Got the Grimoire, Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Once I’d finished writing and sending my report to the Director, I got back to my apartment as quickly as I could. My clone had done his job well, the apartment was at least basically furnished (temporarily) and groceries were at least bought, though untouched.

I set about preparations as Mimi walked out of her room wearing sweats and an overly large hoodie. She glanced around at the furnishings, then flopped onto the couch.

“God, I missed having one of these,” she said into a cushion.

“Definitely. I’m kind of getting tired of Kayden’s delays. It’ll be nice for this place to not feel so empty.”

“Yeah,” she agreed while sitting up. “Mostly, I just want a couch and T.V. It gets boring around here when you’re at work.”

I shot her a bemused look. “Aren’t you supposed to be out looking for a job or something?”

“Well yeah, but I don’t exactly have a resume or anything to wave around and get instantly hired. I basically can only look for small jobs that will pay under the table. The Asylum doesn’t exactly leave you a good papertrail to draw upon for a real, legal identity,” Mimi explained. “Why the hell do you think I was on the streets for so long?”

“Fair point. I’ll see what I can do about getting you a fake I.D,” I conceded.

Probably something I should have done in the first place, but I wasn’t too concerned about specific details when altering Burnscar into Mimi, just eager to potentially save an innocent’s life and get rid of a dangerous villain.

Would have been so much easier to just kill her…

Easier, perhaps, but true to your nature? I think not, my host.

I shot a quick look around the apartment, eyes searching more than a little frantically. “Did you hear that?”

Mimi frowned and her eyes took on a slight glow as her inner fire began to rise to the surface. “No…?”

“Like someone whispering just out of earshot…” I muttered. “I swear that’s been happening more lately. Maybe Ma- The memetic hazard that the Fallen has is still in my mind somewhere, messing with me…” I shook my head. “Anyway, I’ll see about getting you, like… A real secret identity. Don’t want you dependent on me forever.”

“You’re goddamn right.” Her expression turned introspective. “You really think I can do it? Build a real life for myself?”

“Of course you can. I wouldn’t be helping you out if I didn’t think so.”

“Liar. You’re a sucker for lost causes.”

I thought about it. Most of my friends did tend to be kind of unsalvageable disasters at first glance… “Well damn, you might be right.”

“Of course I am.”

Our kitchen was a nice setup, a range and plenty of counter space and shelves in an L shape with an island in the middle. On the other side of that was the largest chunk of living space, both a living and dining room all in one. Mimi rolled off the couch and seated herself on the other side of the island from where I was still getting dinner ready.

“Hey so um… I know we already talked about this, but you’re sure your girlfriend won’t like… try and blast me with her lasers? Cause I’d survive, but then she’d know I’m Firestorm and then she might know you’re Kage on top of being Magus and-”

I cut her off mid ramble with a small bop on the head. “Oi, chill out. Like I said, Crystal is cool, plus she’s bringing her cousin who can act as a living lie detector. Not to mention that Crystal already knows I’m Kage. Not sure how much she approves, but she hasn’t said anything about it to anyone else as far as I know and has even helped me out before. It will be fine.”

“Okay, yeah, totally fine.” Mimi tapped her knuckles nervously against the counter top. “Look I just… I already owe you a ton for letting me crash here while I get my life back together. If your girlfriend broke up with you over this-”

“Then it’s my own fault for not talking it over with her first,” I said easily, even if the thought did make my guts clench. “But sometimes executive decisions have to be made, it’s just how things are. Like I said, I’m confident it will be fine. Now have a glass of wine and relax, you’re starting to stress me out with how tense you are.”

“Right, right. I can do that.” She poured herself a glass of a nice buttery chardonnay. Not meant to go with dinner, more of a before or after drink to enjoy. “Sorry for freaking.”

“You’re acting more nervous than when I had to meet Crystal’s parents,” I teased. “Things will go great, promise.”

I just hoped that I wouldn’t be proven a liar when I actually gave Crystal the full detailed explanation of Mimi’s origins. That would be… inconvenient.

“Go get changed, you look like a hobo.”

Mimi flipped me the bird as she walked back to her room. “A week ago, I was a hobo!”

The doorbell rang after a couple of minutes and I took a moment to rinse and dry my hands before going over and opening the door. Crystal was waiting on the other side with an infectious smile. She’d dressed for a nice, but not overly fancy night, a knee length denim mini-skirt with a white blouse and red jacket. 

“Well, are you going to invite us in?” She prompted me.

