[ASH] Coherent Super Stories Special #3 - Building Bonds, Taking Stock
Dave Van Domelen
dvandom at eyrie.org
Fri Sep 15 16:32:42 PDT 2023
[The cover shows an elaborate homecoming corsage shredding as if
in gale-force winds.]
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.|, COHERENT An ASHistory Series
--+-------------------------------------------------------------------------
'|` SUPER STORIES Special #3 - Building Bonds, Taking Stock
Featuring Doctor Developer copyright 2023 by Andrew Burton
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Okay, this one just sort of appeared on the corporate servers recently,
we're pretty sure it wasn't part of the salvaged drives that held the
previous two stories. Management is becoming Concerned.
============================================================================
As much as Cameron enjoyed working in the garage, he needed a better
chair. Being perched on a stool while working on hardware was all well and
good, but for long stretches of working on a laptop, it was terrible.
It was this need that brought him to the living room couch with his
laptop. His need for relief drove him to the couch. His need for a chair
dragged the laptop along, so he could search for one.
As Cameron browsed through the Ubermart website, he felt amazed by the
variety of items that could be purchased online. Not that online shopping
was alien to him, but during his time cut off from the world, it had changed
so much.
He was on the third page of office chairs when a window popped up on his
screen. One of the motion sensitive cameras from the front door caught
movement. It was Cammy walking up from the sidewalk, which was a little
surprising.
Cammy rarely walked anywhere. If she was moving by herself, it was a
dash, a sprint, or some kind ambulation at speeds polite society looked down
upon as too fast. Cameron respected her choice. Life was too short and
distances were too long to amble.
Today she was moving much slower. She was looking at the ground. Most
strange of all, instead of coming in she stopped on the porch and sat down.
The camera angle wasn't the best, and with her facing away from the door,
Cameron couldn't see her face.
He could see she was wiping at her eyes every few seconds. Then she
would lean farther forward and stare at the ground. Then she would repeat
the cycle.
Cameron closed the laptop. The time for observing was past. He pulled
his phone out, and typed a short message to Jennifer.
"Cammy is on the porch. May be upset. Haven't spoken to her yet."
Jennifer's reply was quick.
"Talk to her! Let me know."
He replied.
"Ok."
Cameron got up from the couch and went to the door. He hesitated for an
instant, trying to decide how to initiate contact. Before he could turn the
knob, his phone alerted him to another text from Jennifer.
"Stop overthinking it."
He nodded, and pulled open the door.
As he pulled the door open, three acts happened in a perfect, cosmic
concert. Cammy turned around in surprise, and Cameron was able to see she
was crying. The sun broke through a cloud and blinded Cameron momentarily.
The sudden burst of sun beating down on his face made Cameron wish for
something cold to drink.
With a burst of inspiration that the cosmos typically reserves for
breakthroughs that allow humankind to surge again in scientific progress,
Cameron knew at that moment the most perfect thing to say. Had there been a
historian nearby...as opposed to an hour away watching her phone for a
text...Cameron was sure the words he spoke would have gone down in the annals
of history along with Archimedes "Eureka!" and Bell's "Watson, come here, I
want you."
"Do you want a milkshake?" Cameron asked.
Cammy sniffled, nodded, and in a very small voice said, "Yes, please."
* * * *
"Well, hey there, Cammy," Sharon greeted Cammy as she sat down at the
counter. Cameron was right behind her. "And Cameron. Is Jennifer with
you?"
"No," Cammy sniffed, "It's just us."
Sharon's eyebrows raised a bit. "You okay, Cammy?" She looked at
Cameron, her face shifting very slightly, then back to Cammy.
Cammy nodded. "School stuff," she mumbled.
"Jenny's still, ah, at work, so I asked Cammy if she wanted a
milkshake," Cameron explained. In his months back home, life was pretty
upbeat, but no family was perfect. Several times right after school started,
Jennifer would let him know she and Cammy would be late. Based on the
debriefings from Jennifer, those times always coincided with a rough patch
that required coming to their favorite restaurant.
Bringing Cammy now was a bit of a gamble, but Cameron knew at some point
he needed to step up and share more of the burden with Jennifer. No time
like the present for a test run. At worst, Jennifer would arrive in the next
hour to patch up any damage a failed test might cause.
Sharon smiled, understanding completely. She looked at Cammy. "Let me
guess, you want two chocolate shakes, one large fry, and a slice of
strawberry pie."
This got a shy smile out of Cammy. She looked at Cameron. "Unless you
want something different." Cameron shook his head, not about to upset a plan
that looked to already be improving Cammy's mood. Cammy looked back at
Sharon. "That's our order."
Sharon winked at Cammy. "Coming right up."
There was a long pause between father and daughter. Cameron would
normally have been content to sit in silence, but he felt like it was his
duty to continue the conversation. Unfortunately, he didn't know what to say
next, which paradoxically gave him something to say.
"If your mother was here," Cameron asked, "what would she say?"
Cammy thought for a moment. "She'd say, 'Is this about a boy?' and
then, 'Or girl, because that's fine too.'" Cammy shook her head as she
finished a reasonable impression of Jennifer.
"Is it?" Cameron asked.
"No," Cammy told him absolutely, then she hemmed, "not really. At least
not like mom would mean. Definitely not like mom would mean." She
shuddered. "I'd never crush on Bradley."
That was a familiar name. "The boy you," Cameron paused, "uh, defended
your reputation against?"
Cammy nodded. She looked sad, and wiped her eyes.
"Did he say something to you?" Cameron asked. He made a mental note to
look into SmitherTech. If Bradley was picking on Cammy, it might be cause
for asymmetric escalation. Jenny would probably object to bankrupting a
company for school issues, though.
Cammy sighed heavily. Her voice was small as she started talking. "I
was walking past the robotics club, and stuck my head in the door to talk.
That was all. I wasn't trying to butt in." She paused. "Then Bradley
showed up, and said it was a closed meeting, and kicked me out." She
sniffed.
Sharon waited until Cammy paused before announcing her return. "Here's
your order, guys." She set all four items between Cammy and Cameron. Cammy
immediately started on her shake.
"Thanks," Cameron smiled, and Sharon stepped away. "You miss being part
of that club, ah, don't you?" Cammy nodded. "Why?"
Cammy's eyes narrowed, and Cameron recognized a look eerily similar to
Jenny's when he said something offensive.
"That wasn't a question of judgment," Cameron said. "It was a
diagnostic question."
Cammy got quiet and looked at the fries. Cameron worried.
Based on a mental list of milestones he'd put together from reading
about father-daughter relationships, the past few months seemed to be an
upward trending progression. Most of those points were in the domain of
positive interactions. Movie nights. Shopping trips. Holidays. This
experiment was the first time he tried to intervene when Cammy was upset.
Maybe it was too soon. Cameron began to try and workout a way to manage
critical failure when Cammy started talking.
"I had friends there. I liked competing. It was fun building the
robots," she stressed the past tense, "I was good at it, you know?"
Cameron nodded. He knew. Cammy had school and friends that kept her
busy, but in the months since being back, Cameron recognized a part of
himself in her. She enjoyed working on projects. She tinkered with her toy
castle-tower, "Cammylot," almost every day. Sometimes it was hours
scratching through her pans of plastic bricks adding on turrets or improving
the rooms her plushies stayed in, other times it was just a few minutes
before bed rearranging furniture.
She also never gave up working with Roberta, her souvenir from the
robotics club. After Cameron fixed a few well hidden fractures in some
connectors, Cammy played with the robot like a pet. More than once, she even
brought Cameron her laptop to find some bug in an upgrade she was working on.
Those were some of Cameron's most treasured moments with his daughter.
"Do you know about the Chicago Robotics Association Battles?" Cameron
asked.
Cammy's eyes lit up. "The Crabbies?" She set the milkshake down. "Mr.
Alvarez took us to one of their events last year to show us what robots could
do. That was so cool!" She paused and tried to act cool. "I mean, the
fights were okay, but they're just RC cars when you get down to it." She
shrugged and picked up a few fries.
"Roberta's smarter than any of those robots."
"I agree," Cameron said. "It's hardly fair to call them robots when the
brain is, uh, in the driver."
"I know right!" Cammy nodded. "But, they were cool."
"I know it's not the robotics club, and I'm not your school friends,"
Cameron began, "but would you want to help me build a robot for a C.R.A.B.
fight?" Cammy's eyes went wide. "Our robot will be autonomous. It won't be
a remote controlled car."
"Are you serious?" Cammy grabbed Cameron's arm. "This isn't a joke, is
it?"
Cameron smiled. "Not a joke. You and Roberta reminded me of my robots.
I've been thinking about starting a new project, but didn't have a reason
until now."
Cammy squinted and tilted her head to one side. "What's your reason
now?"
Cameron smiled slyly. "Revenge. If we win and you get your picture in
the paper, that'll be two contests you won to Bradley's none."
Cammy smiled brightly, then broadly, then a bit maniacally. Then she
looked serious. "Maybe we better come up with a better reason if Mom asks,"
Cammy suggested, "like we can tell her we're bonding or something."
"That's a good idea," Cameron agreed.
* * * *
Cameron's last text simply said: "We're getting milkshakes." He would
have contacted her if the situation deteriorated. That didn't make the last
hour and a half at work, plus thirty minutes driving to meet them, go any
faster.
Jennifer knew her anxiety wasn't so much about what Cammy was dealing
with, because if it were major, Cameron would have let her know. Some of it
was motherly desire to make sure her daughter was taken care of, sure, but
she could admit to herself part of it was jealousy.
Cammy was so much like her dad. She was creative, smart, quiet, and
happy as could be just sitting in her room playing with toys. Oh, sure, she
was far more social than Cameron, but Jennifer was sure that was the nurture
half. Nature leaned toward Cameron,
Which is where the whispers of jealousy started to tickle around the
edges of Jennifer's mind. Make no mistake, she was ecstatic that their
family reunion was going so well. There were some bumps along the way, but
all those years when it was just her and Cammy, Jennifer feared the worst.
Maybe Cameron never came home. Maybe he was apathetic to Cammy, and resented
how she changed their previous dynamic. Maybe Cammy couldn't cope with
Cameron's history, which would force them further apart.
The reality was, the worst part of Cameron coming home was that Cammy
agreed to go to summer school while she adjusted to his presence. Given that
summer attendance was required as part of the approval for Cammy to skip two
grades, the worst wasn't far from the best.
