Downsized Hero 2 Ch 3

By the time the doorbell rang, it was well into evening. The sunlight from earlier had dimmed with the coming of evening and the accumulation of clouds that promised an overnight rain. From time to time a gust of wind caused the branches of the rhododendron outside to scrape noisily against the window glass, but other than that it was silent except for the tapping of keyboards.

I'd convinced Draco and Zoya that it might be best for to set up the drone/dragon hybrid in the bedroom for the time being. I'd given them a tablet and explained the Internet in brief terms. Then I launched a video sharing app, ensured they could use it (Draco seemed to be able to interface with computer systems in some way that neither of us could yet explain), and, with some trepidation, left them to their devices.

I'd also spent a few minutes persuading Zoya that the dragon needed some adjustment time alone. It was a bit frustrating and endearing to see this aggressively intelligent and formidable woman revert to the emotional age of a preteen when finally given an outlet for years of unrequited yearning.

Now Zoya was sitting on the couch again, legs folded up under her and brow furrowed in concentration. She hadn't looked up from her laptop at the sound of the doorbell, deep into some coding challenge. I checked my location map, and saw the yellow dot of Cate at my door. Better than a video doorbell, I thought, and went to let her in.

"So what's the urgency?" Cate was in her conservative work attire, with a bulky and unfitted charcoal anorak with silver piping on top. She didn't have a hat on, so her short, curly orange hair was mussed from the breeze, but her light gray eyes were bright and worried as she peered in through the door. She had a green and gray messenger bag worn across her chest, and her freckled face was flushed slightly from the cold.

"Hey Cate," I began awkwardly, and ushered her in. "Yeah, I have something to tell you."

"Something about work?" She asked over her shoulder and she began to shed the messenger bag. Then she paused suddenly in the hall, spotting Zoya on the couch. "Oh, hi," she offered after a slight pause. I saw Zoya wave from the couch without looking up. Cate turned back to me, nonplussed.

"Yeaaah, not really." I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure how to start. I'd tried the conversation a number of times in my head, and nothing sounded less than absolutely delusional. I took a deep breath.

"I've experienced some weird shit recently. That car accident? I wasn't supposed to wake up from that." I tried to put on a humorously apologetic smile and failed.

Cate frowned deeply. "What do you mean, 'supposed to'?"

"I died, and a god picked me up to be a hero in another world." Not waiting for a reply, I gave Cate a brief summation of events since the accident: being sent back to the hospital, being healed by my skills, Iter's presence, the loot, leveling up, everything. I wrapped it up with the events of last night, and how we had escaped Bruce and Thorsten. By the time I'd wrapped up, Cate had sat heavily in the lounge chair, looking up at me with her mouth open and a dumbfounded expression.

"Wait, you were kidnapped!?" she burst out when I finally stopped talking.

"Yeah, but we're safe. The guy who kidnapped us is dead, and the other guy's in jail." I searched her face, not sure if she was getting it. "My powers and Zoya's saved us."

Cate looked over at Zoya sharply, who had put down her laptop during my recital and was watching in silence.

"It sounds totally bonkers, but that's what happened," she nodded solemnly. "I can't explain it."

"There's more," I added hesitantly. "Since you're in my party, you have access to skills and stuff, too. You've leveled up," I smiled, giving a weak double-thumbs up.

Cate fell back into the chair, looking up at me, eyes blinking in incomprehension. "In your what?"

"My party, like an adventuring group. It's a mechanic," I realized I wasn't explaining it well. "Like Zoya. Since you joined my team, I guess that's the company we're working on, you also were added to my party for this Hero business. That means you can level up and stuff, too."

Cate' eyes seemed to dart around inside her head, blinking. I could see her trying to connect any of this to anything sane and reasonable, and failing.

"Arty, she needs to see it," Zoya cut in. Yeah, that's probably true. No way anyone would believe this without experiencing it.

"Okay, uhm, how about this?" Inventory seemed effective with Zoya before. "Why don't you pick something out of your bag and give it to Zoya. Preferably something unique or recognizable. I'll turn my back," I said, quickly turning around and bringing up status.

"What, like some kind of magician's trick?" I could hear the aggrievement in her voice.

"Nothing so simple. Trust me," I added over my shoulder. It sounded feeble in my ears, but I waited to see what she'd do. I was watching her inventory closely. After a stretched out moment of oppressive silence, I heard some rustling behind me. One of the items disappeared from the list in her bag. I switched over to Zoya's inventory, and saw that item now listed there.

"Okay, done," Cate said, and I turned around. With a flourish, I held out my hand and willed the item to appear there.

"Is this your card?" I asked cheekily, holding out a small leather case like an ID holder or a thin wallet. Cate's gray eyes were wide and staring.