Oh, I’d been staring like an idiot. I forgot just how damn beautiful she was sometimes… “Yeah, of course. Welcome in.”

I held the door for her as she walked in, Amy trailing in just behind. Geeze, I hadn’t even noticed her. My favorite healer hadn’t dressed up anything like Crystal, instead opting for dark baggy pants and a gray sweater. Made me feel kind of bad for prompting Mimi to change, since she was dressed so casually and similarly.

Crystal let out a low whistle as I graciously took her coat and draped it carefully over the back of a chair. “Nice place. Makes me think that the Protectorate might not be a bad idea after all…”

I chuckled and poured a glass of wine for her and for Amy as well. The U.S.A’s drinking laws never made sense to me. “They certainly pay well, even better when you sign up to fight S-class threats and that’s on top of the bounties I’ve gotten.”

“But then you have to fight S-class threats,” Amy pointed out. “None of us are on that level.”

“She’s got a point,” Crystal agreed with a small pout. “I’m one of the stronger Blasters in the Bay, but I’m small potatoes compared to the big players out there.”

“There are always more ways to improve,” I said. “Experience matters a lot out in the field. I might have a lot of raw power, but I’m severely lacking in matters of skill or using my powers as anything more than a hammer.”

“You are the last person who should be giving pep talks about ‘just do your best!’,” Amy said with an overly happy grin. I didn’t look or sound like that, did I? “You’re literally Eidolon-lite. Maybe even Eidolon-Premium.”

“Yeah, but my actual intelligence probably hinders me a lot,” I said self-deprecatingly. “A smarter person would have found a way to beat all the Endbringers by now. I’ve only dealt with one S-class threat so far amongst way too many.”

“Give yourself more credit,” Crystal rolled her eyes. “Could you do more? Sure, but we literally all could. Even just one S-class threat is a great thing.” She raised an eyebrow. “Any plans for dealing with some others?”

“Heartbreaker is next on my list,” I admitted. “Mostly as a favor for a friend, but also because he sickens me on a personal level. I’m just sorry I haven’t gone after him sooner.”

That sent a look of alarm over Crystal’s face, but Amy just shrugged. “Neat. So you can counter Masters now?”

“Basically any that operate like him,” I confirmed. “There are still certain effects that I probably couldn’t no-sell.” Like hers, which I conveyed with a raised eyebrow and a vague gesture toward my head. I hadn’t forgotten the deal we’d made when I talked to her about her powers and their potential.

She gave a small nod of understanding. Crystal meanwhile, didn’t look quite so pleased. “You’re certain you can resist Master effects? Especially one as powerful as Heartbreaker?” Her hand reached out to grip mine. “Losing you against an Endbringer would be a tragedy, but it’s a risk of being a hero. Seeing you turned against us… It’s unthinkable.”

I was touched by her genuine worry and I squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I can block out the Simurgh. I can block Heartbreaker. Not to mention that if all goes to plan, he won’t even know I was there.”

“Shit, I go to put something nicer on and you’re already talking about taking on fucking Heartbreaker of all capes.” Mimi finally exited her room, still dressed casually, but at least not as casually as Amy. Jeans and a sweater. My implanted memories of living on the streets probably gave her a more practical approach to clothing, a preference for warmth and comfort more than style. Or maybe she’d always been like that, I wasn’t exactly sure. I was just glad it wasn’t provocative at all.

No Crystal, I am not cheating on you with the scantily dressed brunette that is entirely reliant on me for financial support. Why ever would you even ask?

Crystal did raise an eyebrow. “Oh, you must be the roommate. I’m Crystal Pelham, Mak’s girlfriend.”

“Yeah, he never shuts up about you,” Mimi said with a friendly smile. “I’m Mimi, nice to meet you.”

For some reason, Crystal stuck out a hand to shake. Mimi appeared nonplussed and took it easily enough. “You as well. Oh and this is my cousin, Amy.”

Amy glanced up and then offered her hand as well.

Oh that’s clever. And also very good for me.

Amy could read a person’s body completely, including the small biological traces that something like sex leaves on a person. Probably not the only reason Crystal had brought her, but definitely a good one.

Mimi took Amy’s hand and gave it a small shake. “Nice to meetcha. Mak rambles about you too.” Well Mimi thought I had, but that was just more implanted memories. It wouldn’t do for a supposed long time friend to not know about any of my other friends. It was the little details that mattered when building a fake identity. “You guys are capes, right?”

“New Wave, open identities,” Crystal confirmed. I noticed that she shot Amy a glance, the mousy girl giving a small thumbs up, though she was frowning.