But there was a small part that worried that Cammy would bond with
Cameron over their shared intellect. She worried she'd lose the little girl
she stacked blocks with, watched movies with on the couch, and who she ate
pizza with every Saturday night to life's inevitable change.
As Jennifer pulled into an empty parking lot, she spotted her two
geniuses sitting at a booth. They were both staring at their phones,
occasionally showing the other something on the screen. Even as she crossed
the parking lot, Jennifer could see Cammy's spirits were back to normal.
That was a good thing, no matter which parent got her there.
Jennifer stepped into the restaurant, and waved at Sharon, who pointed
at the far booth. Jennifer gave her a thumbs up, and walked down the
checkered floor toward the duo. She was already sliding into the seat next
to Cammy before either of them saw her.
"Mom!" Cammy squeaked. She dropped her phone and hugged Jennifer. As
Cammy released the hug, Jennifer reached out to smooth down some of Cammy's
curls.
"Heard you had a rough day, kiddo," Jennifer said gently.
Cammy shrugged as she picked up her phone. She looked thoughtful.
"Just the last part before the bus," she explained. "School stuff, you
know."
"Yeah," Jennifer sympathized. "You want to tell me about it?"
Cammy shook her head. "Nah," she answered. It stung a little, but
Jennifer took it in stride. Cammy's broad grin as she showed Jennifer her
phone was an effective palliative. "Want to see something cool?"
From there Cammy launched into a description of the planned robot
building. Jennifer listened intently, tossing in Oohs and Aahs when
warranted. Asking questions that Cameron would field if Cammy didn't have an
answer. Finally doing her parental due diligence of asking how this would
impact her grades. Eventually Cammy wound down, and her interest in a text
from friends took priority.
Jennifer used the distraction to reach out and take Cameron's hand. She
squeezed it, and gave him a "Good job" nod. He quirked one side of his mouth
into a smile, but Jennifer could see his shoulders sag slightly, allowing
himself to relax thanks to her approval.
"I don't mean to sound like someone's mother, but," Jennifer started.
She leaned over and bumped Cammy' shoulder. "I can't help but notice while
there are only two of you, there are," she paused to make a show of counting,
"five milkshake cups here." They both blushed and looked guilty. "Have you
had anything besides milkshakes?"
"Pie," Cameron admitted.
"And fries!" Cammy reminded him.
"So, no dinner, just snacks?" Jennifer asked. She looked at Cammy, who
did her best not to break a straight face. She failed. "Didn't think so.
I'm going to order burgers for everyone," she said, "and just because I am
someone's mother, I'm getting them with vegetables."
"Tomato isn't a vegetable!" Cammy declared as Jennifer slid out of the
booth. Jennifer blew a raspberry at Cammy, and headed toward the counter.
Sharon finished delivering a check to a customer on the far end of the
counter, and ended up meeting Jennifer in the middle.
Sharon's typical playful expression was replaced with a more somber,
serious look. "Everything ok?" she asked. "I was a little worried when
Cammy came in without you."
Jennifer tried to brush it off, but she didn't feel like she sounded as
nonchalant as she wanted. "Seems like something happened at school," she
said, "but Cammy didn't want to talk about it. I'll have to get Cameron to
spill tonight."
Sharon looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't. Instead she
pulled out her orderbook. "Did you want to get something?" Jennifer gave her
the order. Before Jennifer turned to return to the table, Sharon told her,
"Change isn't bad, but it is different."
Jennifer smiled a wry smile. "I keep telling myself that," she said
before heading back to their booth. When she got back, Cammy was waiting
with wide, hopeful eyes.
"Uh-oh," Jennifer pretended to grimace, "what do you want?"
Cammy showed Jennifer her phone. On the screen was a calendar of
events, and highlighted for the coming Saturday was "C.R.A.B. Tournament."
"Can we go?" Cammy asked.
Jennifer looked at Cameron, "Can you build a robot by Saturday?" she
asked, not quite sure what her mad scientists were hatching up.
"Uh," Cameron said thoughtfully, "are you asking if I can or if I plan
to have a working robot by Saturday? Those, ah, are two different questions."
Cammy's jaw dropped. "It's Wednesday. Could you have a robot for
Saturday?"
Jennifer cocked an eyebrow, "I want to hear this."
Cameron scratched the back of his head. "Yes, probably, but it wouldn't
be more than a remote controlled car." Cammy made a disgusted face. "I was,
ah, hoping we could take a month to build a really good entry. I just wanted
to case the scene this weekend."
That sounded much better to Jennifer. As someone who was privy to
Cameron's binge engineering...bingeneering?...bursts, Jennifer was happy to
hear his actual plans were more practically spaced out. A family outing,
though, could be fun.
"Let's do it," Jennifer said.
* * * *
Jennifer would never claim to be a roboticist. She had little interest
in the tedious work required to machine parts, assemble those parts, then
program them to all work in perfect synchronization. She did however
consider herself something of an expert in the other aspects of the field,
though.
Professionally speaking, she did a good bit of research on paratech
robots and their place in the history of super-hero history. As Lady Lawful,
she spent a good many nights fighting those same robots made by villains to
fight heroes. In fact, some of them were Cameron's own, or based on
technology of his that had gotten into the "wild" so to speak. On a more
personal level, she spent a good deal of time watching Cameron work on his
robots and later Cammy program Roberta for school events, which she felt gave
her a pretty good range of understanding.
She was pretty sure if she ever got tired of the museum, she could get a
pretty nice job in the industry doing something. Maybe in sales, she
decided. She felt sure her bonafides made her an ideal candidate to sell
robots to customers.
All of this was to say, she felt very qualified to gauge the technical
level of the Crabbies' entrees at the tournament, and she wasn't impressed.
She finally understood why her two Cams kept calling them remote controlled
cars. Every team was testing their robots with handheld controls. It was a
far cry from what Cameron's Prototype could do way back in the nineties, and
even a bit less impressive than Roberta, who didn't need any help navigating
a maze.
If Cameron was disappointed by that fact, he didn't show it. He was
soaking in the scene, pointing out types of robots, past winners, and more.
"Is this your first time to come to one of these?" Jennifer asked.
Cameron nodded between pointing out different contenders to Cammy. "Then how
do you know all this?"
"I've been doing my, uh, homework," he answered.
"He joined their group online," Cammy explained. "I had to show him how
social media works."
"I want to hear that story sometime," Jennifer said to Cammy with a
conspiratorial wink. Cammy returned the wink. Cameron didn't reply, he was
already looking at another contender.
As they continued through the set up area, where teams were prepping
their robots for the battles, Jennifer noticed a pattern. Cameron would walk
up to look at a robot, one or a pair of scruffy looking guys...engineers, she
knew they were engineers of some sort...would point at Cameron, and then they
would walk over to another pair and point. She managed to keep a straight
face when it happened, but she wanted to laugh.
Cammy noticed it too, because after the fourth time, she tugged on
Jennifer's sleeve and pointed at the gawkers. "Mom, why do those dudes keep
looking at Dad?" Cammy asked. "It's not the first time."
"Kiddo," Jennifer said with a grin, "there's something you should know
about your dad, but don't you dare tell him I said this." Cammy pantomimed
zipping her lips. "In this den of crabs, your dad is a shark."
Cammy looked confused. "What? What does that mean?"
Jennifer thought for a second. "You know who Lady Lawful and EMerald
are?" Cammy still looked confused, but she nodded. "Right, but you're
wearing a Brightsword T-shirt. Why?"
Then she got it.
"You mean dad's famous?" Cammy asked.
"Not like Brightsword, not to the whole world," Jennifer said,
stretching the truth a little, "but to people who build robots and watch
robot battles, he's kind of a big deal." Jennifer caught sight of another
pack of geeks in SmitherTech shirts pointing to Cameron, who was talking to
one of the robot builders. "Your dad's been gone a while, now he's back, and
you know how people love to gossip."
"Why is dad famous, but not you?" Cammy asked.
Jennifer wrapped her arm around Cammy, and pretended to kiss the top of
her head. When she was close enough to whisper, she said, "I wore a mask."
Cammy giggled as Jennifer continued in a regular volume. "It was before your
time, but Cameron was one of the top roboticists in the world. There were
some better, sure, but they had paratech giving them a boost."
"Not Dad?" Cammy asked.
Jennifer shook her head. "At least not where it counts," she explained.
"He may incorporate some Collapsinum parts or ask someone who can speed up
computers to help him along, but the end product is generally Anchor-proof."
"What's Anchor-proof?" Cameron asked as he rejoined Jennifer and Cammy,
apparently finished with his inspection of the rival robot.
"Your robots," Cammy answered, "that's what mom said."
Jennifer shrugged. Cameron nodded. "You never want your tech to give
out without warning," Cameron explained. "It's, ah, not as flashy, but
there's a lot to be said about reliability." He scratched the back of his
head. "Most people don't realize the first step to winning is not losing."
* * * *
Division of labor was the hardest part of the robot building project.
Cameron was sure he could put together what they needed to win by himself
within the given time frame. He knew he could. He did it a dozen times over
in his cell over the years. Building up a robot in his imagination from what
Hank could get him, changing up the requirements for new challenges with each
build, was one of the mental exercises that kept him from breaking apart over
the years.
Another fantasy was building that robot with Cammy. In hindsight he
realized his fantasy was vastly different from reality. During those years
what he knew of Cammy was scant. His mental simulacrum was based on updates
from Jennifer, with his own imagination left to fill in the gaps.
Simulacrum Cammy possessed all of Cameron's skills, was completely
subservient to his will, and wasn't real. Real Cammy, as bright as she
was...and she was extremely bright...had a lot to learn about engineering.
Cameron knew in time the real Cammy could help him build the robot his
fantasy Cammy helped him build, but for now he had to adjust his plans to
match reality.
This was on his mind as he heard the front burst door open, then slam
shut, and finally the sounds of Cammy's footfalls running up the stairs.
They'd agreed to start work on the robot as soon as she was finished with
homework. That gave him an hour, he estimated, to finish working out what
they needed to do.
* * * *
Cammy checked her worksheet one last time. All the math problems were
done, and she even used scratch paper to show her work, which took longer
than the actual real work. She was done with homework. Time to do important
work.
If her mom ever heard her express that homework wasn't important, Cammy
knew she'd get a talk. It wasn't that she didn't think schoolwork was
important...though, if they were letting her skip grades, how important could
it be...but homework felt like such a waste of time sometimes. Especially
the parts like "show your work" in math.