I looked down, examining the item she chose more closely. It was a picture case, meant to hold a 2.5 x 3.5 picture. It was worn with age, the red leather extremely soft with some cracks near the fold. There was a faded design on the outside. I could just barely make it out as the bejeweled, five-pointed star of the Crystal summoning circle from the Sailor Luna anime. Feeling a start of recognition, I opened it. Inside was a picture of two gawky preteens in t-shirts and jeans, a grinning boy and a red-head. The boy had one arm locked around the red-headed girl's neck in a rough hug, and the girl held out both hands in a 'V' for victory pose. Both kids' eyes were closed tight from the force of their beaming smiles.

"You still have this," I breathed.

"Yeah." I barely heard her whispered reply. "Oh my God, Arty." She was staring at the picture case in my hands, her head shaking from side to side. "How'd you do that?"

✦ ✦ ✦

"Okay, okay!" Cate finally gave in. "I get it." She blew a curl of her hair up from the side of her mouth, before shaking her head which dislodged the curl again. "I mean, I don't really get it, but I believe you." Watching Zoya and I demonstrate various skills and powers seemed to have worn her down. In the end she had to admit there was something to my nonsensical story. We'd even strolled her into my bedroom to meet Draco, but beyond a brief introduction neither seemed that interested in each other. Or Cate was still in shock.

I think the thing that shocked her the most was when I took a kitchen knife over to the sink and cut the top of my forearm. That really freaked her out. But her eyes widened even more at the sight of the wound slowly closing up and leaving only a line of dried blood behind, thanks to my old friend Hero's Journey.

Zoya had watched closely, too. I could see her appraising the efficacy of the skill with a more contemplative gaze.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, curiosity and worry mingling in her voice.

"The cut stings--the skill doesn't prevent any pain," I replied, wincing. I watched the welling blood cease and the skin begin mending itself together. It was eerie. I shot a look at Cate, and her face was pale and her brows were knitted together in concern. "But the healing process itself doesn't hurt. It kinda tingles and itches a bit, that's all," I tried to mollify them.

Figuring I might as well show it all, I put the knife in the sink and pulled a clean one out for Zoya. "Want to try it?"

With some trepidation, she repeated the process on her forearm. I concentrated on our bond, and her wound gradually closed while a similar wound appeared and then rapidly healed on my forearm.

Both women's eyes went wide at that. Cate's expression turned to one of horror, while Zoya's shifted to more like concern.

After that, Cate looked like she needed a break to process everything.

"Maybe we should take a break for dinner. Have you eaten, Cate?" I stood in the middle of the kitchen and thought of options. We'd just picked up groceries, but I really didn't feel like cooking anything.

"No, I came straight here to listen to this craziness." She leaned against the kitchen counter, finally tucking the unruly curl behind her ear by hand.

Zoya was sitting at the kitchen table, licking at one of the ice cream pops she'd picked out at the grocery store. She noticed me looking and gave me a saucy wink, before swallowing the whole pop and slowly pulling it out between her lips. I quickly looked away, feeling a stirring at the display.

"Why don't we order pizza and eat in? Is there a decent pie place on the island?" Zoya asked brightly. There really was no stopping that girl.

I looked over at Cate, who was looking funnily at Zoya. Did she catch her little show?

"Well, there's Empire Pizza." I replied. "It's not too far, but maybe not a walk in this weather. I can call and get it delivered" I pulled out my phone to look up the number. Empire was a fixture on the island for decades, mostly serving the high school lunch rush, but they also did a decent delivery and takeout service at night. Unfortunately, that meant they never had to make the leap to the internet and online ordering, so by phone was the only way to order besides the walk-up counter.

"Save the delivery fee." Zoya said, standing up. "How about you call, and us girls can go pick it up. That cool?" She said, turning to Cate.

Startled by the sudden inclusion, Cate roused from her thoughts. "Oh, yeah. Sure. Your car or mine?" She smiled somewhat brittlely.

"Let's take yours. I'll get the directions from Arty. Oh, and I like the vegetarian pie. That cool?"

"I'll call in a pepperoni, mushroom, and black olive, a margherita, and one garden special." Cate's favorite was the former, and I figured we could all share the margherita if we wanted. "Is that going to be okay?" I looked at Cate, who simply waved half-heartedly in my direction, already heading down the hall with her coat.

I worried, unsure what Zoya had in mind. But other than insisting I go with them, I couldn't think of a reason to object. Sensing my concern, Zoya came over and squeezed my arm..

"Hey. Don't worry. Just going to have some girl talk with your friend." She leaned up to peck me on the lips, grinning. "I'll keep her safe--I'm a templar, remember?"