The Parts We Play

His World of Unending Night

Irene woke up at 4 p.m. after what was supposed to be a short nap to boost her after a late night on patrol. The brain fog and three hours that had elapsed in the interim indicated that her mission had been foiled.

She grumbled to herself upon discovering she was, in fact, to be subjected to unwanted consciousness now, and groped for her phone on her nightstand.

She checked her texts between bleary blinks, and discovered Violet had texted her a couple hours prior.

'Hey,' it read, 'have you ever asked Cara much about her childhood before Earth?'

'Here and there. She always dodged the questions when I asked, so I dropped it. Why?'

'She told the girls and I a bit about it,' Violet said. 'It was really bad, Irene. I think you should ask her about it.'

'Will do,' Irene texted back with a worried frown, pushing herself to her feet.

***

Armed with power and purpose, Gage figured out where Cara would be and headed to intercept her. He had to make her realize she wasn't safe, make her realize she was better off siding with him over the monsters and aliens that hung around her.

With his newfound abilities, Gage discovered that nearly everything gave off some form of telling signature. Krel and other aliens had a variety of strange energies they shed; magic users had strong auras of power, while creatures with innate magical properties like werefolk or fae gave off almost a quiet buzz.

Cara had the faintest trace of magic on her, but given the protective barriers around her home and the fact she didn't seem to give off active magic or energy, he assumed it was because the poor girl was steeped in magic all the time. He was certain she must be constantly anxious, a normal person surrounded by all these anomalies? He'd never feel safe, in her place.

So, he met her as she was walking home from some place or other.

"Cara!" He greeted her, making her jump about a foot.

"GAH-" Cara spun towards where his voice was coming from. "Gage? You startled me, I- what are you doing here?"

"Checking on you," Gage answered. "I noticed Krel's been hanging around you a lot lately."

"Yeeeeah-?" Cara blinked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"It just came off as strange how he's latched onto you," Gage said. "Doesn't it seem like he's using you?"

"... how so?" Cara prompted carefully.

"To be seen as normal," Gage said, coming closer. "Listen. The only people he hangs out with are all neck-deep in the magical and bizarre. He's obviously stayed here on Earth to try to gain power from all the paranormal things here in Arcadia. He doesn't care about humanity, Cara- he doesn't care about you. Heck, I'll bet he's using you to get to your family's magic."

Cara just looked shocked at first, but then she hesitated, looking down. "He's imperfect," she said slowly, "but- I don't think he doesn't care at all."

"Of course we wouldn't want to think that," Gage said. "Imagining he cares in some way we can comprehend is comforting. It makes you think he wouldn't hurt us. But, Cara, he doesn't think anything like us. He can't. He isn't one of us."

Cara frowned, troubled, and then admitted, "I mean... even at his best, he can be- condescending. Obnoxious. As much as I wish I could deny it, he- he clearly doesn't see us as equals." She took a shuddering breath and looked up at Gage. "I don't want to imagine what he could do to Earth if he stopped being entertained by us." There was a fear in her eyes, a tired, hidden fear, and Gage finally began to hope he could get through to her.