Oh, she knew what Mr. Alvarez and Mrs. Duncan told her. Showing your
work let them see that you understood the work, and if you got a problem
wrong they could see where you had trouble. The problems with those reasons,
Cammy thought, was that she always got the problems right, so that meant she
did understand and there was no need to see where she went wrong.
This was why she liked making robots and building brick towers. The end
result was the work. No extra steps to show she understood how to do what
she did, it was self-evident.
Cammy was down the stairs and turning into the kitchen as she reached
this conclusion. She wasn't fully transitioned out of internal reflection
mode when she saw Cameron sitting at the kitchen table. She expected him to
be hiding out in the garage, where she was going to surprise him. So much
for that.
"Dad!" she involuntarily yelped. She sounded more surprised than she
actually was.
He was writing in a notebook. Cammy stepped closer and took a seat at
the table. His handwriting wasn't the best.... "Definitely a doctor," Cammy
made a joke to herself...but she could make out enough to know he was writing
a list. No, not a list, but one of those things from the robotics club
manual: a flowchart.
"Are you writing a program?" Cammy asked.
Cameron looked up from his notebook, and said, "No. What makes you, ah,
think that?"
Cammy pointed at the notebook. "That's a flowchart, right? Yeah,
there's your start and your branches. This is for making a program."
Cameron smiled slightly. "Everything can be a program," he told Cammy,
"you just have to identify all the steps." He turned the notebook so she
could see everything clearly. "These are just the steps we need to follow to
build our robot."
Cammy's face soured. "Is it like 'show your work' at school?"
Cameron shook his head. "No," he said with bitterness in his voice, "I
wouldn't waste time like that, but we do need a way to coordinate since we'll
be working on separate parts of the project."
"I thought we were going to work on it together," Cammy sounded
disappointed.
"Indeed," Cameron replied. He pointed to a box at the top of the page
entitled priorities that held three items: (1) Get revenge on Bradley, (2)
Build robot to win, (3) Father/daughter time. "I made this flowchart based
on those priorities, so it parallelizes multiple tasks to meet the shortest
deadline.
"If you, ah, think my priorities are out of order, I can rework the
plan," Cameron explained.
Cammy studied the chart. She eventually realized the parallelograms
were the parts where tasks got broken up. She also realized there were more
tasks in a single flow than in parallel, which she assumed meant they
couldn't be broken up. "No," she finally answered, "this looks good.
There's a bunch of stuff we do together."
She pointed to the top of the chart. "Like this," she read, "'Design
Robot.' Is that what we're doing now?"
"We can start that now," Cameron said. He flipped the page of his
notebook, then another, and another...the flowchart was longer than Cammy
realized...until he reached a blank page. Cameron set the notebook in front
of Cammy and handed her his pencil. "Would you care to be our draftsman?"
Cammy grabbed the pencil. "Oh yeah!" she said with a bright smile.
After a second she realized she didn't know what to draw. "So, uh, what is
our robot going to look like?"
"That depends on what we want it to do," Cameron replied.
Cammy rolled her eyes jovially, "Win obviously!"
* * * *
Hearing the bell to Hank's Hardware ring always put Cameron at ease. It
wasn't as good as hearing Jenny call him "Deedee", but it was close in his
list of comforting sounds. He didn't think Cammy even registered the
tinkling as she made a beeline for the shopping baskets Hank kept stacked by
the entrance.
"You have the list?" Cameron asked. Cammy slowed up long enough to show
him her phone, which had a picture of the list they wrote up at home in the
project notebook. "Okay. Come get me if you need anything." Then she was
off.
Hank chuckled from his perch behind the counter. "Have you tried giving
her less sugar?" he asked.
Cameron smiled absently. "We've tried, but she takes after me...."
Hank's belly laugh filled the store. "Then it's hopeless," Hank said,
"because I know for a fact you can get anything you set your mind on." He
reached under the counter and pulled out a cardboard box. "Speaking of
which, those project boards you wanted."
Cameron accepted the box, and tucked it under one arm. "Put it on, uh,
my tab?" Cameron asked, trying his best to keep up the friendly banter. Hank
was much better at it, but it was fun trying to maintain the conversation.
"I take it you're cooking up something with little Cammy there," Hank
said. He nodded toward the back of the store where Cammy was buzzing from
aisle to aisle picking up supplies. She had the basket in the crook of her
left elbow, her phone in that hand, and every so often her right would pick
something from the shelves.
"We signed up for the C.R.A.B. Tournament, and we're, ah, building a
robot," Cameron shrugged. "Nothing like the old days, but it'll give me a
chance to see what's changed."
"Doesn't hurt having a lab assistant to spend time with, eh?" Hank
asked.
Cameron rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't holding
his package. He peeked to the back of the store where Cammy had gone silent.
Certain that she couldn't hear him, and not sure why he was worried she
would, Cameron said, "It's the best thing in the world."
Hank nodded knowingly.
They spoke a few more sentences, but Cammy's silence started to unnerve
Cameron. He excused himself to find her. He went all the way to the back of
the store, in a small area where Hank kept a few non-supplies related wares.
It held sundry items: sunglasses, a few romance novels, and a small selection
of toys to distract people who came to the store without a specific interest
in tools or the children of more focused shoppers.
Cammy was crouched on the floor looking at one of the toys. Cameron
recognized the brand from several of Cammy's non-plushie purchases. It was a
kit that used modular bricks to build various toys. This one was a guard
tower with a pair of knights.
She turned the box over and over, studying the pictures like they held
the secrets of the universe. She was so engrossed in the box, Cameron stood
watching her for a full minute before she noticed him.
"Oh!" she let out a small, startled cry.
"What's that?" Cameron asked. He nodded at the box, and Cammy stood up
to show it to him. She left the basket on the ground.
"It's an old set," she explained. "They stopped making this three years
ago, and you have to pay a lot to get it now." She looked at the box again,
turning it over in her hands, as if trying to decide what to say next.
"We can, uh, get it," Cameron said.
Cammy's eyes lit up. "Really?" she cheered. She reached around and
hugged Cameron's waist. "Thank you, Dad," she said. "I know just where to
put it in Cammylot," she said. "You know where I've been working on the
Wing-A-Long sanctuary? Well...."
Cameron nodded as Cammy explained her ideas for the new set. As she
laid out her plans for the guard tower, Cameron realized that Hank's bell had
lost a position in his list of favorite sounds. He didn't think Hank would
mind if he ever found out.
Cammy wound down her plans, and picked up the basket from the floor.
She carefully set her chosen item on top. "I got everything on the list,"
she said.
"Let's checkout and get home," Cameron said. "I can sort all the parts,
and you can work on the guard tower." They started walking toward the front
of the store.
Cammy's face faltered, then she said, "I thought, maybe, we could build
this together." She shrugged. "If you want, I mean."
Cameron smiled, and pulled his wallet out. "That, ah, sounds like fun,"
he told Cammy.
As they reached the counter, Hank took the basket from Cammy, and said
his well rehearsed line as a purveyor of goods. "Did you get everything you
came after?"
Cameron looked at Cammy, and said, "I got everything I needed."
* * * *
"You two ready?" Jennifer asked.
Cameron didn't look up from his laptop. Cammy did, and she was nodding.
"Dad's just checking Aedyn's system one last time," she said brightly,
excited but focused as she spoke. Then her face shifted to a shark grin,
"We're going to crush everyone here!"
"Mmm," Cameron made a noise. He closed his laptop and disconnected the
wire from the robot. Then he looked at Cammy. "Not crush," he corrected
her.
Cammy giggled. "Right, right, right!" she agreed. She looked back at
Jennifer, who had an eyebrow raised curiously. "Aedyn's a pusher, not a
crusher."
Jennifer knew enough from listening to the master and apprentice
roboticists over the last month to recognize two types of robots. Crushers
were robots that used blunt force to beat opponents, and she knew that
beating was rather literal. Pushers were robots that won by pushing their
competition beyond the set boundaries of the field of battle. Others
included flippers, cutters, and others that she couldn't remember, but was
confident could identify with a quick look around.
Aedyn, the two wheeled robot that Cameron and Cammy built, was a pusher.
>From their practice sessions she knew its strategy was to nimbly avoid
attacks with its zero turn radius. Once positioned, its tall body would flop
forward and act as a battering ram to push the opponents out of the
boundaries. According to Cammy the strategy relied of Aedyn's software
acting faster than other robot drivers could react.
It sounded good, and they were about to find out.
"Team 'Cam Do' Attitude?" someone asked from the sides. Cameron and
Cammy both cringed, but Jennifer beamed at her contribution to the team. She
turned to the speaker and pointed at her black T-shirt with the team name
written on it in blocky iron-on letters.
"That's them," she said.
"Five minutes until your battle," the man said. Jennifer realized, both
from context and the badge hanging from a lanyard around his neck, that he
was an official for the Crabbies. "Please get into position." He pointed to
a space next to the battlefield.
The C.R.A.B. Tournament battlefield was an open space with taped off
borders. Jennifer didn't know the exact dimensions, but estimated it was
about half of a basketball court in size. On two of the sides were smaller
taped off areas where the contestants started out. Some other leagues had
flashier arenas full of mechanical traps and obstacles, but C.R.A.B. held to
a more "purist" philosophy of bot versus bot rather than bot versus
environment.
"Aedyn, follow me!" Cammy said to the robot. It turned and followed as
she led the way to the starting point. Jennifer pulled out her phone and
snapped a quick photo of her daughter and robot headed off to conquer.
Like father, like daughter.
* * * *
"Hey," an unfamiliar voice said behind Cammy. She felt a finger tap her
shoulder before she could turn around from her locker. Once she was turned,
she saw the speaker was a senior. She didn't know her name, just the face.
Caramel skin. Golden eyes. A frizzy mane of hair.
"Me?" Cammy asked. Seniors didn't talk to Juniors, especially
Juniors who weren't old enough to be *Sophomores*.
"Yeah, you," the girl said. She held out her phone. "Is this you?"
Cammy looked at the phone. The video was moving around, so it was hard
to focus at first. Then Cammy recognized Aedyn. It was the last round from
her most recent C.R.A.B. Tournament. Aedyn won of course, and then the
camera zoomed in on her and her dad watching from the sides.
Cammy couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, me and my dad, and Aedyn," she
said, then added, "Aedyn's the robot."
"I told you!" the girl told two of her friends, who were hanging back.
They stepped closer. The girl turned back to Cammy. "I'm Mikeala. That was
a great fight." Her friends nodded and made positive noises.
Cammy smiled, "Thanks!" That was all she could think to say. Panic
began to foment. "Uh, are you a Crabbie too?"
