Possessive Behavior

"So, I should just let the others die to increase the charge meter?" Jess asked as she fumbled around with the motion controls.

"Yeah, that's right. Then you alternate between spamming Ults and healing Mariko so she can act again. It's cheesy, but it works." I replied.

Right now, Jess and I were playing an absolute classic. The 12th game of my favourite franchise, their 6th VR title, and the last created without major use of AI.

It did not have a two-player mode, but it did have spectator functionality.

"Ya know, Mal....you've been happier lately. It's great to see. Something happen?" she suddenly asked out of the blue.

I was a bit surprised at that statement.

"What do you mean?"

Jess shrugged...or rather, the VR approximation of her shrugged as she directed Mariko to the boss.

"You've been smiling more often, cracking more jokes, more energetic in general, y'know? TBH, I wanted to ask earlier, but seeing ya this jolly is such a rare sight I didn't wanna ruin it."

"What's different today, then?"

Jess shrugged again.

"Today....today you're more like usual. So I gotta take advantage of a bad day when I can, right?" she teased and ribbed me in real life.

I was silent for a minute before I answered.

"A lot has happened lately. Nothing that great or awful in the moment, but.....a lot of stuff to look forward to. And a lot of stuff to dread." I said slowly.

"But enough about me. What's been going on with you?"

Jess' avatar grinned widely.

"Oh, I've been wanting to tell ya the whole time. I did my own little run yesterday! And it worked!"

"Really now?"

Her voice got giddier with every word.

"Yes! And I even fought a Hero! Just a minor one, think he's new. The Tricky or something. It was just a convenience store, but still! I did it!"

I gave her a smile and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Good work. Seems like you're not totally hopeless without me."

"Oh, ya flatterer." Jess giggled. "But seriously, I'm a lot more confident now. I'm really itchin' for another run. Just the two of us, together."

I chuckled, but turned away from her and back toward the virtual battlefield.

"I...I'd really like to, but there are some things that happened recently that could....complicate matters."

My hands were shaking slightly, but I willed them to still. I had no time to fret about the future. Right now, my only goal was to enjoy myself.

After all, I had a packed schedule for the rest of the day.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Laura. Everything alright?" Luisa asked as she saw me nibbling on the salad she had made for me.

It was her Pro-Training Refreshment Salad, something I had been all too familiar with.

But right now I found it very hard to focus.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"You seem a bit absent-minded today. Is everything alright?"

I let out an exaggerated sigh.

"It's fine. Nothing big. Just not feeling all that well today."

I took her hand and still noticed a light flinch, but she let it remain.

"It's got nothing to do with you. Just not feeling at the top of my game today."

This was good, actually. So far, Laura had been perfectly chipper and happy unless in a dire situation. This funk I was in only helped to make her character more believable.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

"Sorry, I gotta check that." I mumbled and pulled it out.

A notification popped up.

New Message Recieved

From: DONT TRUST THIS FUCKER

Subject: Appointment.

Hey there, buddy. I just wanted to remind you that I am awaiting you at the agreed upon spot at exac... (Open Message)

"Something important?" Lu asked, concerned.

I shook my head.

"No. Don't worry. Not important at all.

-------------------------------------

- One Day Earlier, After the Dinner -

"There we are. Hope it's to your liking. You are free to decorate it as you want." Darwin said as he led me into my new room.

In the corner stood a nice bed, certainly nicer than I'd had in years. On the other side were not one, not two, but three open wardrobes. They were all empty, though.

Another tent flap led to what I'd imagine to be a toilet or a bathroom. And next to the bed was some kind of mannequin, presumably for my costume.

Before I could say anything, the Villain began to speak.

"Listen, Mal. We may not look it right now, but us Freaks are a family. A dysfunctional one, but still...."

He took a drag of his cigarette.

"The Freakshow provides for its own. On the grand scale, too. Any tent all over the world would harbor us if we needed it. If any of us wanted a change of scenery, we could transfer in a matter of days, maybe even just hours."

With a sigh, he leaned against the tent wall, which hardened to accommodate him, and shook his head.

"What I'm tryin' to say is, if you relax a bit, let yourself enjoy this, then I can promise you it's going to be the best decision you ever made. You dig?"

I gave him a curt nod as I took in the scenery. It didn't look terrible.

But I couldn't imagine ever calling it home.

"Go on then." I said as he threw his cig away and lit another.

