GraceFall [ONC 2024]

6

Above Faraday City ...

Zjahn couldn't say why he did it. Why he had an uncharacteristic need to explain himself to a human, but, as he carried them aloft, high above the streets, he watched her reaction. This human was different. Not only in the fact that he could not read her thoughts, her intentions, her hopes, her fears, but because ... he struggled to find the reason. She was different. For now, at least, that mattered.

He carried them both above the city until they reached the building owned by the Daily Bulletin. A place where he hoped she would feel safe and not in any danger. For a human creation, the Daily Bulletin building had an impressive façade. Not the tallest building in Faraday City, that honour belonged to the twin towers that housed the Faraday City divisions of Skein Enterprises in the North Tower, and Miller International in the South Tower.

Built in the Thirties, the Daily Bulletin building reached heavenward with an Art Deco flourish. Clean, sweeping lines. Built to last, and it had, weathering super-villain attacks and alien invasions alike, among other incidents. Around the top, before reaching the plethora of radio masts that gave it a little extra height, an observation deck circled the roof. There, Zjahn brought them both down to a gentle landing. Betty's legs didn't even wobble as they touched a solid surface once more.

"You know, I parked my car back at the Aurora Labs building?" Betty moved to the safety barrier, peering over the parapet to the streets far below. "Never mind. If I get a ticket, I'm blaming you."

"Very well." Zjahn wondered whether he should return her once they had finished speaking. "I shall ..."

"Forget about it." She shrugged, checking her cell phone and then held it out toward him. "You clearly have something to say and this is on the record. Just so you know."

Zjahn stared at the device in her hand. He could damage it with ease, if he chose to. A little telekinetic push and a wire would dislodge. A build-up of electromagnetic energy within the battery could burn out the cells, rendering it useless. Principle enjoyed this kind of intimate interview. He had allowed many over the years, but Zjahn had never seen the point.

As he hesitated, he could see the stiffness in Betty's features. So unlike the smile she had worn at the Oakmont Hotel, before the disastrous first appearance of Phaross. How could he possibly explain that to her? That he had grown weary of fighting the same villains? That he thought himself unappreciated? Unwanted? Un ... loved? He scowled at that thought, though the human projection showed none of that.

"I am uncertain how to proceed." His cape whipped about him in the wind atop the building and he gathered it up over his arm. "The incident at ..."

"The thing is, Mr Psycona, you turn up to fight Compaktor, a low-level villain who has never intentionally harmed anyone. In fact, most speculate that Compaktor is a deeply troubled individual that has severe psychological problems, and, today, you beat the man senseless." She accused him. Her eyes bored into his and Zjahn could see fury behind a face she held taut and emotionless. "Yet, last night, a new villain emerged, a powerful one from what I could see, who specifically called you out. And you were ... nowhere. No sightings. No emergencies. No alien incursions. Nowhere. Can you explain that?"

"Ms Burns, I cannot save everybody." Even as powerful as he was, that was quite truthful, though the human could not detect a lie if she tried. "Sometimes I am unable to ..."

"Is it true that you are an alien and that you hide your true face from us all?" Betty stepped forward, lifting the cell phone closer to Zjahn's face. "On more than one occasion, eyewitnesses state that you 'wobbled' and a monster is revealed. Why do you hide your true self and how can you expect us to trust you when you refuse to trust us with the truth?"