Mikaela shook her head. "My brother was before he got a job in
California. I keep up, but," she shrugged, "this is probably weird, but can
I get a selfie with you? My bro will flip if he knows I met a Champion
Crab."
"Sure!" Cammy said. She turned and Mikaela crouched slightly so they'd
fit in the same frame. The camera clicked.
"Thanks!" Mikaela started typing out a message.
"Why aren't you in the school robotics club?" Mikaela's friend asked.
She was a redhead with a braided ponytail and Brightsword T-shirt.
"Uh, well," Cammy replied hesitantly, "I won the state competition last
year," she shrugged, "and my dad was like, 'Why do you want to win the same
thing twice?'" It was mostly true. "So, we're doing the C.R.A.B. thing this
year."
"That's so cool," the redhead said in awe.
The bell rang, ending the conversation, but before Cammy could excuse
herself, Mikaela asked, "Are you coming to homecoming Friday? Maybe we'll
see you there."
Cammy's eyes went wide and she nodded. "Wouldn't miss it!"
The four split, Mikeala's pack going one way and Cammy going another.
In her haste to beat the second bell, Cammy didn't notice Bradley watching
her.
* * * *
Cammy was waiting for Jennifer as soon as she walked through the door.
The teenager wasn't even sitting at the table, she was standing right in
front of the door. "Mom, mom, mom, I need your help," Cammy cried, bouncing
as she spoke.
Jennifer didn't immediately respond. She waited for a beat, then spoke
in a slightly squeaky voice. "Hi, mom. Welcome home. How was your day?
Oh, that sounds like a busy day. May I get you a cold drink, after all
you've done so much for me, your daughter." Jennifer fixed Cammy with a
stare.
Cammy took the hint. "Sorry. How was your day, mom?" Her voice was
almost sarcastic.
"It was good," Jennifer said pleasantly, then added in a slightly darker
tone, "right up to being mauled by a wild teenager when I got home. They
really need to pass a law." She stepped past an unamused Cammy, and sat
down.
"I'm only trying to tell you because I know you'll want to hear it,"
Cammy defended her excitement.
"Okay, tell me," Jennifer said.
Cammy retold the scene with Mikaela. Jennifer started to think she
understood why Cammy was excited. Jumping three grades in two years, while
being barred from the all-grades club she was part of, made it difficult to
form solid friendships. She had a few friends...Swetha and Marin...but the
latest skip had strained those bonds by splitting them up. A senior giving
Cammy positive attention was a good thing.
Jennifer *hoped* it was a good thing.
"Then she asked if I was coming to the dance Friday, and I said I was,"
Cammy started to wind down her story, "but I don't have a dress." Cammy
smiled a hopeful grin. "Can we go shopping?"
Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Is this the homecoming dance you
specifically, expressly, and without any deviation in certainty said you'd
die of boredom if I made you go?" she asked.
Cammy nodded forlornly. "Yes."
"Go get your jacket," Jennifer said. Despite Cammy's initial
reluctance, she had enough faith in her maternal intuition to assume a late
change of heart. Four days before was cutting things very close, but pulling
off the impossible, escaping certain doom, that was all in a day's work for
Lady Lawful.
* * * *
"Wait there," Jennifer said to Cammy, who was out of Cameron's view from
the bottom of the stairs. Jennifer quickly descended to the first floor,
phone in hand. She turned around and aimed it up the stairs. "Okay, come
out."
It took a second, but Cammy stepped out of her room and started down the
stairs. She was moving carefully. One hand on the rail the whole way down.
She stopped when she reached the end of the stairs and looked at her parents.
"Well?" she asked.
Cameron could count on his fingers the number of times Cammy wore
something more formal than a soft collared shirt and skirt. In fact, most of
the time it was jeans, shorts, T-shirts, and sneakers. Her style was very
compatible with his own.
At present, Cammy was wearing a formal dress. It was a darker blue
affair that wrapped around her shoulders, then dipped into a modest "V" at
her chest, tastefully hiding anything like cleavage. From there it seemed to
be made exactly for her, showing off she had some curves without being
immodest.
Her hair was held in place by a wreath of flowers and strategically
placed hairpins. Cameron felt a slight pang of sadness. He missed her
unruly curls, which suited Cammy's boisterous personality. Cameron couldn't
deny that Cammy's styled hair suited her too. There was an elegance to her
that people didn't appreciate.
Cameron felt his throat tighten, but he managed to say, "You're
beautiful."
Jennifer threw in, "Our little girl's always beautiful, but tonight
you're radiant."
Cammy blushed and looked away. "Cut it out, Mom."
"I will not," Jennifer replied in a mock stern voice. "I was in labor
for eight hours with you, and you know what kept me going?" Cameron and
Cammy were at a loss. "I'll tell you what: the homecoming dance. My entire
life for the last fourteen years has been for this moment, so when I tell you
you're radiant, you beam."
"Gosh, Mom," Cammy teased, "maybe you should be going instead of me."
"Wise ass," Jennifer said. "Now stand next to your dad. Cameron, put
your hand on her shoulder." Jennifer stepped back as they posed and aimed
her lens. "Say cheese!"
Jennifer got a multitude of pictures with Cameron and Cammy. Then even
more of just Cammy. Then of her and Cammy. It could have gone on longer,
but Cammy raised her hands. "I'm going to be late, mom!" she cried out.
"One more thing," Cameron said. He disappeared into the kitchen before
Cammy could protest. When Cammy looked to Jennifer for a clue, they both
shrugged. "I know you didn't want to go with anyone, but I think this is a
tradition," Cameron explained. He returned with a clear, plastic box in his
hands. Within it was a carnation surrounded by baby's breath.
"A corsage?" Jennifer gasped. "You big softie."
"Dad," Cammy joined her mother in surprise. "It's lovely." She stepped
closer, and Cameron slipped it around her wrist. Cammy inhaled the scent of
the flowers. "Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed Cameron on the
cheek.
Jennifer followed suit and kissed Cameron's other cheek. "Nice work,
Dad," she whispered. Then she turned to Cammy. "Okay, now you *are* going
to be late. Get in the car, kiddo. Be right behind you."
Cammy headed out to the garage, and Jennifer turned back to Cameron.
She planted a full kiss on lips. "You did you good, Deedee." He smiled
back. "I'll bring back dinner, and we can spend the night feeling old while
we wait for Cammy to call for a ride home."
"That sounds nice," Cameron said. He knew Jenny was joking, but he was
serious. It did sound nice. They exchanged one more quick kiss, and then
she was gone.
Cameron stood still, listening as the two most important people in his
life drove away. He basked in the moment. Cameron's mind operated in a
world of interconnected systems and concepts. When he needed to, he could
focus those down to shapes that mirrored physical objects in the real world.
Rarely did he actually think in words, but as the engine sounds of Jennifer's
car faded away, three words came to him. "They love me."
For a moment, he was content, he was at peace, but if he wanted to stay
that way he had to get back to work.
Cameron pulled his phone from his pocket and started thumbing through
the apps. The one he was looking for was buried three screens back, in a
folder labeled "Dad Stuff." Most of them were links to parenting forums, but
a couple were custom apps he created. The one he was after had an icon that
looked like a flower. He tapped it with his finger.
The app loaded quickly. The display was mostly cached from the last
time Cameron ran it, so it updated very quickly. On his screen was a map
with a red dot moving away from a position marked "Home." Cameron knew the
path the dot should take, but still felt nervous until he actually saw the
dot appear on the street that went straight to Cammy's school.
He tapped a heart icon at the bottom of the app, and the screen switched
to showing a heartbeats per minute number. It was within normal bounds for a
teenager going to her first dance.
A tiny part of Cameron felt bad about hiding a GPS chip, pulsometer, and
piezo-electric generator in Cammy's corsage. If he'd been content with the
GPS, he could have chosen an orchid. Based on his limited understanding of
color theory, that would have gone better with her dress. He quashed that
part quickly. A slight color clash was a small price to pay to know Cammy's
state in addition to her location.
Any responsible father well-versed in surveillance equipment, game
theory, and teenage boys with superpowers would have made the same decision.
* * * *
The drive between the McKay house and Cammy's school was no more than
ten minutes during morning traffic. It was much less on a Friday night.
Despite the duration, Jennifer was amused and ever so slightly concerned how
still Cammy sat. Aside from straightening out her dress a couple of times,
she sat motionless.
"Nervous?" Jennifer asked. She glanced over long enough to see Cammy
nodding. "I figured." She paused long enough to check an intersection
before continuing on. "I'd say don't be nervous, but the way I see it,
you've got a lot to be nervous about."
"I do?" Cammy asked. She sounded worried.
"Oh, sure!" Jennifer said. She started counting on her fingers. "This
is your first dance. You're going without a date. Oh, and you're the
youngest person there by at least a year." She looked over in time to see
Cammy swallow. "But none of that matters!"
Cammy looked incredulous, "It kind of feels like it does."
"It feels that way, because you've lost perspective," Jennifer told her.
"All you have to do tonight is stand around, look cute, and not throw up."
"Gross!" Cammy giggled and made a disgusted face.
"You were already doing that back at the house," Jennifer told her. She
could see Cammy smiling out of the corner of her eye. "Remember how well you
didn't throw up at home?"
"Mom!" Cammy said, half-laughing and half-yelling. "You're demented,"
Cammy added, paused, then said, "But I really am good at not throwing up."
Her eyes were sparkling, and her head was nodding. The scruffing sound of
kicking feet against the carpet of the car even started up.
"They'll sing songs of how you kept food down," Jennifer snickered.
The rest of the ride wasn't as quiet. By the time Jennifer pulled to a
stop in front of the entrance of the gym, Cammy was back to her normal,
boisterous self.
"Okay, kiddo," Jennifer said in a slightly more serious voice, "I want
you to have a good time, but remember the rules?"
Cammy nodded and started counting on her fingers. "Don't leave the gym
without a grownup. Call if I am leaving with an adult. Call when I'm ready
to come home," Cammy said.
"You forgot one," Jennifer said.
"What?"
Jennifer reached out to ruffle Cammy's hair, but stopped short before
she messed up the arrangement. Jennifer settled on giving Cammy a friendly
punch on the shoulder. "Have fun!" Jennifer said. "Now get out and go
dance."
Cammy didn't need to be told twice. She hopped out of the car, and
slammed the door shut. Before heading into the gym, Jennifer watched through
the car window as Cammy sniffed her corsage once more. Then she took off for
the dance.
