NEW VINDICATORS ACADEMY OF EUROPE #26: The Persistence of Memory
September 3, 2009
VIENNA
Juozas woke to the sun lancing through the window of his apartment. It still felt strange—the notion that he had his own place. Dag had long ago left. He and his cousin had celebrated his graduation by touring the Mediterranean. His emails were getting far and few between now. Juozas hoped it wasn’t them growing apart and chose instead to believe his friend was just focused on settling in at Gothenburg.
Matt had returned to his native Estonia after graduation and Juozas had not heard from him since. It wasn’t that surprising, given how the Lithuanian had spent the last few years making the other teen’s life a living hell.
Venefica and Mira were still in Vienna. Much like Juozas, Newton had offered them jobs at the school. Both of the girls had turned him down: Venefica was dating one of the students—a relationship she would have had to abort if she were to join the faculty; Mira was more focused on helping her boyfriend and the custody battle he was gearing up for…
Gus had gone home to Egypt, no doubt seeking to put the memory—or lack thereof—of his time as Lacuna’s thrall behind him.
Juozas had stayed in the dorms for as long as Newton would allow him, but the headmaster had come to him a few weeks ago to officially evict him. Now, he was working as a trainer at a gym in order to afford the shoebox he now called home. It was worth it, though. Ever since Magnitude disappeared three months ago, Juozas had taken on the role as the Volunteers’ leader. He was proud of the work they were doing and couldn’t ever see himself stopping. That was one reason to stay in Vienna, but he had found another…
Juozas’ partner was lying in bed next to him. They had made a mess of the bed several times last night: the blankets and sheets were a tangle that barely covered them. After rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Juozas decided to rub his boyfriend’s exposed rump next. When that wasn’t enough to rouse his lover, he elected to brush his shaggy hair back and gently caress his neck with his lips.
The other man stirred and groaned as he was coerced out of his slumber. “What time is it?” he asked into the pillow.
“Time for round…” Juozas thought on it. “Four?”
“Mmm, shouldn’t this be round five?”
Juozas kissed his shoulder. The other shifted, rolling onto his back. Juozas wasted no time in pressing his lips to Lexus’. “For future reference,” the darker youth said, “breakfast in bed is an acceptable way of waking me up.”
“Is that a euphemism?”
“You’ll be my breakfast?” asked Lexus.
Juozas feigned to reach for the fridge and for the one-hundred and thirty-seventh time, he cursed that he was not telekinetic. “I think there’s some whipped cream in the fridge from the other night…”
Lexus let out a hearty laugh. “The four basic food groups, right? Whipped cream, soy sauce, leftover pizza, and beer.”
“And me.”
“And you.” Lexus kissed the older teen. “I love you, but you need to get groceries.”
“I need to do a lot of things,” Juozas confessed. “Unpack, laundry… you.”
“I’m serious, Juozas.”
“So am I.” Juozas kissed Lexus’ lips, then his chin, then his neck. As his lips found their way to his chest, Lexus’ phone began to ring. “Ignore it,” Juozas said as he continued to plant a trail of kisses down his boyfriend’s chest.
“Is that an order from my fearless leader?”
Juozas kissed his stomach. “Yup.”
Lexus reached over and grabbed his phone. “It’s Buddy,” he said. “Might be official business.”
Juozas let out a groan as Lexus took the call. “Buddy, what’s-? No, I’m not on campus. Oh, I got up early and went out for… Slow down, man, what’s-?” Lexus froze as Juozas continued crawling down his body, planting a trail of kisses. “I’ll be right there.”
He hung up his phone and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Kas is alive,” he said as he scrambled to dress.
NVAE, FRONT QUAD (Kas; NPCs: Derryl, Paladin)
Beta Team was baptized in light. When it faded, they were on the front lawn of the New Vindicators Academy of Europe.
“-et,” Lex was saying. He blinked and looked at the school. “Huh. Neat.”