“Nice.” I saw just a glimmer of hesitation, then Mimi opened her hand and called forth a small ball of fire. “I'm something of a new face around here. I go by ‘Firestorm’.”

That actually took Crystal aback for a moment. “So if you’re a cape…”

“I already know about his whole deal,” Mimi said, gesturing in my general direction. “Including the Kage thing.”

Amy frowned as she poured herself a bit more wine. “Kage thing?”

Shit. I hadn’t told Amy, only Crystal. I could see Mimi starting to panic too. “Where do you think Arachne got that shield of hers,” I said with a raised eyebrow. Not a direct confirmation that I wasn’t Magus, more of an implication that I just supplied that team with some gear.

Amy still looked confused, so Crystal helped her out. “A new team showed up yesterday,” she explained to her cousin. “Kage, Arachne, and Firestorm. Arachne had a weird golden shield, some kind of tinker-tech or empowered item.”

“I didn’t need it and for such a long range power, that girl just loves to get in close.”

Amy’s eyes finally lit up with recognition. “You’re talking about the bug Master that I healed a couple weeks ago?”

“The very same. She’s making a go of being a hero, just not with the Wards. Which I think is a pity, I’m willing to bet she’d get on great with them if she just gave them a chance.”

“I’m sure they’ll run into each other at some point,” Crystal said. “The city is only so big.”

“True enough,” I agreed.

Dinner was just about ready, so I began plating and arranging the table. I brought out a different bottle of wine, a nice red that was way too fancy for me to even begin pronouncing then made sure the gals all had a plate before getting my own. I’d gone with steaks, but a bit fancier to try and make it more appealing to them all. Rather than just my customary favorite cut slathered in butter and spices, I opted for a lighter chimichurri on top and the steaks already cut into easy bite sized strips. Homemade mashed potatoes and a side salad completed the meal. Not too bad if I was any judge, but then again it wasn’t my opinion that mattered. I got a nod of approval from Amy and Mimi’s rather enthusiastic consumption of everything was praise of it’s own.

Crystal ate more slowly, but she gave me a warm smile as she did. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

“Eh, just part of being an adult on a budget,” I laughed sheepishly. “I don’t have much variety, but dammit if I don’t try and make it well.”

“You succeeded,” she reassured me. “We’ll trade recipes sometime. My dad is actually a great cook and he taught me some things.”

“Your dad? I can’t imagine,” I said with a small chuckle.

“Well Mom is busy being team leader,” Crystal explained. “So yeah, Dad did a lot of the more homemaking growing up.” She giggled and took a sip of her wine. “Superhero parents: Fighting traditional gender stereotypes before I was even born.”

“God that must have been cool growing up with cape parents,” Mimi said almost wistfully. Which was the wrong thing to say to those two in particular. I remembered that Crystal had triggered after being chased by rabid paparazzi. Amy’s adopted mom was a bitch while her biological father was a villain.

Crystal’s smile became a little strained. “There were cool moments. How about you, Mimi? I’m surprised Mak hasn’t told us about you before.”

“Not much to tell really. My parents were dickheads. I triggered, ran away, ended up on the streets. Met Mak a couple years ago while he was in college and he helped me straighten up. Then he got his fancy new job and powers himself and well… Being a cape doesn’t exactly pay the bills by itself and I don’t have the right attitude for an organization like the Protectorate. I’m here until I get a steady paycheck and a place of my own.” She smiled wryly. “Probably never heard of me because Mak just didn’t want to mention he was friends with a hobo,” Mimi ‘explained’, using the backstory I’d implanted in her mind. It was tragic, not to mention plausible. Trauma created parahumans and some people were just fucked up parents that should never have been allowed to procreate.

Crystal was smart though. She’d known me long enough to pick up on some of my habits and personality traits, which included a fierce loyalty to friends. If I had really been friends with Mimi for years like she’d claimed, I wouldn’t have just left her unmentioned and forgotten about, she’d have come up in some way, shape, or form. She gave me a look, one that said we needed to talk without prying ears. Luckily, I’d prepared for just such an occasion.

“Shit, I forgot dessert,” I said. I made a show of noticing Mimi’s empty plate. “Mi, could you…?” I held up a couple of folded bills.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, I’ll let your bae interrogate you now,” she teased. She snatched the money from my fingers and darted out the door with a backwards wave.

Once it was certain she was gone, Amy fixed me with a very potent stare. “Hey, Mak, why does your new roommate have extensive body modifications, not to mention fire powers?”