* * * *
An hour later as she stood in the bathroom, looking at her reflection in
the mirror above the sink, Cammy came to a profound realization: school
dances weren't bad. She might be willing to say they were actually good, but
so far she only had experience at one dance, and wanted more evidence before
making a completely positive statement.
Seeing the kids she knew from class all dressed up was fun. Mingling
with them outside of the daily schedule, where everyone felt a little uneasy
and off-balance, was kind of a nice change of pace. There were people she
spoke to on the gym floor that she sat in classes with for months without
saying a word.
It honestly surprised Cammy how much she was enjoying herself. She
didn't think it was something she'd want to do every week, definitely not
every day, but she wanted to come to another.
She considered taking a quick selfie in the mirror. She thought it
might be fun to have a picture to remember the moment, but ultimately decided
to skip the picture. She'd always remember this night. Instead, Cammy
finished checking her reflection in the mirror, adjusted a few stray bangs
that slipped loose while she was walking around, and decided she was ready.
Cammy exited the bathroom and stepped into the hallway just outside the
gymnasium. She could hear the music playing as she headed back.
"Hey, McKay," a nauseatingly familiar voice called out. "You look
good."
Cammy turned to see Bradley Smitherton. He was leaning against the
wall, wearing a suit that was slightly nicer than the other boys in the gym
had on. His hair was a little disheveled, but Cammy thought that was his
signature look this year. It always looked a little windblown when she saw
him.
"Thanks," she said guardedly. "You too." Cammy waited a second, then
turned to head back. She didn't want to be overtly rude, but neither did she
really want to spend time talking to Bradley.
"Hey, look," Bradley called out. He walked briskly to catch up with
Cammy. "I wanted to say...I mean...." He paused, then started over, "Can we
start over?"
Cammy stopped. "What?"
Bradley drew to a halt. "We've both done some things..." he paused
speaking when Cammy scowled, "...things that I admit, I started, okay." He
paused again. "But I wanted to apologize, and see if we could start over."
Cammy's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Why?"
Bradley shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said it was just because I felt
bad," he explained, "but that's part of it. I saw the video of you at robot
fights, and it reminded me that you've got talent."
Cammy wanted to say something sarcastic and mean, but she knew her mom
would be disappointed in her. "It's easy to make enemies, but it's hard to
get rid of them," is something Cammy remembered from a talk from a few years
back. If this was an opportunity to mend a bridge, she should make her best
effort to do so.
"Thank you," Cammy said thoughtfully, "I appreciate you saying that,
and," she paused to pick the right words, "I'd like to start over too. That
would be nice."
Bradley extended his hand so they could shake on it.
* * * *
Jennifer had seen the home video too many times to count. It was
Cammy's tenth birthday. They planned to go out to one of the local
children's restaurants, the kind with too many rugrats and people in animal
costumes. Their plans got derailed completely when Cammy got sick the night
before. Jennifer distinctly remembered the fever.
Where some kids would have melted down for missing their party, Cammy
took it like a trooper. She was disappointed, but never once pitched a fit
or argued. Jennifer chose to remember that as proof Cammy was a one-in-a-
million kid, but there was a good chance the bug she caught played a hand in
her muted mood. However she felt about not going out that day, her mood
immeasurably improved when Jennifer set a small pile of gifts on her bed.
"For me?" she asked, her attempt to feign curiosity was not that
convincing. Cammy was in her bed, covered up, leaning against a pile of
pillows. She started sorting the gifts as soon as they landed on her bed.
Off screen, Jennifer said, "No, those are mine. I just need you to hold
on to them for me."
Cammy picked up a present and looked at it closely. After studying the
tag, she held it out so Jennifer and the camera could see it clearly. "It
says 'to Cammy,' 'from Mom.'" The look on Cammy's said she was sure that the
debate was over.
"Oh, I guess my secretary got it wrong," Jennifer managed to sound
halfway glum.
That was too much for Cammy, "You don't have a secretary!" She was
grinning.
"Well, no," Jennifer admitted, "I had to let her go after she kept
putting your name on my presents." That broke Cammy, and she laughed as the
angle of the camera changed. Jennifer was sitting on the end of the bed.
"You might as well open them now."
Cammy didn't have to be told twice. She began tearing into the paper.
After a few minutes she was finished, and surrounded by a pile of paper,
plush animals, books, and a couple of boxes of the construction toys that
would become a staple of her room.
"Pile it up so I can get a picture for your grandparents," Jennifer's
disembodied voice said. Cammy began to arrange her loot in such a way that
everything was in front of her, except the wrapping paper. That went on the
floor. "Okay, here we go," the video ended.
On the television screen, the last video frame froze in place. Cammy
smiled brightly ready for the photo. Across the room, sitting on the couch,
Jennifer smiled fondly and hugged one of the sofa pillows to her chest.
One of Cameron's projects in recent weeks was upgrading the household
entertainment system. Previously, they'd been content with a TV and DVD
player. If Cammy ever wanted to watch a streaming video, she'd use her
laptop or the living room PC. The system now was the living room PC, plus a
fifty-two inch screen, multi-disc player, and surround sound. On the one
hand, it was nice knowing what Cammy was watching online, but on the other,
Jennifer couldn't believe how many videos one teenager could watch dedicated
to plush birds.
She was also still learning how it all worked, so for the evening she
let Cameron control the system. She thought he was controlling it, but after
the last frame of Cammy stayed up a bit longer than expected, she looked over
at him to see what was holding up the next video.
Cameron wasn't a very expressive person. When they first met, many
years and several lifetimes ago, Jennifer thought he was trying to be tough,
stoic, or some macho nonsense. After a few encounters she realized he just
didn't understand how to use facial expressions. Over the years she'd come
to learn subtle shifts in his face that were tell-tale signs of what he was
thinking.
He had a shy, sly smile when he was feeling positive emotions. He would
furrow his brow and slightly close his eyes when his emotional compass was
pointed toward irritation or anger. The one she was most familiar with was
when his eyes glazed over, which meant he was lost deep in thought. As she
watched him sitting across from her, she could tell his eyes were focused and
his lips were turned down.
He was sad.
"Deedee?" she asked, "You okay?"
Cameron looked at Jennifer, then he looked away, down at the floor. She
set her pillow aside, and reached for his hand.
"I have to make a, uh, confession," he mumbled. He sighed. "I don't
know how to say it," he told her, his face shifting to his hard-thinking
mask.
"Then just say it," Jennifer said, "and I promise, it'll be okay."
Cameron sighed again. "I think...I think I'm angry at you, but I don't
know why." He looked at the television. "You and Cammy, you get along so,
uh, well, and I have to work so hard...."
Jennifer was at a loss for words for a moment. Dozens of replies rushed
through her mind, but only one felt right as a reply.
"I think that's jealousy," Jennifer said. Then she squeezed his hand.
"Because that's kind of how I feel when I see you two working on Aedyn." It
was Jennifer's turn to sigh. "All the years it was just Cammy and me, I was
the one she came to when she had a question or needed help.
"Now you're helping her with things she loves that, frankly, I'm not
good at," Jennifer said, "I'll admit, it worries me." Jennifer realized it
was the robotics club where this first happened. Cammy had questions about
her robot's code that went far beyond Jennifer's talents with spreadsheet
formulae.
Cameron shook his head, "That's just robots and electronics," he said,
"the easy stuff. I can't do the impossible things she needs. I can't make
her laugh, make her feel better after a bad day, or anything important," he
said. Cameron scratched the back of his head with his free hand.
Jennifer smiled very faintly, she couldn't help it. She felt
enlightenment.
"All these weeks, I've been afraid I was losing my little girl, and
you've been afraid you'd never get her," Jennifer said. She tugged on
Cameron's arm, which prompted him to scoot closer. "We forgot one of the
most important facts in our lives.
"When Lady Lawful and Doctor Developer team up, we're unstoppable," she
told Cameron, "but we can't effectively work together if we get stuck in our
heads. From now on, when you feel something's wrong, tell me, and I'll
promise you the same."
"Promise," Cameron swore.
"Let me tell you something, Cameron," Jennifer looked him in the eye.
"You absolutely have made her better after a bad day. Cammy's a resilient
kid, but she's been adrift since she lost the robotics club. She was until
you two started working on Aedyn. She's been happier, more focused, and
content than you know."
Cameron smiled slyly, then he looked serious. "I promise you're not,
uh, losing her to me. Every time we get something working, she wants to show
you. She, um, has no illusions about your programming skills, but she's most
excited about showing you what she can do."
Jennifer was about to reply when Cameron's phone went crazy. It began
blaring out an alarm, and he scrambled to pull it from his pocket. His
finger was a blur, logging in, navigating apps, and finally running a hand
through his hair in the ultimate "What The Hell" gesture in the Cameron
lexicon.
"Something wrong?" Jennifer asked. Cameron didn't answer for a second.
"Deedee, talk to me."
"Cammy just left the school..." he started.
Jennifer nearly cursed, "I told her not to..."
"...and ended up a mile away in twelve seconds," Cameron finished.
Jennifer actually cursed, "How the hell do you know that?"
"I, uh," Cameron paused and actually blushed, "I put a tracker in her
corsage."
"Yeah, that's the only reason I let her go by herself," Jennifer said.
"You knew?" Cameron asked, surprised.
"I know you!" Jennifer told him. "Now focus, where is she?"
"She's still moving," Cameron said, "and fast."
"I'm getting my belt," Jennifer declared.
* * * *
For one horrible, terrifying minute Cammy's world exploded. She
couldn't breathe. Every color blended together into a black swirl. The only
sound she could hear was a hurricane channeled into her ears. She thought
she was dying.
Then it stopped, but everything was different.
She staggered backwards, trying to keep from falling over as her inner
ear did loop-to-loops and her eyes adjusted to the darker...living room she
was now standing in. This was not the gym hallway, but she did see Bradley.
"What's going on?" Cammy asked. She was breathing hard.
"Welcome to Casa de Bradley," he said with a flourish. "Technically
it's Lago Casa de Bradley, but that doesn't roll off the tongue." He plopped
down in an overstuffed chair, then added casually, "Sorry about your dress."
"My dress?" Cammy asked. She looked down at her dress to find it was
shredded. It looked like an army of cats used it as a scratching post. Her
shoes were gone too. "What happened to my dress?"
Bradley smirked. It was the same, disgusting, cruel smirk he had the
day Cammy hit him. He shrugged, "I thought you were the smart kid. Air
resistance happened."