"I don't know how much time I have," the Drifter said. "Herr Murphy? Thank you for teaching me to play the guitar. I'm a bit out of practice." She smiled sheepishly. "I hope you won't scold me too harshly.”
“Hey, you play for you, Tabby-Cat. You ain’t got nothing to prove to me.” Lex flashed her a grin. “‘Course, next time you’re going to have to play a set with me.”
The woman returned the smile before turning to Otso. "Herr Karell, you vere the one who taught me how to defend myself." She looked to her father. "Vhen Hannah Garrastazu starts bullying me, don't get upset with Herr Flaegler for teaching me to fight back."
She hugged her father one last time. "Thank you for being the best vater a girl could have hoped for." She lingered for several moments, not wanting to let go. "Ja, ja," she said, "I hear you Lobby. I'm going, I'm going..." As she let go, the glyphs appeared once more. "Ich liebe dich." There was a blinding flash of light and then she was gone.
It was then that Lex noticed that they could once more hear. “Huh, where’s all the noise?” He looked to the sky and realized the Elpis and the other worlds were gone from the sky.
"It seems the others were victorious,” intoned Paladin. “I would like to see Harry. Could someone lead me-"
"Lex!?!"
“Sweet mama-jama!” The sound of Kirstie’s voice made Lex jump. Only a few hours ago, he had left her in England. His father must have brought her here...
Kirstie was standing outside the front doors, staring at Beta Team in disbelief. She was frozen on the spot, staring at him in wonder. Then she broke into a run and tackled him, sobbing quietly into his chest.
“Whoa, it’s okay, Kirstie,” he said. “It’s okay. Everybody’s fine. See?”
As he held her, he realized her hair was considerably longer since he'd seen her a few hours ago. "It's you," she said. "I knew it! I knew you'd come back!"
Derryl swallowed hard, terrified of the answer he was about to get. "What's the date?"
"It's the third of September," Kirstie said. She refused to let go of Lex. "You've been missing for three months."
“W-what?” stammered Lex. He looked up at the others. Otso transformed and ran for the girls’ dorms; Kas’ face was scrunched up in bewilderment; Derryl simply seemed agitated; Paladin looked positively alarmed. “We were just in the ship a few hours ago. We hopped over to destroy Argus’ factory… Three months!?!” He shook his head. When the initial shock wore off, he drew out his cell phone. He tried to call his parents, to no avail. “Oh, @#$%,” he sword, looking back to the clear sky, “I told Nate I’d help him save his family…”
Kirstie grabbed Lex by the cheeks and pressed her lips to hers. She kissed him long and hungrily. Her hands slipped down his neck and pulled her arms back over his shoulders. She hopped up, hugging his neck and locking her legs around him. Unprepared, Lex stumbled back and fell to the ground where Kirstie pinned him and continued to kiss him.
“Uh, we’ll just, uh, go find Herr Newton,” Kas said awkwardly. Leading Derryl and Paladin away, Kas realized that they were beginning to draw a crowd. Some he recognized; many he did not. “This is not good,” he muttered. “Three whole months? What about my family—the Volunteers!?!”
Once inside the school, the trio made their way to the headmaster’s office. Newton was ecstatic to see them walk in. “I had hoped this day would come,” he said, grinning at them. “Please, come in! Sit down! Can I get you anything?”
“Answers,” Kas said. “We’ve apparently missed a lot.”
Newton grimaced at that, unsure where to really begin. “Three months ago, two cities were invaded: the Aeolian Empire was repelled by the Vindicators in Chicago, while the students of several different universes succeeded in stopping the Armada. Still, both cities suffered their share of damage. Bridges are out, debris is being removed… but for once, we’re not getting the blame.
“The public has been speaking out about what happened. There are people who were saved in both cities who are telling their stories—talking about the good everyone did. Things haven’t just magically changed overnight, but… it certainly feels like we’re getting somewhere.
