress shirt. The pointed features of his face were twisted into a frown. His dark hair was slicked back with gel. "I doubt that he rushed here just to hide his scent. No Visionary outside our group knows that they can be traced."
"Do you want to run a test? We can start another rampage nearby and draw him out. Then, we'll see for sure," Micah asked. He was a shorter, rounder man wearing a silk, three-piece suit. His head was bald, and his round chin was clean shaven. Two beady, dark eyes gleamed deviously at the center of his squinted features.
"No. There's no need to be so indirect. My friend, teenagers can most certainly be Visionaries, and they're prime candidates for Meta Psychosis," Arthur leaned against the railing of the rooftop across the street from the school. He gazed across the street to the waves of students entering the building. "They're moody messes to begin with."
Micah held up his phone, "But my list doesn't mention any students from here. It will take a while for me to sniff someone out."
Arthur scoffed, "Please. It won't even take a full day. At least one of them has the Realization app. You'll smell when they have an emotional burst in the next few hours."
"That's easy for you to say," Micah muttered. "I have a real job I have to keep. I can't disappear in the middle of the day for hours on end."
"I have you covered, my friend," Arthur grinned. "Just focus on the task on hand. I have a plan coming together. Soon, we'll have everything set up for checkmate."
Micah blinked, "I thought that we were a few months away before we ramped up for the endgame."
"My friend, that's why you never would have been successful without me," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Every good plan needs to be flexible. You need to be able to adjust for new information. There needs to be backup strategies in case of disasters, and there needs to be a way to move forward in case surprising blessings reveal themselves unexpectedly."
"Wait. Was the kid interfering yesterday actually a good thing?" Micah blinked in shock. "I thought he helped discover a flaw in the Meta Psychosis attacks."
"He most certainly did, and that was his greatest mistake," Arthur's grin grew wicked. He held up his phone, revealing that his Realization app was ready for use. "Before we can manipulate him, though, we need to confirm a few facts. Plus, putting the kids into trouble will be great press for our cause. There's no way that he's going to be able to keep these dumb brats from getting hurt, especially if he's a moody teenager himself."
***
Max was having a shockingly good day. He had woken up early after sleeping all through the night. His muscles felt renewed and energized. Because he had been worried about the quality of his completed homework, the teenager had reviewed all of his material just in time for a pop quiz. There hadn't been a single unpleasant incident throughout the morning. Everyone was reserved and tense during his train ride. The Visionary had plenty of time and space for himself. Crow hadn't sensed any signs of Meta Psychosis in the city, and everyone at school was calm, quiet, and composed. For once, everything felt normal.
Daphne had even shared a few extra pleasantries with him because her friend had actually arrived at school in time. He couldn't ask for a nicer day, and that terrified him. The universe was a cruel mistress. Whenever positive events happened in his life, equally terrible karma had to drag him back down to harsh reality. Max couldn't enjoy life too much. This was a fact that he had accepted years ago. He had been born to suffer, just as the fortunate souls existed to flourish. When he had a positive day, tragedy was brewing in the background.
His foster siblings had been shockingly calm this morning. Every street light had been green for him. Several people had been polite to him. His classes had been stunningly pleasant. People weren't mocking "Featherman" today. In fact, his peers were whispering in awe about how he handled the second rampage alone. All of the positivity was terrifying him. The other shoe was destined to drop, and for once, his imaginary friend didn't argue or mock him.
"It is expected that things would be quiet. Two rampages in one day is a big deal. People will be on their best behavior. They're afraid of another attack. Three in less than twenty-four hours within a single city would lead to new regulations," Crow argued. He floated next to the teenager's desk during chemistry class. "This level of tranquility is too much, though. We're in the calm before the storm."
Crow's words didn't help the anxiety steadily expanding in his chest. He was on high alert as the bell rang. There was only one more lesson for the day. Like everyone else, he unplugged his phone from his desk and shuffled out of the room, draping his oversized jacket over his shoulder bag. The Visionary didn't feel the need to have his hood over his head. Max couldn't let his already limited sight be further impaired, because he needed to be able to act in a moment's notice.