Cammy was dumbfounded for a moment, but the pieces began to fall into
place. The hurricane. The blur. The reason she couldn't breathe. All of
that and her dress would be explained by a high-speed acceleration. But that
would mean...
"You're a speeder?" Cammy asked.
"The term is speedster, dummy," Bradley growled, "but, yes."
Cammy felt something grab her hand, felt her shoulder strained to its
limits, and then she was spinning. It only lasted a brief moment, but the
way she felt after, she knew she went through a few revolutions. Once again,
she staggered while her equilibrium caught up. Bradley was in the kitchen,
eating an apple.
"I don't understand," Cammy said, trying to figure out what was
happening. She knew the situation wasn't good, but it was worse playing
catchup too. She pushed her panic down as much as she could. "You said you
wanted to be friends."
Bradley tossed the apple core in the sink. "Yeah, so I could get my
hands on you. Literally." His face darkened. "I'm still getting the hang
of scooping people up at full speed. Poor Carla could attest to that."
Cammy remembered Carla Dinkley. She'd been in a car accident a week or
so back. They said she'd be able to walk again eventually. "That was you?"
Cammy asked.
Bradley rolled his eyes. "I know I'm fast, but try to keep up."
Bradley flickered out of sight, then was back in his chair. "Her folks were
happy to sign my dad's NDA and take his money, but that accident was no car
wreck." He almost seemed proud.
"Hence my whole, 'Golly gosh Cammy, can we be pals?'" he simpered
through the last part before breaking out into laughter. "I didn't want to
break you right away."
Cammy scowled and stepped back to plant her feet. She drew her arms to
her chest and kept them tense. He wouldn't grab her a second time. "Just
let me leave, Bradley, and I won't tell anyone what happened."
That made Bradley laugh again. "Who are you going to tell? Your
washed-up, has-been, criminal dad? Or your," he thought for a second, "hot
librarian mom? What are they going to do?"
The urge to laugh at Bradley was almost too much. She wanted to tell
him who her parents really were. What her mom could do to him. She wanted
to, but she remembered her promise. Especially because her promise was made
with the foreknowledge that someone like Bradley...probably Bradley...would
taunt her about it.
Instead, Cammy just said, "Mom works at a museum, dummy."
Cammy barely registered Bradley's smile turning to a scowl before she
felt her face explode in pain. Her mouth hurt, and she tasted battery. No,
not exactly battery. She was bleeding. Cammy touched her lip and her
fingers came away red.
He was going to kill her. He wanted to draw it out as long as possible,
but Bradley Smitherton was going to kill her. He was staring out of a plate
glass sliding door when her eyes locked on to him. She saw him smile in the
reflection.
"Don't call me that again," Bradley said in an eerily calm voice.
"What are you going to do to me?" Cammy asked. Her voice wasn't scared.
She felt defiant. If she was going to die, she wasn't giving the guy who
came in *fifth* the satisfaction of being scared.
"I don't know," Bradley admitted. "I figure we have some time before
anyone realizes you're missing." He turned away from the window, and leaned
against it. He crossed his arms to complete, what Cammy assumed, was his
idea of a cool pose. "Not like you had a date that'll miss you."
Cammy spit blood on the floor. It was partially to clear her mouth, and
partially to try and be cool herself. Plus, if she was going to die here,
she also wanted to leave as much evidence behind as possible.
"You didn't have a date either," she replied.
This time she expected Bradley's attack, but it didn't lessen the pain.
She didn't see the blow, but it felt like a hammer punched the side of her
face. It was such a stunner she collapsed to her knees.
Bradley was yelling now. "I thought you were smart, dummy!" He was
standing over her screaming, "Why do you keep antagonizing me?" He backed
off, and calmed down. "You don't know your place," he said, "so I guess I'm
going to have to teach you."
Whatever vestiges of fear were left after the first punch quickly burned
away by Cammy's rage after the second. She was so angry, she felt dizzy.
She heard her heart pounding, louder than Bradley's ranting. Her vision
blurred, then snapped back. She felt the floor beneath her pulling at her,
the same way she felt it tug at Bradley's feet when he picked them up.
It was like a wave. When his foot was on the floor, the pull was the
strongest. As he lifted one foot, the pull lessened on that foot but
increased on the other. In science class they talked about Newtons per
square meter, and how the smaller the point of contact was, the harder the
weight pressed down on that spot. It's why you spread your body out on thin
ice, or why her mom complained about high heels.
But they were wrong...or incomplete, anyway. Weight wasn't really just
pressing down. Two bodies of mass pulled at each other. She felt Earth
pulling at her. She felt it pulling at Bradley. It was that pull that let
Bradley run across the room to hit her.
She wanted gravity to stop pulling on Bradley.
If his feet couldn't run, she would be safe.
She wanted gravity to push him into space.
"What's going on?" Bradley asked. He tried to turn, but twisting to
look at Cammy caused him to slip off the ground and fall up into the ceiling.
"What the hell?" He tried to stand up on the ceiling, but he found he
weighed too much. "What are you doing?"
Through gritted, bloodstained teeth, Cammy answered. "I'm teaching you
your place!"
* * * *
Jennifer drove, and Cameron navigated. Every one of the fifteen minutes
from their house to the lakeside neighborhood, where Cammy's signal said she
was, were agonizing. "It's probably just a prank," Jennifer said, more to
herself than Cameron. Cameron didn't respond.
The neighborhood was a gated community. Literally gated. Before they
could enter, they needed to put in a pass code. Jennifer was weighing the
options of driving through the gate, when Cameron said, "Pound, one, one,
one, one."
That worked.
"How did you know?" Jennifer asked as they drove though.
"Manufacturer's default. They never change that code," he answered.
"Take a left here."
There were a few turns along the way, but soon they arrived at a two
story home. It was slightly larger than their own, and definitely a newer
construction. There was only one light downstairs.
"If this is a prank, she's grounded until she's thirty," Jennifer
muttered as she turned off the car and got out. Cameron followed. Their
doors hadn't shut before they heard the screaming.
"Not a prank," Cameron said.
Jennifer didn't reply. She bolted for the door. With her Enhancement
Belt active, she moved in a blur. She only paused for an instant when the
knob didn't turn. Another scream was all she needed to break the handle, and
step into the house.
She saw Cammy in the living room. Jennifer couldn't decide how to
describe her. Her dress was tattered, her lip was bleeding, and she was
kneeling on the ground. Pitiful was the first word that came to mind. Then
she saw her face, a mask of anger and concentration staring up at the
ceiling. Rage was the second word.
"Cammy?" Jennifer asked quietly. She inched closer to her daughter.
Before Cammy could reply, another scream of, "Help me!" erupted from the
ceiling. Jennifer followed Cammy's gaze and saw Bradley Smitherton pressed
against the ceiling. "She's going to kill me! She's crazy!"
Cammy's focus was so intense she could barely speak. "Shut," she
grunted, "up!" Bradley squeaked and exhaled suddenly. He didn't talk again.
"Cammy," Jennifer said quietly, softly, "what's going on?"
Cammy's anger dissipated and she looked sad and small. "He was going to
kill me. He's a speeder. I wanted him not to be able to run." Cammy was
gasping between sentences.
Jennifer turned to look at Bradley. He croaked out, "She's lying."
"I'm not!" Cammy cried. She looked angry again, and Bradley's eyes
bulged.
"Cammy, you're going to kill him," Jennifer said calmly. "Let him down.
He can't hurt you anymore."
"Yes he can!" Cammy screeched, "But I won't...I won't let...let him."
She wavered, but forced herself still. The strain on her was visible even in
the dimly lit room.
"Cammy, don't do this..." Jennifer begged.
"No," Cameron said, "let her do what she needs to do."
"Cameron, stop!" Jennifer snapped. "This isn't a joke."
Cameron looked at Bradley, then at Jennifer. His face was angry,
serious. "What he did is not a joke, and his, ah, kind won't stop," Cameron
said. He knelt down so he was close to Cammy's height when he looked her in
the eyes from across the room. "Cammy, you do what you need to feel safe.
We're going to protect you from now on, but whatever you need to do, do it."
Jennifer looked back at Cammy. She didn't want her daughter to murder
anyone, but she couldn't think of a good argument to save Bradley's hateful
life.
"What?" Bradley gasped. He looked around an instant before he fell to
the floor, slamming flat against the floor a few feet from Cameron.
Cammy sobbed and relaxed, tipping forward. Jennifer lunged and caught
her, cradling Cammy in her arms. Cameron moved toward Bradley.
"Don't move, I need to make sure you're okay," he told the teenage boy.
"Does it hurt anywhere? Can you feel your legs?"
Bradley was coughing, trying to catch his breath. He nodded.
"Everything feels fine."
"Okay," Cameron said. Then in one smooth swipe, he sliced the serrated
blade of his multitool across Bradley's ankle. A small pop sounded an
instant before Bradley screamed, flickered, and reappeared a foot away rolled
over on his side. He was gripping his ankle. Blood dripped from it on the
floor.
"What did you do?" he shrieked at Cameron.
Cammy and Jennifer looked up in time to see Cameron stand up. "That was
your achilles tendon." Cameron pulled out his phone and dialed the police.
"Those heal far more slowly than most injuries, even if you have accelerated
healing. You're not going to be running for a while."
* * * *
Jennifer felt helpless as she listened to Cammy give her statement to
the officers outside the privacy curtain of the emergency room. She knew
procedure was procedure, but never more did she wish that she was still
active as Lady Lawful. Being a recognized hero provided access that, while
possibly unfair from an objective observer, she would have loved to have when
Cammy was involved.
She could hear Cammy recounting her story to the police, and after a few
minutes she reached the end. They had a few more questions for her, but it
was over soon enough. As the two officers stepped out from behind the
privacy curtain, they paused to talk to Jennifer.
They were polite. They said there might be follow up questions if
charges were filed...the "if" was not a "when" and Jennifer knew it. They
also offered her a business card. It felt very surreal and hopeless being on
the victim side of a super-fight. Lady Lawful never got handed a business
card.
Finally, one of the officers said, "Mrs. McKay, I know this isn't your
top priority, but now that your daughter has shown signs of superpowers, you
need to have her taken in for a proper Tesla Rating." At least this part was
expected. Since Benefactor's attack, when a lot of the high-powered supers
were targeted to make any resistance weaker, the world got much quieter. The
flip-side of that was that various agencies became much more active in
finding and recruiting the next generation of high-powered supers.
