NOVEL FROG Lag 6.23d
Lag 6.23d
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"Wh-what."
Theo's not-question hung in the air, the silence of the room interrupted only by the blaring theme song of another episode of CAPES starting up as the marathon continued on the TV. Indie rock filled the room, but Greg paid it no mind, his focus entirely on the chubby boy in front of him.
Greg smirked. "I didn't stutter. You did, though."
"What the fuck are you doing?" A voice hissed at him from his left, the words sharp and biting.
Carefully ignoring the focused glare of his best friend's gold eyes boring a figurative hole through the side of his face, Greg kept his own blues focused on his godbrother. Theo looked straight at him with shock and confusion, his mouth hanging open slightly, his eyebrows knitted together as he clearly tried to wrap his brain around the offer. Sparky's glare, on the other hand, was a mix of shock and anger, his lips pressed into a thin line.
The offer wasn't one that Greg was making on a whim, despite how it seemed. Theo's perfect for what I need, he thought, his mind racing with the possibilities.
"I'm building our forces," Greg began, his eyes still focused on Theo, a smile playing on his face.
The other two boys blinked in confusion, Theo more so than Sparky, until both realized that Greg was responding more to one than the other. Theo's expression was still one of dull shock. Sparky, however, stood there with a single eye twitching in irritation.
Greg wasn't going to lie. As much fun as messing with people was, he didn't just do it to make them angry or for his own enjoyment. While he did get a huge kick out of messing around the way he did, more than anything else, when he dropped a non-sequitur into a conversation or acted off, the best part was that it threw off the path of conversation and gave him at least a second or two to think.
And right now, he needed all the time he could get.
He knew Sparky wouldn't like the idea of him offering powers to anyone else, even though he had been thinking hard about the idea since the night he had used it on Sparky.
Not only had it worked, but it had worked better than he thought.
He had managed to keep Emma from dying with it, after all.
Stabilized her, even.
He didn't even know what he was doing and it still…
Sheer dumb luck. It had saved her life.
His girl had pretty much had her chest torn open, her ribs broken and stabbing her insides, internal bleeding everywhere including her brain, and a shattered skull. All he had to do was lay hands on her and… glow it up, and she was… I kept her alive.
Greg swallowed hard, pushing the image of Emma's broken body out of his mind with a barely-hidden shudder.
Sparky, on the other hand, had some injuries, but a stab wound and a gunshot were the worst of it, as shitty as that was to say. Even then, Greg had poured in at least two or three times more energy into Sparky than he had into Emma. It wasn't Reinforcement or anything. No, that works half as well as Capegoat for actually keeping a person together, he thought, recalling the shitty perk that was more trouble than it was worth for any injury that wasn't a simple wound.
No, it was just flooding Sparky's system with as much Mana and Will as he could take and all Greg had to give.
It worked, Greg thought, a sense of bitter pride swelling in his chest.
It had.
And he had pulled Sparky back to life with powers and with no wounds to show for it, and all his friend needed was a long nap.
But Emma… Greg's thoughts trailed off. She was stable, yes, but she wasn't healed. Not completely. Not like Sparky.
Greg kept the smile on his face as both boys looked at him with confused and annoyed expressions respectively, nobody actually aware of where his thoughts were going, as usual. He liked it that way, for many reasons. They don't need to know everything. Not yet, anyway.
He needed more… data points? Test subjects?
He needed to try and do his glowy thing-y on more people to see if Sparky was a fluke, or if he was simply better at… that thing now. Meaning that he could try again… he could fix… he could…
Greg's smile wavered slightly, his eyes darting to the side as he considered his options. He had been considering Seo for the third try, the constant [Analyze]'s on his second-in-command letting him know that the man was more likely to walk into Hookwolf's arms for a hug than betray him, but with Theo here and now…
It's too perfect, he thought, his smile widening again. Theo's the perfect candidate. He's practically family, he's trustworthy, and he's already in the know. Plus… the other stuff.