“Unfortunately, this may be because of a new target for mankind’s animosity: the refugees. We defeated the Armada, yes, but the cost was very high.” Newton looked at Derryl sadly. “I’m not quite sure how to say this: your world was destroyed, son.”
Derryl looked confused. “My world was destroyed a long time ago,” he said. “You mean my adopted world?” The teen shrugged. “I’ll find another.”
“What happened to Harry?” Paladin asked. “Tell me he’s alive.”
Newton nodded. “He is. He left the school almost as soon as Martin had him healed. He’s taken your place, sir. The Blue Knight has been fighting crime in London the last few months.
“Some of the others were not as fortunate. A member of the Armada defected to join us—Oscar? He was killed in the battle. We also lost some of the heroes from other worlds: Andrew Catargi and Wally Tremain, or Kelpie and Shakes, as they were codenamed.
“Otso’s father died fighting the Armada here on the ground; Vlad’s mother was killed aboard the ship. Eve Robbins was slain in battle, however…” The headmaster hesitated. “One of her teammates took her to the other school. He seemed to believe that their healer might be able to still save her.”
That worried Kas. The headmaster was an Esper—someone who could eavesdrop on the departed. If Eve had been resurrected, surely he would have known it. Kas had to wonder if he was being vague to try and bolster the spirits of his charges—as though he were trying to give them a reason to believe Eve might be alive and happy on some other world.
“And, of course, with your return, there is only one still missing: Gaspar. According to Martin, Gaspar became entangled in a brawl with Lexus’ father. The two were aboard a shuttle that left the Elpis. Unfortunately, we have no way of telling if Gaspar is alive or dead or even what world he landed on.
Knowing that his protégé was safe made Paladin breathe easier, but Kas still had questions: “You mentioned refugees?”
Newton nodded. “The teleporters from the world that perished—they evacuated the school on that world, then went back to evacuate as much of New York City as they could. They were able to bring over thirteen-thousand people from that dimension to this one. It’s created quite the legal quagmire. Some of those people exist as younger versions of themselves in this timeline. Others are the grown-up children of people who haven’t met yet.
“While the United States consulate tried to determine how best to deal with this, they were offered temporary visas for the European Union. Most of the faculty has been involved in an adult education camp over the summer. These people were just in an alternate reality’s 2026, and now it’s 2009, and recent history is different from what they remember. The trouble has been in figuring out the differences. We know how our history has played out, but we don’t know what is different for them.”
“And they’re receiving animosity for this?” Kas asked.
The headmaster shook his head. “There have been numerous hiccups with the city suddenly taking on this many guests. Fiore and Rose have been working tirelessly to try and increase crops to accommodate these people, but they have other needs. Housing, for one. Considering that the city is still recovering from the Armada’s attack, countless people are homeless at the moment. It’s led to a rash of crime that the Volunteers have been tirelessly working to contain, but… it’s still an issue.
“We’re also stretched thin where medicine and therapy are concerned. None of the refugees have any medical history we can access. Some are diabetic and in need of dialysis. Others rely on life saving medicine—some use medicines that don’t yet exist. Martin has tried to reconstruct some semblance of these medications by what was still in their system, but it’s not yet perfect. Others still haven’t been able to cope with the situation they find themselves in. For every suicide your classmates have prevented, there’s two they don’t.
“Still, the biggest reason for the burgeoning odium towards these poor souls is money. Even with the Caspians feeding them and Martin trying to replicate medications, they need money. They’re taking jobs. Some in Europe are complaining that they’re taking jobs from natural born citizens. Just last week the Volunteers stopped a riot outside of a grocery store. People were protesting the store’s hiring of twenty refugees and things got violent.”
“Sounds like it would have been better if they had died with their world,” muttered Derryl.
The headmaster shook his head. “It saddens me that more could not come over. Things may be difficult now, but… these are people, the same as you and me. They deserve the same shot at happiness that we all do. It’s just a matter of finding how to coexist with each other.”