Oh shit. I’d forgotten about Bonesaw’s implants.

Crystal choked on her wine. “Fuck. Was that- Is she Burnscar?” She all but shouted the question, her eyes wide. “Goddammit, I kind of wish you were just cheating on me.”

“I’m not that kind of guy, I would have just broken up with you if I’d caught feelings elsewhere. Not that I’m liable too, because you’re incredible.”

“Flattery won’t save you,” Crystal growled, pointing her steak knife at me. “Explanations, now.”

“Yeah, okay.” I held a hand out toward Amy. “Ames, you wanna monitor my vitals, make sure what I’m saying is the truth and also confirm that I am completely within your power?”

Amy frowned, but took my hand. “Why exactly-” Her face paled as she began to piece together what I’d done. She knew that I was a potential human Master. “You didn’t…”

“Amy? You look like you know more about what’s going on than me right now,” Crystal said.

“Alright, lets rip off the band-aid: Some of my powers are conceptual in nature. The one you’ve probably seen me use the most is the ability to control waves, which is where most of my sound and light manipulation powers are derived from,” I explained. “However, waves is a very broad concept. Which includes human brainwaves.”

“Oh shit… you Mastered a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine?” Crystal asked. She glanced at her wine glass, promptly drained it, and then refilled it, hands shaking ever so slightly. “Okay, good to know that my boyfriend is apparently a high level Master. That explains some weird questions from Dean.”

“Oh that little bastard,” I growled, mostly to myself. “Just sticking his nose wherever he so pleases.”

“To be fair, you do that too,” Amy threw in.

I blinked and thought about it. Yeah, I guess I did. I always did have a tendency to hate those who acted in a similar manner to myself. Weird. “Yeah, but I’m actually somewhat qualified. He just thinks because he can see emotions, he’s an actual therapist.”

“And you think just because you have weird Thinker powers, you somehow know a person,” Amy said. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but it’s a little hypocritical.”

“Maybe,” I admitted.

“Okay, so besides the fact that this throws our entire relationship into sudden doubt… How long have you had Master powers and how do we know you’ve never used them on us? Like, did we actually meet by accident or was that a compulsion of yours?” Crystal asked, voice cracking only slightly. “‘Cause I swear…”

“You haven’t been Mastered at all,” Amy said in my defense. “Your brain is exactly as it should be, no abnormalities or changes to the chemical structures.”

“You don’t do brains though.”

“I choose not to because I have limits,” Amy said quietly, visibly tensing. “Because it would be way too easy to just make little tweaks if I really wanted. So Mak and I made a deal: If either of us started going off the rails, we’d use our powers on each other. Mutual destruction.”

“This was before I got the ability to fight Endbringers,” I said. “So it was way more likely that she could actually do it.”

“Ames…” Crystal was suddenly kneeling next to Amy’s chair. “Is that why I’ve never even seen Aunt Carol so much as hug you?”

“Probably,” Amy replied, eyes downcast. “She knows exactly what my limits are, but approves of my rules. But that doesn’t mean she’ll ever trust me.”

Crystal squeezed Amy’s free hand. “We’ll talk about this later. After all this gets sorted.” She turned her attention back to me. “Okay, so you claim to not have used your Master powers on us, but you used it on Burnscar. Why?”

“Well first of all, I’ll elaborate on how and why I can avoid the temptation to use my Master powers on anyone I actually know and like: Because I’m a Trump. You know the basic theory of how triggers are related to someone’s trauma?”

“Yup. Had a class that covered that pretty well.”

“Well it’s more than just that: Powers seem to push their users to be used. A Master type cape will almost have an overpowering urge to actually use their powers. I bet even if he wasn’t a horrible person, Heartbreaker would still have ended up a villain of some kind or at least the government’s dirty little secret.”

“I’ve heard that theory before. It actually makes sense, I don’t think I know any parahumans who just sit things out. Even rogues like Parian actively use their powers,” Crystal mused. “How does this relate to you not Mastering us?”

“Because my brain isn't wired the same way as a traditional Master. I don’t have the urge to use those powers specifically, just my powers in general and I’ve got plenty of others besides the Master ones to choose from. Plus I try to not be a purposefully shitty person.” I grinned and shrugged. “I had a somewhat decent childhood.”