"You had questions, right? Ask."

He grinned and let out a short chuckle.

"Alright, girlie. I see you gotta still work out that relaxin' thing. But sure. If you insist."

The first puff of smoke of the new cigarette went right above him.

"You were a lightbulb, huh? Y'know, I always thought these folks were way bigger freaks than we are. That they're just better at hidin' it. You'd say that' an accurate assessment, or a total miss?"

Before answering him, I sat down on the bed. It was very, very soft. I almost felt like it was devouring me, I sank in so deep.

Not bad, though.

"I mean......In what respect? Even on the surface level, you have people like Aven....I mean, Future Guardian. A liquid metal-ish anti-magic construct from a dystopian future. That's pretty freaky in its own right. But otherwise.....I...I don't know."

Darwin raised his eyebrow.

"You don't know? Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Satori was part of the lightbulbs for quite a while, yeah? How can you not know?"

I sighed and leaned back.

"They all seemed pretty normal to me. Normal-ish. But I know for a fact at least two of my...colleagues had things going on behind the facade, so......"

After thinking for a bit, I shrugged.

"Well, I was one of them, probably the most boring, normal one too, and I'm a fucking Freakshow Freak now. So you know what? I'd say your assessment was more than accurate."

He blew another puff of smoke into the air above him.

"You don't have to raise your voice, girlie. I get it's a sore subject for you." he said.

Did I? Oops.

You really gotta work on your emotional control, Mallory, it's getting ridiculous.

"Yeah, sorry. The subject is more of an open, festering wound than just sore, though."

Darwin nodded simply before responding.

"I get it. Betrayal does that to you. I don't think we ever really had confrontations with the lightbulbs. Both Othello and Haunt kinda planned around avoiding that. But a big shot like you surely knew about our lineup. You know about my sis?"

I never really thought about it, but he was right. We did have clashes with Freakshow sometime, but that was mostly singular agents on a quick mission, most of which have since been caught and locked up. The big..."Performances" always happened at inopportune times for us.

"Yeah. The Fittest, right?"

"That's right. Evangeline, the little cunt. We grew up together. I took care of her after we lost everything. With our Powers, crime was a very lucrative endeavour. Really good for intimidation. And it's not like I forced her or she hated it, she got a fucking thrill out of murking people who crossed us. Robbing people, then reselling their shit. Even the less....savoury crimes, she didn't bat an eye at."

He crushed his remaining stub and flicked it into the bottomless trash can.

"I loved that bitch. I practically raised her. And how does she repay me? Repay the Freakshow? She sneaks off to the cops. Rats us out. Gets half our crew arrested at a big run. The only saving grace was that the BHF-Marker sensed her treachery and took her memories of the hideout with it when it vanished. Otherwise, she could've ruined everything. And now she walks around pretending to be a goddamn Hero, it makes me sick."

He looked me in the eyes, a steely determination in his gaze.

"So I get you. This shit runs deep. Betrayal is unforgivable. I just wanted to assure you,......and while I'd love to speak for everyone, I sadly can't read their minds, but I, at the very least, will never betray your trust. A'ight?"

With a bit of concentration, I connected to his thoughts, just for a second. It was brief, but the immense resolve I felt was unlike any I'd ever seen. As a mindreader one of the first things you find out is how wishy-washy most people are with their supposed ideals.

I could be certain that, at least in this respect, he was telling the truth.

"And if you ever need help making an example out of the ones who wronged you, I'll be there with gasoline and a lighter. Metaphorically, y'know. Unless you want'em burned to death. You can count on me."

I sat up, a small smile on my face.

"Thanks. I....I appreciate that."

Just then, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out and checked, expecting the message to be from Jess or maybe Davison for a new deal or two. But.....

From: Unknown Number

Subject: Training

Hey there, buddy. It's me, your best friend Zen. I have taken the liberty of creating a training pla... (Open Message)

I could hear Darwin chuckling.

"Let me guess, it's the Z-man?"

My eyes found his.

"How did you know?"

"That's just a thing he does. He can tell your number just by being around you. Don't know how he does it."

I looked back down at my phone.

Wonderful.

That was just what I needed in my life...

-------------------------------------

- Present Day -

As soon as I entered the tent, he was already hovering there, waiting for me.

"Are you ready for your first lesson?"

I bunched my fist, but just nodded.

"Wonderful. Then follow me." he said as he floated further inwards.

"And let's begin."