Paladin rose up. “There’s not much that I can do about that,” he said. “I should be off. I’ve been away for longer than three months.” He extended a hand to both Derryl in Kas in turn. “It’s been… bizarre.”
“Mister Percy may not be here,” Newton said, “but some of your other former students are. Shelby DeGallow, Logan Decker, and Roslyn Arnett-Rexroth are all here at the school.”
Paladin grimaced. “There were two others…”
“Mister Catargi was slain aboard the ship, but Mister Blackwell is alive in the other dimension.”
Paladin nodded. “Good. He’s soft. He wouldn’t survive in this world. Maybe this other world will treat him better.”
As he moved to leave again, Newton again moved to stop him. “I imagine they’ll want to see you before you go.”
Paladin shook his head. “I taught them what I can. They’re all yours now.”
Without another word, Paladin left the school behind him.
NVAE (Lex; NPCs: Kirstie)
Kirstie grabbed Lex by the cheeks and pressed her lips to hers. She kissed him long and hungrily. Her hands slipped down his neck and pulled her arms back over his shoulders. She hopped up, hugging his neck and locking her legs around him. Unprepared, Lex stumbled back and fell to the ground where Kirstie pinned him and continued to kiss him.
“Uh, we’ll just, uh, go find Herr Newton,” Magnitude said awkwardly. Though he led Derryl and Paladin away, the couple was drawing onlookers. Kirstie appeared not to notice; she only had eyes for him.
“Mm, Kirfdie?” mumbled Lex around the kisses. “Kirfdie?”
She sat up suddenly and punched him hard in the chest. “Where the bloody hell have you been!?!” she roared.
“Ow!” he yelped. “Hey, wai-”
“Do you know what you’ve blood well put me through!?!”
“Ow! I’m sorr-”
She punched him again—this time slugging him in the shoulder. “All this time, we didn’t know if you were dead or still trapped on that stupid ship! Then the lot of you just show up like nothing happened!?!”
“It was onl-”
She punched him in the jaw and then her eyes bulged when he went limp under her.
“Ow! The hell!?!”
“I’m sorry!” she proclaimed, dropping down to kiss him again. And again. And again and again and again and again.
At first he flinched, holding his arms up in front of him to push her away weakly. “No,” he protested. “Off. Off.”
“I’m sorry, it’s… it’s been… You’ve been missing for months and no one knew if you were… Well… You know, and I… I… I’vebeenbabysittingourgrandsonalotandsometimesandthissituationisreallymessedup.”
“I get it. I do, but-”
Her eyes lit up with realization. “Your dad!” She fumbled about for her phone. “I have to tell him! Your dad is going to flip when he finds out!” She froze suddenly, with her fingers hovering over the buttons. “Actually, m-maybe I should just leave—let you tell… I… I mean, y-you…” She couldn’t make eye contact with him anymore. “There’s this little girl your dad… She…” She took a deep breath. “ShethinksJackandIareherparentsbutit’snottruesopleasedon’thateme.”
"Her name is Ultramauler and she's $*#(ing adorable!"
Kirstie shot him a deadpan look. “Doctor Bacon wanted to run some tests. She’s my daughter. Sure, she’s adorable, but she’s also…” She sighed and let her arms fall limp at her sides. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
Lex sighed and propped his aching head in his hands. “I get it, okay. I’m sorry. I know what it’s like. I’ve been there. I’ve lost somebody too.”
“You don’t get it,” Kirstie said.
Lex talked over her, holding up his phone so she could see the date and time listed. “But I saw you less than four hours ago, see? I’m not trying to be mean. I’m really not. I thought it was hours, not months. Drifter must have teleported us through time or something.”
“I don’t love her!”
Her exclamation took him off guard.