“He’s telling the truth, Crystal,” Amy said. “I can read his biology like a book right now. Not to mention there would have been other signs. And he wouldn’t have joined the Protectorate and jumped through so many hoops if he wasn’t genuinely wanting to be a hero, a good person. I think it’s safe to trust him. Plus, if he was really a Master, we probably wouldn’t be in doubt like this.” She gave me the stink-eye. “Sure doesn’t seem like ‘Mimi’ has any doubts or worries about their friendship.”

“Which scares the living shit out of me,” Crystal sighed. “But I guess at a certain point… You just gotta show some trust.” She looked me over and then locked eyes with the most intensity I’ve ever seen out of her. “Swear to me that you’ve never used those powers on me or my family. That all of our interactions, our friendship and now this, that it was all genuine. That it’s all real.”

“Of course it is,” I whispered. “I only used them due to an extreme circumstance. I would never even imagine using them for something like that.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Amy said to Crystal.

Crystal kept up the eye contact and then nodded. “Alright. I’m not exactly happy about it, but… I think we can work past it. Now let’s talk about why you’ve got Burnscar as a roomie.”

“When I fought the Slaugherhouse Nine, there were two members that I decided might not deserve death,” I began to explain. “Mimi was one. To clarify: I think of Mimi and Burnscar as two separate people, because in many ways, they are. Now Mimi isn’t exactly a saint, in fact she’s kind of her own brand of shitty person, but she triggered young and was then stuck in the parahuman asylum. She had these scars all over her face, cigarette butts by the look of it. And her powers… her powers are what made her into Burnscar. They change her, make her lose empathy and impulse control, encourages violent behavior, all in a feedback loop that will make her more and more violent and vicious. By the time the effect fades, she’s already done heinous shit, which in turn makes her feel guilty and depressed, making drugs seem like a nice thing, but also encouraging more use of her power as it lets her escape the negative emotions. A perfect cape for Jack Slash’s band of murderers. So I purged her memories of her time as Burnscar, made some other minor alterations to her brain chemistry that so far seems to fight off the psychopathic tendencies her power elicits, and then added those fake memories she was talking about, about us being friends and stuff.”

Which I kind of wish weren’t fake. It would have been good for real Mak to have had a friend before he’d offed himself and let me take over. “The other cape I spared was Bonesaw. Riley. She was six when she was triggered and inducted into the Nine and that’s just… I have or rather had a kid sister the same age. I couldn’t do it. So I wiped away the last six years and dropped her with a government organization that could use her powers effectively.”

“Why didn’t you do the same for Burn- Mimi?” Amy asked curiously.

“Because there wasn’t an equivalency. Her powers are strong, sure, but nothing potentially groundbreaking like Bonesaw. I feel like I had to be the one to take on the responsibility for caring for her, since I didn’t have anyone else I could safely pawn her off too like Riley.” I swirled around my wine and finished it off. “Truth be told, part of me now feels guilty for not sparing Jack Slash. He triggered when he was twelve. Pretty fucked up parents there too…”

“You gotta draw a line somewhere,” Crystal mused. “If you tried to befriend or redeem every cape with a tragic backstory… well you probably wouldn’t get anywhere.”

“True,” I conceded. “I just… I empathize with some of these people, I really do.”

“Empathize more with the people they’ve hurt,” Amy advised. “But in the case of Bonesaw, I think you did the right thing.” She glanced at the front door. “Mimi is another matter.”

“I’ll reserve judgement for now,” Crystal said with a tired sigh. “You’ve been nothing but helpful to this city and the Protectorate. I guess we can at least try and trust that your little gamble will pay off and provide us another hero. Even if what you did is kind of skeevy.”

“Trust me, I don’t feel too good about doing it either,” I grimaced. “If I knew somewhere she could go that was actually safe and conducive to rehabilitating her, I’d have done it, but the Mastering was the only thing I could think of, the mind wiping at the very least. It’s not something I plan on ever employing again.”

There was contemplative silence for what felt like too long, then Mimi burst in carrying dessert. She looked around at the silent room and blinked.

“What the fuck did I miss?”
***
A/N: Not sure how I handled this. I was probably too lenient on Mak all things considered, but what do you guys think? Oh and then I had a formatting question that maybe someone here will know, (already tried Google) but when I copy and paste from Google Docs to here, Patreon automatically bolds all of my text, meaning I have to go back and redo all my proper bolding and italics where I wanted them. This wasn't an issue until like... two or three chapters ago, before that they just copied over exactly as they were in the original doc. Anyone know why? DM me if you do, but I'll try and research why it keeps doing it anyways.

Regardless of all that, truly, thank you as always. You guys rock. Hope to see you next week, maybe even a little early considering my work schedule this upcoming week...