"I'm building our forces," he echoed, his voice taking on a grandiose tone as he spread his arms wide. "This city needs young men of good moral quality, and brave hearts who are willing to stand up f-"
"NO!" Sparky cut in, not even humoring him. "NO! Not right now! Just be real for five seconds…"
Five seconds, "I know, I know, I just like saying stuff like that out loud." Greg raised an eyebrow as he shared a look with a still-stunned Theo. I can do that. "Fine. I think Theo's a cool dude and I figure why not?"
"That's not a good reason," Sparky shot back, his voice rising in pitch.
"Come on, Sparky. We're already two wild outlaws, the dos bandidos," the blond said, finally glancing over at his friend. "With him, we could be the tres criminales."
"I-I'd rather not be a criminal," Theo's oddly quiet, distant voice made itself heard, words barely audible over the sound of the TV.
"Tres amigos," Greg corrected, without skipping a beat or looking away from Sparky. "And he's bilingual, great resume."
"I don't speak Spanish, it was just… obvious," Theo said, his voice still quiet, his expression still stunned.
Still ignoring Theo, Greg tried to make Sparky listen, voice almost pleading. "We need a third mind, a super-ego to our id and ego."
"Do you even know what that means?" Sparky shot back.
Greg pulled a face, one eyebrow raised as he looked at his friend. "Yeah, I've read Freud. I read a lot. I have a lot of time on night patrols. Do you know what it means?"
"...No," Sparky admitted, voice low as he blushed slightly.
"Okay, then," Greg said, unable to help his smug smirk. "Now, Theo," he turned on his heel, his attention shifting back to his cousin, "What do you say?"
Theo stared back, his gray eyes blank as he looked as if his entire understanding of the world had just been upended. "Y…You can give me powers?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. After a second, he took a low breath and added in a much quieter voice: "Permanently?"
"On a scale of yes to no…" Greg grinned back, restraining himself from smiling too-wide. He was well aware he had an issue with more teeth in his mouth than should be there recently.
Probably. "Yes."
Gray eyes narrowed at that answer before Theo shifted his attention to Sparky, his expression intense. "He gave you powers?"
Sparky nodded slowly, arms crossed over his chest as his gaze flicked over to Greg for a moment before settling back on Theo. "Yeah… to save my life. Some E88 fucks kidnapped me and almost killed me, till blue-eyes showed up and sent them packing."
Theo stared hard and long at Sparky at those words, his expression unreadable.
Finally, the chubby boy let out a long, low hiss, shoulders slumping slightly as he seemed to come to a decision. "...Okay."
Greg tilted his head to the side, a curious expression on his face as he studied his cousin's reaction. "Is that an 'okay, I'll accept powers' or…" he trailed off, letting the unfinished question hang in the air.
Theo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his hands fidgeting at his sides as he seemed to struggle with his words. "It's an 'okay, I believe you,'" he finally said, his voice slightly strained, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was saying. "It's an 'okay, I think I trust you'."
"Why would I lie?"
"Idon'tknow," Theo replied, the three words coming out in a rush as he stared at Greg with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Maybe because c-c-capes that can hand out powers permanently are kind of a big deal, maybe. Like shoot this guy in the head before he makes a cape army big deal," the chubby boy continued, the last sentence almost a whisper. "
Greg pulled a face. "That's kinda of an overreaction, don't you think?"
"Overrea-" Theo paused, eyes widening as he took another deep breath, in a clear attempt to calm himself. "Power granters are a big deal, man. Even Othala has to deal with kidnapping attempts and the powers she gives out burn out faster than the time it takes to boil an egg!" His voice rose with each word, hands tight at his sides. "Can you imagine? Permanent powers that you're just handing out to people you think are cool? Who would do that?"
Greg blinked, his mind racing as Theo spoke. Kidnapping attempts? he thought, his brow furrowing slightly. I didn't know that was a thing. Othala wasn't really a powerful cape, especially compared to the few decently strong parahumans the Empire kept in its roster. Given that she was literally useless in a direct fight by herself, the cape in the skintight red bodysuit wouldn't at all be a real member if it wasn't for the fact that she could literally hand out powers.
