Heart of Silver

𝕀'𝕞 ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝔸 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕣

The sun shone through the window of the second story apartment, giving it a beautiful yellow haze. As Camden sat at the kitchen counter, enjoying his breakfast, he considered waking his brother up to see it, but eventually decided against it. He would probably prefer to sleep anyway. The crumbs from the toast Camden scarfed down littered the counter, and with a quick sweep of his hand they fell into the nearby garbage bin.

He walked over to where his shoes lay by the door, and quickly slid them on. Camden grabbed his keys, and hooked his bag over his shoulder. Just as he was heading out the door, he remembered to grab the sketchbook he was so adamant on returning. Eliss walked into the small kitchen just as he slid the pristine blue book into his bag.

"Hey, I'm going to the Den. I'll be home later." He told his brother, who groggily responded with an okay. "I don't know what time, so just make yourself something to eat. Be safe, and don't be stupid. You can't defend yourself like I can." Eliss was one of the few people who didn't have a power of any kind. While Camden's was empathy, and the ability to dampen emotions, it could help ease the tension in a fight, which could save many lives. Since Eliss liked to scavenge for spare parts for whatever project he was working on, it often angered people who had stashed that stuff away. For as smart as Eliss was, he couldn't stay out of trouble for the life of him. He knew a couple of defensive maneuvers that Camden had taught him, but against multiple people it wouldn't do much.

"I know! You tell me that everyday!" Eliss rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically. "I'll see you when you get home." Camden groaned.

"I'm just trying to keep you safe. I love you, ya' know."

"I know! Now go, before you're late." They waved goodbye, and Camden raced out the door, determined to arrive before Urian did. Urian, the leader of the Lionhearts, did not appreciate it when people were late, even though he often was himself. Total hypocrite. It's not that Urian was a bad guy, he just often held double-standards, and didn't even realize it.

* * *

Camden strode into the Lion's Den, and walked towards the front desk.

"Camden Garret, reporting for duty!" He flashed the young receptionist a smile that made her giddy with delight.

"Of course Mister Garret, go right ahead." The young woman said, doing her best to conceal her smile. Not well, of course, but Camden couldn't blame her. He often had that effect on people. He walked towards the locker area, grabbing his pack to shove in his locker. Before he got there, however, he heard a deep voice bellow his name.

"CAMDEN GARRET!" Urian yelled. "I expect you to be on time, young man! Your flashy smiles and good looks won't get you here any faster, so I suggest you stop with the flattery." His voice got quieter as he got closer to the late hero.

"Oh uh, yes sir. Sorry sir." Camden kept eye contact with his boss, letting him believe that the apology was real.

"That's strike two. One more and you have bucket duty for two weeks." It took all of his self control not to roll his eyes, but Camden nodded.

"I know sir. It won't happen again." Urian bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"I hope not. I mean, even the janitors hate bucket duty, and that's what they're paid to do!" He chuckled, giving Camden an aggressive slap on the back. He stumbled forward a step, then quickly righted himself, giving a small laugh as well, all though he didn't understand what was so amusing. Urian stopped laughing shortly after, and began to walk away. Camden almost let him, until he remembered that he needed to talk to him about something.

Camden said, "Urian? Before you go, could I talk to you about something?"

"Of course! Do you need something?"

"I do, actually. I was hoping you could help me find this one girl I saw at the market." At Urian's disapproving stare, he quickly added, "I bought her a sketchbook, but we parted ways before I could give it to her. I was hoping someone could help me track her down so I could give it to her."

"That makes me feel so much better about helping you stalk this poor girl. But I trust you, so I'll see what I can do. Go talk to Silena down in records. Maybe she can help you."

"Thanks sir. I'll let you know if I head out to go find her." Camden watched the stocky man walk down the hallway, and when he was out of view, he strolled into the locker room.

As he shoved open the door, the overwhelming stench of sweat and cologne hit him like a wave. Don't forget the sad smell of desperation. Most of the heroes here didn't have time for a personal life, and often tried to gain the love and attention of any girl within a 50-foot radius of them.

"Hey, look who finally showed up!" Someone said, slapping Camden on the back. He quickly turned to see who it was, but there was no one there. That was enough for him.

"Come out Phin! I know you're there!" His voice echoed throughout the mostly empty locker room. "Don't make me use my power on you!" Dang, this kid is annoying, Camden thought to himself.

"What are you going to make me do, cry?" In response, that's exactly what Camden made him do. When he heard the sobbing of the boy, he stalked over to the area of the noise, and began moving his hands and feet over the blank space. When he felt a brush of clothing against his leg, he leaned down and grabbed the fleeing boy.

"What was the point of that Phin?" Camden asked, holding the now visible boy. He used his power to calm Phin back down, enough so that the kid could answer.

"I don't know. I was bored, and you weren't here yet." Phin replied, sounding defeated. Camden let him go, and dusted him off. There was nothing on him, Camden just felt awkward putting the boy down and not doing anything. The downside, he felt even more awkward now.

"Well, uh, don't- don't do it again. Okay?" Phin nodded his head vigorously.

"I've worked next to you for years, but I never realized how scary your power actually is until you used it on me."
"Scary? Might I ask how?"

"Yes, you might." Phin looked pleased with himself. "I guess, well, you can basically inflict emotions on people, and those emotions are related to particular experiences that caused those emotions. Well, when you made me cry, it brought up some bad memories. Luckily, I don't have many. But if you were to use that against a hostage, per say, what would you do?

"Depending on how long they've been a hostage, and you tried to make them feel happy, would it work as well as if you tried to make them feel sad?"

"I guess I never thought about it like that." Camden said, his eyes distant. "I'm sorry I put you through that, man."

"It's fine, really. But I'm just saying, what if people with more happy memories respond better to your power making them happy? More so than those with more sad, frustrating, or scary memories?"
"I'll think that over. Thanks for the insight though. I promise I'll never do that to you again. Only happy memories from now on!" Camden held a hand over his heart, and the other one in the air to signify the 'pact' he just made with the young man.

"Yeah yeah. Whatever. Anyways, do we have a mission today?" the redhead asked excitedly.

"Not really. I just need to find someone." He told the redhead.

"Who? Can I help? Why do you need to find them?" Phin sounded so eager that Camden couldn't help but laugh to himself. It reminded him of Eliss when he was younger.

"Her name is Resa, and no. You can't help this time. I don't need everyone knowing who she is and where she lives. I just need to give her a sketchbook I bought for her, which I forgot to give to her." Phin deflated, then shrugged.

"Whatever. I have my own thing to do instead." Camden, feeling bad for saying no, subtly used his power to make Phin feel a little bit better.

"Well, I guess I will see you later then." He waved farewell to the boy with fiery hair, and promptly walked out of the locker room. 

>< * >< * >< * >< * >< * >< * >< * >< * ><

WORD COUNT : 1452 Words

If anyone is actually reading this, thank you so much! I hope you guys enjoy. These are all the unedited versions, so if I ever finish the book, I will go back through and edit it. Bear with me please lol. Anyways, I'll try to update at least once a month!