Part of Jennifer had hoped that Cammy took after her Cameron, and had no
powers. She would have loved to pass the Enhancement Belt down to Cammy, if
she'd wanted it, but there was a part that was absolutely content with a
daughter who had no extraordinary powers, no Magene.
That was no longer the case.
"I have friends who work for the DSHA," Jennifer told the officer. That
was true. She didn't mention they were also Lady Lawful's friends. "As soon
as Cammy's up for it, we'll get her in for a rating."
That satisfied the officer, which concluded their conversation. As soon
as they turned around to leave, Jennifer stepped behind the curtain.
Cammy was sitting on a gurney that the emergency room used for beds, her
legs hanging off the side, her hands folded in her lap. Her dress was
replaced with a hospital gown, partially due to the shredding it took and
partially as evidence. Even with Cammy looking downward, the evidence of
Bradley's attack, both physical and emotional, were plainly visible.
"How are you, kiddo?" Jennifer asked.
Cammy just shrugged.
Jennifer's instincts were screaming to run up and grab Cammy in the most
protective embrace possible, but there was the colder voice of Lady Lawful
reminding her of the few times she'd helped victims of an attack. She'd seen
something as innocuous as a hand on a shoulder causing someone to react
badly. Jennifer compromised and asked, "May I get on the bed with you?"
Cammy didn't look up, but she nodded. That was enough, and Jennifer
boosted herself into the gurney. She shifted close to Cammy, but made sure
they weren't touching.
"You did a good job talking to those officers," Jennifer offered. "I've
heard people two or three times your age not able to recount what happened.
I'm so proud of you...."
Hearing that is what broke the dam. Cammy reached for Jennifer with
both arms, and Jennifer returned in kind. As Cammy sobbed, Jennifer told
her, "It's okay," and, "You're safe now." It took a monumental effort for
Jennifer not to break down, but she knew there would be a time and place for
that later, after Cammy's turn.
In time the sobs eased off, but Cammy never let go of Jennifer. That
was fine with Jennifer, and she held on just as tight. As far as Jennifer
was concerned, they could stay like that forever,
Cammy had just started to relax when a voice outside the curtain asked,
"May I, ah, come in?" which caused her to tense up.
"It's just your dad," Jennifer assured her, then she said only slightly
louder, "Come in."
Cameron slid the privacy curtain aside and let himself in. Once inside
he pulled it closed again. As he turned around, Jennifer saw he was holding
a bundle of clothes as expected. She and Cammy rode with the police to the
emergency room, and Cameron volunteered to go get clothes for Cammy once they
realized her dress was beyond any use but evidence. Atop the bundle was a
stuffed flamingo wearing a lab coat and stethoscope.
Jennifer accepted the bundle, and looked up at Cameron. He shrugged.
"I passed the gift shop," he explained. After a moment, he asked, "Should I
step out?"
"We'll be out in just a sec," Jennifer answered. Jennifer slowly
disentangled herself, slid off the bed but always kept one hand holding
Cammy's. "Let's get you dressed and go home."
* * * *
Correlation is not causation.
Those four words kept repeating in Cameron's mind as he lay in bed,
staring up at the ceiling. Rationally he knew that his being home didn't
cause Cammy's two abductions in the last year. The Heathrow one would have
happened if he'd been home or not. The Bradley one, though, he wasn't sure.
Jennifer dropped on the bed, but didn't lie down. She remained sitting
on the edge, staring at Cammy's room down the hall. Finally she broke the
silence. Her voice was sharp, angry, and scared. A cocktail of emotions
Cameron could only guess at, but thought he might share.
"I know what you're thinking," she said, "and if you don't stop, you're
going to have to sleep downstairs, because I can't deal with self-pity
tonight." Jennifer took a ragged breath. "Our little girl is a lot of
things...smart, special, precious," she paused, then said, "Stop feeling
sorry for yourself."
Cameron nodded. "I can do that."
"Do one more thing," Jennifer said as she climbed on the bed. She
pulled close to Cameron. He wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed.
"Don't stop hugging me until I stop crying." She began to sob, quietly, into
Cameron's chest.
* * * *
Cammy was sitting at the kitchen table, eating ice cream from the carton
when Jennifer came downstairs. It was still dark outside, but Jennifer
couldn't sleep. Part of her was worried about getting up in the morning, and
having to help Cammy through the healing process of what happened to her.
Another part couldn't stop thinking about the night before. Mostly she just
wanted to eat ice cream.
Jennifer grabbed a spoon from the drawer, and sat next to Cammy. For
several scoops, Jennifer just enjoyed sitting with her daughter. She was
glad to see the bruises were shrinking. It would be a week before all
evidence was gone, but whatever genetic switch flipped inside Cammy during
her abduction, it was already accelerating her natural healing process in
ways with which Jennifer was familiar.
That was something else that came with mixed blessings. Cammy having
powers was going to mean training, getting her tested on the Tesla Index, and
deciding how to handle her future education. There were some new academies
out there for kids with gifts, but she didn't think she was ready to send
Cammy off to a school.
"Mom?" Cammy asked, "Are you okay?"
Jennifer chuckled. "Got lost in my own head. You dad's rubbing off on
me again." Jennifer took another spoonful.
After a second, Cammy looked at Jennifer and said, "I'm sorry I made you
cry." She spoke in a small voice, and broke eye contact as soon as she
finished.
"Oh, kiddo," Jennifer said, "you didn't do that." She set the spoon
down, and scooted her chair closer to Cammy so she could give her a hug.
"The last few days have been a rollercoaster, and I just needed to let go of
some pent up stress." She kissed Cammy on the top of her head. "I'm sorry
you heard that."
After a minute, Jennifer let go of Cammy. "Is that why you're up?"
Jennifer asked. Cammy shook her head. "You want to tell me why you're up?"
Cammy nodded.
"This is all my fault," Cammy said, tears running down her cheeks. "If
dad and I hadn't tried to get revenge on Bradley, maybe he wouldn't have done
this."
Jennifer wasn't surprised. Cameron couldn't do anything more technical
than changing a lightbulb without contextualizing it as some master scheme.
"When you and your dad decided to build Aedyn, did he say that winning that
crab game would be revenge?"
Cammy nodded. "I was going to get my picture in the paper twice, two
more than Bradley had." Cammy sniffled. "Maybe this is my fault."
"Cammy, listen to me," Jennifer said. She was trying hard to keep the
irritation out of her voice, while still sounding serious and gentle. "I
love your dad, but sometimes he says things that you can't take seriously.
If you knew how many times he told me that I'd never escape from...." Cammy
looked very confused, and Jennifer stopped. "Let's stay focused.
"I have no doubt your dad said building Aedyn was a revenge plan, but
did either of you ever tell that to Bradley?" Cammy shook her head. "Did you
ever sabotage his robot?" Cammy looked offended, but shook her head again.
"So your entire revenge plot was to build a great robot, win competitions,
and get your picture taken?"
Cammy thought about that. "That's the same as just joining the C.R.A.B.
Tournaments," she said aloud, thinking about it for the first time. "Then
why did dad help me build Aedyn?"
Jennifer genuinely didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she tried not
to do either. "Do you remember when you started building Cammylot, and I
accidentally," she stressed that, "knocked it all over?" Cammy did. "I
didn't know what Cammylot was or what it meant to you."
"You just thought it was a messy room," Cammy added.
"Right," Jennifer nodded. "You dad loves you so much, but he's still
getting used to being a parent. He doesn't have all the experience I do, he
doesn't know what's really important to you and what's not, so he fills in
the gaps with what he does know." Jennifer wanted to say that a father-
daughter revenge scheme, even something as ineffectual as this one, was a
fantasy that probably kept him sane more than once, but that would only
complicate the current situation. Instead Jennifer said, "He doesn't know
that it's okay to just say, 'Cammy, I want to do something with you to make
you happy.'"
Jennifer could tell Cammy was turning the idea over in her head. "So,
if calling it revenge was a joke," she asked, "then why did Bradley," she
paused, took a breath, and finished, "get so mad? Why come after me?"
"Because you're better than him," Jennifer said. Cammy looked reluctant
to take her parent's biased opinion as fact. "I'm not saying that because
you're my kid either, l can back it up. You've skipped three grades, and how
many has he skipped?"
"I don't think any," Cammy said.
"You beat him at the robotics tournament last year," Jennifer continued,
"and...this is going to sound silly, but I've dealt with more hormone driven
guys than you, so trust me...you had girls in the senior class talking to you
before he did."
Cammy wrinkled her nose. "But not like that."
"Doesn't matter to him," Jennifer continued, "all he saw was someone who
was better...and faster...than him and who was also smaller than him. People
like Bradley don't need a reason, they just need a target." Jennifer stopped
to think for a moment. "I don't want to scare you, but there are a lot of
nasty people out there like Bradley."
Cammy looked surprised at first, but then she started to think about it.
"That's why you were Lady Lawful, and dad was...uh..."
"Doctor Developer," Jennifer offered.
"Right!" Cammy continued, "You helped people, saved them from the bad
kinds of people." Jennifer nodded. Cammy frowned, "And you stopped because
of me?"
"Kind of," Jennifer hemmed. "The original plan was for me to take a
break for a while, and go back to it after you were born." Jennifer thought
for a brief moment, then kept going, "Plans changed when your dad went away.
We both agreed that taking care of you was the most important thing, and I
think we made the right choice.
"You know how I know that?" Jennifer asked.
Cammy shook her head, looking perplexed. "How?"
"Because you stand up to bad people," Jennifer told her. "When Bradley
called you a cheater, you didn't back down. When the school kicked you out
of the club, you went on and built Aedyn with your dad. When Heathrow tried
to rob the museum, you were scared, but you helped your dad stop him." Cammy
nodded absently, thinking over what Jennifer told her. "And last night, when
your dad and I got there, you were fighting back."
Cammy's thoughtful expression shifted to an ashamed one. "I almost
killed him," she whispered, "I wanted to. If you and dad hadn't gotten
there, maybe I would have."
"Cammy, I'm putting on my most serious face," Jennifer said to her
daughter. She reached out and took Cammy's hand in hers. "You could have,
but you didn't, and now you're ashamed that you almost did. That's a very
good thing. As mixed up as this sounds, kiddo, I am so proud of you for
feeling exactly like that."
Cammy blushed, and there was a small smile on her face.
"I never want to hear about you starting a fight," Jennifer said, "but I
will always back you up finishing one." Cammy was silent, processing her
mother's statement, and after a few quiet moments, Jennifer ruffled Cammy's
hair to break the tension. "Now, speaking of finishing things," Jennifer
changed the topic to something less serious, "are we going to finish this ice
cream?"