“Ultra Mauler. I… She’s adorable, yes, and according to Doctor Bacon, she is my biological daughter, but I’m not her mom, Lex. Her mom is some other woman in some other dimension and every time she sees me, she calls me that and I get that she had a rough life, but that doesn’t make her my problem, does it?” She was breathing heavy. She seemed on the cusp of hyperventilating. “Everyone acts like I’m a terrible person because I don’t want her around me, but I just…” She threw her hands up in defeat. “I can’t be who she expects me to be. I don’t want to be with Jack. I don’t want her to stay in my room. I…” She broke down crying. “Everyone keeps saying I’m a horrible mother, but I can’t be because I’m not a mother period.”
Shrugging off his jacket, he threw it over Kirstie’s shoulders, then slipped an arm around her. “You’re not her mother,” he said as he pulled her close, “and anybody who’s expecting that of you is either a scared, lonely little girl who means well but doesn’t know better… or somebody I’ma gonna punch in the near future.” His tone dropped dangerously low. “Who the hell dumps that on a sixteen-year-old girl?”
Kirstie shrugged. “Your dad, for one. He’s sort of unofficially adopted her. He has her calling him ‘Pop’—telling her that he might as well be her grandfather.”
“Look, I got your back, okay? However you want to do this, we’ll do it. The naysayers? #$*@ ‘em. It’s not fair to pretend you’re her mom and dump that responsibility on you. She’s got to know you ain’t really her mom, too, but you’re the closest thing to a family she’s ever going to have, ya know? She’s probably just clinging to that because…” He sighed, thinking back to his first semester here—his parents still in America. “…It’s not easy being alone.”
“It’s not that easy,” Kirstie said. “It’s more complicated than… She’s Jack’s daughter, right? I mean, biologically. Has his shifting powers? She’s been using them to make herself look older than she is, Lex. On the ship, she was taken out. A teleporter evacuated her to the school, but… when she was unconscious, she reverted… Lex, she’s only about six or seven. She tries to play like she’s older and more mature, but she’s just a little girl. She doesn’t understand the situation she’s in. She’s not…” An exasperate sigh escaped her.
Lex hugged her tight. “I know she wants her mom, but she can’t have that. Maybe we can talk to her, and you guys could be friends? You could be, like, a really cool older sister?”
“I don’t think she’ll settle for that,” Kirstie said. “Anyway, you should see your mom and dad. She’ll be with them, so… I’ll be somewhere else. Come find me later and I’ll catch you up on everything, okay?”
When Lex left for his parents’ apartment, he found Doug there, playing Candyland with Roger, Ultra Mauler, and a teenage girl with pink skin.
Everyone was smiling.
NVAE, GIRLS’ DORMS: BEATRICE’S ROOM (Otso; NPCs: Beatrice)
Otso's mind was nagging him about what appeared to be Kasimir's time—and dimension?—travelling adult daughter, but he was simply too damned tired to pay it much attention. Tired and anxious to get home. So when they arrived, he was looking around only to find no trace of the invaders. Tabitha's thank you about his tutoring her won a warm, if frazzled smile from the weary werebear.
Then they spotted Kirstie and Otso thanked whoever was listening quietly in his heart that they'd apparently in fact made their way to their home. But when the British girl got out in-between sobs and burying Lex under a fierce hug that they'd been gone for three months, Otso started casting alarmed looks around them.
The person he was looking for became obvious to all of them as he broke off into a full run towards the school building. "Beatrice! Bea!" He had to find her, and right now that lead to him being a very large and very concerned bear running full tilt through the school.
Otso transformed and sniffed the air. He caught Beatrice’s scent—it was different. It was her, but there was something new, like a change in perfume.
He followed her scent to the girls’ dorms—ignoring the shock and surprise the students had at the sight of him. Stranger still, he didn’t recognize many of them. They screamed in alarm at the sight of a bear charging through the schoolyard. He ignored them as expertly as he did those who recognized him and assaulted him with questions: “Where have you been?”, “Where did you go?”, “Have you seen Gaspar?” He ignored them all, determined to give his attention to only one young woman…
At Beatrice’s door, Otso shifted back to his human form and gave the doorknob a twist. He barely recognized the young woman on the other side.