"Imagine how tired I am," Sparky suddenly spoke up, voice dripping with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes in Greg's direction. "Imagine how tired I am."
"Wait…" he said, his voice slow and thoughtful. "People tried to kidnap Othala?" He shook his head, his blond hair flopping into his eyes with the motion. "When did that happen?"
Theo turned to stare at him, his gray eyes widening again. "I just… I heard…" he stammered, his words coming out in fits and starts as he licked his lips. Greg watched him with a raised eyebrow, noting the way his godbrother's face remained oddly still despite the visible anxiety in his body. Yeah, I gotta toughen this guy up.
"You know, on Parahumans Online…" Theo continued, one hand waving through the air in a vague motion as the other was clenched at his sides. "...the forums… they talk, you know, about stuff like that. I think it was on her wiki, at some point… yeah…" he trailed off, his voice growing quieter with each word, eyes darting away from Greg's own.
"...Okay," Greg nodded, his voice slightly slower than usual. "Must have missed it. Haven't really been using PHO in a while."
"So…" Theo spoke up again, his voice slightly steadier, his eyes meeting Greg's once more. "What powers do you give out?"
Greg grinned. "Well, as far as I know, the powers I give out are highly increased senses, a stronger and faster body, general resistance to pain, and faster healing, stamina and immune system. When I say stronger, I mean like lifting half a ton and running as fast as a car, no joke." He leaned forward slightly , one arm in the front pocket of his jacket as he stared Theo up and down. "I'm pretty sure you can make yourself stronger by pushing yourself too."
"Yep," Sparky chimed in, raising two fingers from where he crossed his arms over his chest, his voice flat and unamused.
Theo stared at them both, his eyes so wide that Greg was surprised they hadn't rolled out of his skull. "Huh," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "All of that? You give a Brute, Thinker and a Mover package? "
"Yep," Greg replied, his grin widening, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"And no side effects?" Theo asked, his voice hesitant, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Nope…" Greg began, only to pause, eyes widening slightly as a thought occurred to him. He turned slowly to face Sparky, his gaze locking onto the other boy's unnaturally bright golden eyes. "Welllll…," he drawled, his voice taking on a slightly sheepish tone. "Visible side effects include an increase in the depth and intensity of your eye color. Maybe a different color entirely, it depends. And you'll be hungrier for a bit."
Sparky nodded. "Also, migraines from the enhanced senses. Takes a while to get used to 'em," he added, raising two fingers slightly again. "Just take some Tylenol and you'll be fine after the first couple days. Bitch and a half till then though."
Greg winced slightly at the memory of Sparky's first few days with his new powers, the other boy's complaints about the constant headaches and sensitivity to light and sound still fresh in his mind. Maybe I should have warned him about that beforehand, he thought, a slight twinge of guilt tugging at his chest. Then again, it's not like I knew it was gonna happen either.
He shook his head, pushing the thought aside as he turned his attention back to Theo. "So, what do you say, cuz?" he asked, his voice taking on the heroic tone and slight British accent he used as Sir Prodigy. "Are you ready to join the ranks of the superpowered? A vanguard against evil? My pantheon of just-"
"Stop," Sparky's voice interrupted him bluntly.
"Party-pooper."
Theo shifted his weight again, his eyes darting between Greg and Sparky, his expression one of intense consideration. Greg could practically see the gears turning in his head as he weighed his options.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Theo let out a long, slow breath, his shoulders slumping slightly as he seemed to come to a decision. "...okay," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes locking onto Greg's with a mix of trepidation and excitement. "I'm in."
+1 CHA
Greg felt the grin on his face grow, the look of it definitely not normal as Theo flinched and stepped back at the sight of it. "Perfect." He rushed forward, startling Theo again as his cousin let out a sudden squawk at the sight of him appearing in a blur.
"Wha-"
"Shhhhhh," Greg began, resting one palm over his godbrother's heart as the other cupped the side of his head. "Relax, Theo…" Blue light began to pool around one palm as gold light shone from the other, "and embrace eternity!"
I've always wanted to say that.