Usually, Crow disappeared when the Visionary was walking through the crowded hallways of the school. Any distraction could be a tripping hazard. Having a massive, winged figure levitating above his head unnerved Max, but he needed his imaginary friend active. Crow was pushing his senses through the shadows, searching for any sign of danger in the surrounding area. Halfway between his locker and his final classroom, the duo felt a tiny burst of energy in the distance.
His tracing ability was limited while not fused with Crow. He could feel the wide explosion of emotion created during Meta Psychosis from across the entire city, but regular transformations were more difficult to track. The Visionaries using the Realization app would have to be within a block from Max in order for him to perceive the surge of power. As such, both he and Crow jumped slightly when a fusion occurred across the street from the school. Such a sensation was like hearing a horn blaring directly into their ears.
"Act natural for now," Crow advised. "I'll zone in on them and figure out what they're doing."
Max did as requested. He followed the flow of foot traffic, heading in the direction of the transformation. Oddly enough, he didn't have to change his path. The enemy Visionary was positioned not far from his final classroom. His throat tightened in fear, wondering if someone had discovered his secret. Max had been careful to never have any person or recording device witness his fusions. Even on the train the other day, he had been in a dead spot for the public cameras. There wasn't any footage of him before or after the burst of light.
"He isn't zoning in on you," Crow stared in the direction of the threat. "His power is targeting someone else. I think he might be a tracker. Woah! There's a second one!"
Max's heart was hammering painfully in his chest. His scars burned in phantom pain. A bright light from a memory flashed before his eyes. He had to stop the tragedy approaching the school. Death and injuries here would mean ruined futures, broken families, and far-reaching grief. The Visionary didn't know how he could prevent the attack. After all, he couldn't simply transform in the hallway without revealing his secret to everyone. Even in a sea of other people, a blatant burst of shadows would be noticed by everyone.
"You would do it without a second thought, little coward," Crow admitted. "Considering police policy, though, that needs to be our last resort. There's a difference between bravery and stupidity, but I hear your idea. I think I can sense who the target is. The emotion radiating off her is similar to Meta Psychosis. That makes this interesting. Perhaps, we're about to get another clue about what's actually going on."
***
Celeste Winters was in a terrible mood. Her day had been exhaustingly boring. In fact, her crankiness originated from the previous day. The morning had been a blast. Another rampage happened, and she had to rush out the door before her parents could nag her. A dinosaur had been rampaging across downtown. She had been beating the monster into submission when Polaris arrived on the scene to distract her. He kept getting in the way. They bickered, but Celeste secretly enjoyed arguing with her rival. His overly serious attitude made him easily annoyable.
The fight had actually been amazing. They had saved the day. People were praising them. Polaris couldn't stop her from absorbing the new power. Featherman did his job, pulling people to safety. Celeste had even managed to arrive at school on time after basking in the praises of the masses. So, at first, everything had been perfect, but then the second Meta Psychosis attack happened. Alarms blared and the building went into lockdown before she could exit the classroom. She had been trapped during the entire frenzy.
Of course, the young woman could have activated the Realization app in front of people. She actually wanted everyone to know how amazing she was. Celeste should be praised as much as Atropos. At the same time, there were rules to being a hero. Breaking one's secret identity was the biggest taboo. Plus, the police were arresting everyone known to have powers. They wouldn't let her save the day anymore. There was also the problem of the second fusion causing her pain. Celeste could barely remain transformed for more than a few minutes without passing out. Thus, she had to stay back.
Unfortunately, that allowed another Visionary to get all the credit. Polaris didn't show up either. So, only Featherman was at the scene, and the giant wimp didn't even attack. He hugged the freakazoid into submission. She had never seen such pathetic footage in her life, but everyone praised him for some reason. The shadow Visionary prevented excessive damage to the city. No one was hurt. Featherman didn't need violence to win. Many people online and in real life were impressed by how he always put people first.
Celeste wanted to scoff. All of the commentators were stupid. Each one of them would die from pure agony if they endured one of the injuries caused by a Visionary attack. Featherman either liked pain or had a savior complex. Besides, less people would be in danger if Polaris didn't go all out with each attack. That guy didn't care if other people got hurt. He just wanted to end the fight as quickly as possible. If she had been alone, she could have destroyed the second rampager even faster than Featherman with less damage done to the city. Featherman had just been lucky.