Beatrice was thin. Gone were the chubby cheeks she was so self-conscious about. She was gaunt, and garbed entirely in black. It matched the colour of her hair—hair she wore in a pixie cut.
Between her fingers was a lit cigarette—the smell he’d detected amalgamating with her scent. At the sight of him, the cigarette dropped to the floor. She sat paralyzed, looking as though she’d seen a ghost. “You ‘ad better not be Martin or Dennis,” she warned.
Otso stood spellbound in her doorway, a nagging thought at the back of his mind reminding him that according to Kirstie, they'd been gone for three months. But he didn't care. She was alive. He'd been so scared to come home only to find her gone as well. Just like...
Tears welled up in Otso's eyes as he strode across the room to close the distance between them. He broke down completely when he embraced her, the bear hug surprisingly firm yet tender at the same time. "It's me Bea, I'm home. I... I'm home." It was all he could manage between sobs as he held her tight, scared to death of losing her if he let her go.
He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him back. He heard her sniff. At first, he mistook it for a sniffle, only to realize she was sniffing him—trying to take in his smell.
His eyes went to her bed. There was a book open next to where she’d been sitting. It looked ancient: worn, yellowed parchment showed pages written in a language he wasn’t familiar with, showing a drawing depicting four robed men stabbing another figure—a naked man—and catching his blood in chalices.
Before he could question it, Beatrice grabbed his head and guided her lips to hers. “Tu m'as tellement manqué,” she said between kisses. “Tu m'as tellement manqué.”
SAN FRANCISCO (Dennis and Martin; NPCs: Abe)
Ignoring the catalyst behind the refugees' migrating to this dimension, Dennis was beginning to enjoy having Abe on hand. The young Neo-Sapien had a talent for spatial manipulation: with little more effort than he put into thinking, Abe was able to join Vienna with San Francisco, letting the three teens walk from the New Vindicators Academy of Europe to the Golden Gate Bridge--an icon that Abe could easily envision.
From here, Dennis was in charge of navigation. He'd spent the last three months working at the internship Mister Benson had found him...
I'll let EO summarize how he got to this point. Flynn, I've told you the gist of what you're doing here, but feel free to detail how Martin has spent the last three months.
VIENNA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Jack; NPCs: Ellen)
Their luggage trailing behind them, Jack and Ellen made their way to the concourse. The last few months had been nothing short of relaxing.
Jack had fought his doppelganger, created a duplicate of himself to pose as said doppelganger, went to prison for his doppelganger’s crimes, saw the creation of the Armada, saw several dimensions destroyed, conspired to bring the Armada down with his father and step-mother, saw their rebellion quashed, saw his father killed, died himself, then woke up in his real body with conflicting memories of a year he never actually lived through, was mentally healed by a mysterious child who had appeared out of nowhere and disappeared almost as quickly, then repelled an invasion by the Armada, which saw the death of one of his classmates.
After all that, three months with his girlfriend and her mother were a well-deserved break, but now, they were a little over a week away from the start of another year at the New Vindicators Academy. It was the start of her senior year and his junior year.
The school had sent someone to pick them up at the airport. As they made their way towards the main entrance, Jack spotted their driver: JR Radikovich.
Ellen didn’t react: she had yet to meet the young man who claimed to be her son from an alternate timeline. Still, he knew her.
“Welcome home, mom,” he said as he approached. He opened his arms and moved in for a hug, only for Ellen to lean back out of it.
NVAE, NELSONS’ APARTMENT (Tamati; NPCs: Sarah, Shelby, Tatjana)
“I still can’t get over this,” Shelby said as she cradled the three-month old in her arms. “I’m holding myself as a baby.” She looked to Tamati. “Do you think the novelty of this will ever wear off?”
NVAE (Violet)
Given that there are a few different ways to go with Violet, I want to let you open this up, Shock, and describe the last three months for her. We’ll move from there.