* * * *
Jack Smitherton figured there was a hundred percent chance Cameron McKay
would show up at his office building Monday morning, and a fifty percent
chance he'd resort to some super-villain theatrics like waiting in his
office. What he did not expect was that Cameron would be sitting at his
desk...bouncing in his office chair.
"This is comfortable," Cameron said, more to himself than Jack. He
wasn't even paying attention as the SmitherTech founder walked in.
"Are you here to threaten me?" Jack asked, sounding bored already.
"Bradley's been warned to stay away from your family when his leg heals, but
if you think I'm letting my son rot in prison for a prank, then you're not
the genius everyone says."
If Jack sounded bored, Cameron looked exhausted when he replied.
"I'm a father, I understand that ensuring the future of your child is
the most important thing you can do." He adjusted the seat, lowering it and
raising it. "I never expected Bradley to be punished for what he did."
That was unexpected. "Then what are you doing here?" He stepped up to
his desk. "Bradley told me about your little spiel to," Jack caught himself,
"your daughter. How if she killed my son, you could protect her. Are you
here to kill me?"
Cameron managed to look offended, or was he disappointed. When Cameron
sighed, Jack thought it even sounded disappointed.
"I told Cammy what she needed to hear so she wouldn't kill your son,"
Cameron explained. He was disappointed. He looked at Jack, his expression
the same blank one he always had in the pictures when he was Doctor
Developer. The only difference was his head was slightly tilted. "You don't
understand, do you?"
"I...." Jack didn't know how to respond.
"I thought this would be more interesting," Cameron said as he stood up.
He threw his hands in the air. "If the only option Cammy had to be safe from
your son was to kill him, she would have killed him!" Cameron was losing his
cool, showing emotions. "She's smarter than you are. She knew that if I
could protect her when the whole world, including you, were coming for her,
then I could protect her when it was just your family out there."
"So you are here to kill me?" Jack asked. While Cameron was ranting, he
carefully moved to within reach of a compartment in his desk. He touched the
panel and a small drawer opened. Jack kept his eyes on Cameron, and reached
down to retrieve...a stuffed flamingo wearing sunglasses.
"I can see where Bradley gets his lack of imagination and inclination
toward brute-force solutions," Cameron answered. "I'll see you at the
emergency board meeting."
"Board meeting?" Jack asked. He checked the alerts on his phone. Sure
enough, there was a board meeting called by SOJ Holdings. It was in half an
hour.
"For the past two quarters SmitherTech has operated at a loss," Cameron
explained. "They've lost several contracts with the DSHA and other
agencies." Cameron turned around to look at Jack. "This was likely due to a
loss of confidence in the company after a security breach at a secure
location." Jack's face turned red. "Now the founder's son has been
implicated in the kidnapping and assault of a minor.
"As the director of SOJ Holdings, I would be derelict in my duties as a
shareholder if I didn't call the leadership into question," Cameron said with
no emotion.
Jack flopped into his chair, more forcefully than expected since it was
lowered. Cameron walked out of the office, and Jack stared blankly at the
stuffed flamingo in his hand. He knew he had to figure out his next move,
but first he needed to understand what game he was actually playing.
He started by looking up SOJ Holdings. There was only a single page,
and it didn't even have stock photos or a contact form. There was just a
large gold logo centered on a dark blue background. Apparently SOJ stood for
Scales of Justice.
Jack didn't get it.
* * * *
It was well after lunch when Cameron got home.
Jennifer and Cammy were snuggled together on the couch watching a movie,
a cartoon with a two-headed dragon. The injuries to Cammy's face were
jarring. The two bruises and a cut lip, where Bradley's blows landed, though
superficial and already healing well, would take time to disappear
completely. They could have been much worse. Fortunately Bradley's powers
were new and untrained. Also, as a confirmed paranormal, Cammy would
probably heal more quickly and more completely than Bradley's other recent
target.
Cameron didn't relish the idea he would have to deal with a speedster,
and he knew Bradley wouldn't give up at his father's command. Still, he
wouldn't be walking for a few days. Cameron had time, and a whole folder of
ideas on a floppy disk somewhere for dealing with people who could make
Jennifer look sluggish.
"Where did you go?" Jennifer asked. Her voice wasn't accusing, but
there was an edge to it beyond curious. What stung worse was the look on
Cammy's face: sad, helpless, numb. That was something else that would take
time to heal, and powers wouldn't speed that up.
Cameron picked up a kitchen chair and carried it to the living room. He
sat down before speaking. "I got a job," Cameron explained. Jenny and Cammy
both looked surprised. "I'm the Chief Innovation Officer over infrastructure
security at SmitherTech."
Jennifer covered her mouth. Cammy looked at her mom, not sure what to
think.
He shrugged. "Apparently their founder and CEO has been grossly
negligent, which drastically increased the surface area of attack that could
allow a malicious actor to infiltrate the company."
"Good thing no malicious actors decided to do that," Jennifer chuckled.
"Do you have an office?" Cammy asked. Her eyes brightened a bit.
"I do," Cameron nodded, "and I also got a very comfortable chair with
it."
* * * *
Jennifer walked into the backyard just in time to hear a loud bang,
followed up by Cammy whooping. She quickened her pace just a little.
Cameron and Cammy were crouched next to what looked like a blocking sled that
she'd seen on football fields. The lack of a logo, two bedspreads...which
belonged in the linen closet...and copious amounts of duct tape, all
indicated it was a homebrewed construct.
Its purpose was a little less clear than its origins, but it was
obviously part of Team 'Cam Do' Attitude's next project.
Cammy was the first to hear Jennifer's approach. She hopped up and
started pointing at a dent in the bedspreads. Cameron was a little slower to
respond. He was trying to pull the ball out.
"Please tell me you both haven't taken up..." Jennifer stopped. "No, I
can't even guess what you're up to. Tell me." She nudged Cameron aside with
the bump of her hip and a smile. He blushed and stepped back. With one tug,
the baseball came out of the bedspread and whatever it was taped to. It felt
like a metal plate.
"I'm training!" Cammy explained.
"For the Cubs?" Jennifer asked. She tossed the ball gently at Cammy,
who caught it and giggled.
"Cammy's been learning to manipulate localized pockets of gravity,"
Cameron explained. He knelt on the ground and picked up a couple of pine
cones. He held them both up in the air, which Cammy took note of. She
focused on both, and when Cameron removed his hands the cones stayed in the
air. They wobbled a little, as if hanging from an invisible limb.
"Impressive," Jennifer said.
"That's a little more than one-G," Cameron explained, "just enough to
overcome Earth's gravity."
"Can I show her ten-G's?" Cammy asked. Cameron nodded his approval, and
Cammy furrowed her brow. The pinecones slowly began to compress, as if
crushed by a massive fist. Then something snapped, and they collapsed into a
black ball of dust that hung in midair. Cammy relaxed, and the crushed pine
cone debris fell to the ground.
"Impressive," Jennifer said with raised eyebrows. "Terrifying, but
impressive."
"Right?" Cammy interjected. She was bouncing on her feet.
"But what does that have to do with your career as a pitcher?" Jennifer
asked.
"By, ah, aligning those pockets of gravity in specific structures, Cammy
can accelerate and aim objects," Cameron explained.
"I know this one," Jennifer said, "it's a railgun." Cameron and Cammy
shared a look. Jennifer asked, "It's not a railgun?"
"Strictly speaking, no," Cameron told her. "Railguns use electro-
magnetic principles and actual rails to function. Cammy's manipulating
gravity to alter and accelerate objects is more like how planets alter the
course of comets. Mechanically, it's more like a series of mass driver rings
that use gravity rather than electromagnetism." Cameron rubbed his chin.
"Though, functionally, I suppose it's close enough to a certain sort of
scientific railgun."
"It's a railgun," Jennifer said, a little miffed with Cameron's over-
specificity.
Cameron frowned. "It's a little more than that."
"I'm going to call it the Cammy Comet," Cammy told her mother proudly.
"The Cammet!" She let go of the baseball in her hands. It started to float
free. Jennifer swiped the ball out of the air. "Mom!"
"I bet your Cammy Comet is no match for the ol' Lawful Lob," Jennifer
said smugly. She pretended to pitch the ball. "Want to find out?"
Cammy's eyes lit up. "You're on!"
"Let me get my belt," Jennifer said. She jogged back to the house,
leaving father and daughter watching her.
Cammy looked up at Cameron. Then she asked, "Do you think she
understands that I can increase the speed right up to the target, but her
pitch will lose momentum to drag as soon as she throws it?"
Cameron shrugged, "Unsure. Your mother is, uh, very good at obfuscating
her full understanding of physics, but," he held up a finger, "never
underestimate what she can do. That's something else we should include in
your training: paranormal powers let you, ah, cheat at physics."
=============================================================================
Author's Notes:
A quick note about Cammy's grade hopping, because it confused me. Cammy
started kindergarten when she was 5, and progressed through the sixth grade
without interruption. At the end of the sixth grade she was 12, and was
still 12 when she started eighth grade the next fall. At the end of the
eighth she was 13. This was around the time Cameron came home in June. In
"Home Again, Gain A Home" Jennifer picks up Cammy from school in what must be
summer time. This is because Cammy would be jumping ahead to eleventh grade
in the fall, and her school offered to let her take summer courses to pick up
what she'd need to be ready after the two year jump.
Make no mistake, Cammy is not a Stepford Daughter. She had a few choice
things to say about spending her summer at school. "Do you really want the
flower of my youth to whither under the harsh glare of summer school?" In
the end, with her still acclimating to Cameron being home, the idea of not
being home all day with a stranger pushed her toward acceptance.
Editor's Note:
I tweaked some of the physics stuff from Andy's original manuscript,
because, well, that's my day job. So, if anything strikes you as being maybe
a little off even after my edits, that's probably on purpose, the whole
"fallable characters" thing.
Also, in the other part of my day job, I should point out that "show
your work" isn't just to help diagnose mistakes. It is in explaining things
to someone else that you really fix in your brain what you know, and showing
work is one way to do that. But intuitive geniuses like Cameron and Cammy
are not likely to buy that argument. ;)
(Man, over fifteen hundred lines. That's practically a four issue
miniseries.)
============================================================================
For all the back issues, plus additional background information, art,
and more, go to http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/ASH !
http://ash.wikidot.com/ is the official ASH Wiki, focusing on the Fourth
Heroic Age, but containing some information about other Ages.
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