Her day grew even worse when she returned home. Stella had earned an A on an exam. Orion had won a football game. Regulus had been accepted into a master chess tournament. The list went on for everyone but her. All of her numerous brothers, sisters, and cousins had achieved greatness. Meanwhile, the school called her parents about her almost being late again and her grades remaining at a C level. Thus, she received a two hour lecture about how she didn't measure up to Winters family standards.
The girl's mood didn't improve the next morning. There had been no attack to distract her. Her family was being demeaning, and Daphne was distracted. Something about the second attack caught her friend's interest. Without Daphne, Celeste didn't have any way to vent her frustrations. She felt ignored, dismissed, and unvalued. Everyone thought she was worthless. If she didn't hate crying so much, she would have hidden away in the bathroom to weep.
Luckily, Celeste had managed to avoid a breakdown. She hid her pain behind jokes and had gotten people to laugh twenty times that day. Their smiles and approval invigorated her. Without their acknowledgement, her cheerful mask would have been crushed. Celeste now only had a single class left. Then, she could look forward to the daily rampage. Most of her family was busy. So, the girl would finally have a night away from them and their demeaning looks.
"But an attack might not happen today!" Atropos floated next to her. As always, only Celeste could see her imaginary friend. "Maybe it's on a timer! The more that the rampages happen, the more time is needed between disasters! Eventually, there could be three a day, and then a week of nothing!"
Celeste didn't like that idea, even if it came from her own mind. She glanced at her creation. Atropos was as gorgeous as ever. The imaginary friend was a curvaceous woman wearing a long, flowing dress constructed from twisted, golden strings. Her tanned skin glowed with power. Absurdly long, pink hair flowed down below her feet like a rippling waterfall. Six, slender arms waved through the air as she repeatedly snapped her wide scissors. Atropos' hands were decorated in rainbow glitter and black nail polish. A beaming smile was constantly spread across her round, friendly face. Dark sunglasses hid her x-ray vision eyes from view.
"If that's the case, then we'll have to drag Daphne to a cafe!" Atropos' teeth sparkled. "Something special has to be bugging her!"
The imaginary friend was right. Celeste glanced sideways to the friend who remained dutifully by her side. Daphne had her head lowered. She had her thinking pout spread across her face. Trying to dig information out of the kind girl was impossible unless Daphne had her thoughts in order. Celeste could only hope that her friend had recovered by the time school ended. Right as the Visionary was about to ask what the problem was, everyone in the hallway stumbled.
Based on the noise, the commotion happened behind them. Some jocks had accidentally run into someone. They went tumbling across the ground, taking the people around them down as well. The rest was a domino effect. Celeste grabbed onto Daphne, stabilizing her friend enough that they only dropped to one knee. Everyone else wasn't so lucky. A bunch of people were lying flat on their faces. All of the awkward, twisted landings made Celeste laugh. At least, no one had been hurt besides a few bruised egos.
She glanced back to see the cause of the chaos. A group of basketball players had been roughhousing in the hall. They had run into the gloom and doom kid with the scars. The poor nerd hadn't seen the impact coming due to the eyepatch blocking the left side of his vision. He was currently under the pile of jocks, squirming his way free and showing apology texts from his phone. Celeste frowned. She hated when people apologized for something that wasn't their fault, but the girl knew that confronting the outcast, mute guy from her class about being a coward would only get her another lecture from her teachers and parents.
Before she could help Daphne up, a crashing noise from the nearby wall made her freeze. Dust and tiny pieces of rubble flooded through the room as a gust of wind surged around her. Her hand instinctually moved to her phone. She glared through the fallout, wondering if a Meta Psychopath was attacking. To her horror, an arrow of energy had punched through the brick barrier leading outside the school and embedded itself on the opposite side of the hallway. As the magical bolt faded, Celeste realized a terrifying fact. The attack had flown right above her head. If she hadn't tripped, she would have been hit.
"Oh my God! Do you know what this means?!" Atropos excitedly snapped her scissors.
Celeste grinned. Another Visionary was attacking. The rampager might even know her secret identity, considering that they had tried to hurt her. Now, the girl could take her aggression out on the Meta Psychopath or whatever she would call an evil person using the Realization app. Her nemesis was right outside her school, meaning she had first dibs. Featherman and Polaris wouldn't arrive in time to intervene. Celeste would be getting all the praise for being a hero today. Her bad mood was finally about to be left behind her.