The Library of Powers

Chapter 9: Burger

The two walked side by side, across the lawns of Seacrest's secret suburbia. Jackson walked on the sidewalk, with its slightly uneven surface and large gashes where weeds poked through. Melaine traversed the edges, sometimes stepping on the carefully mowed traffic strip, sometimes moving onto the concrete to avoid an oncoming tree. They were as silent as the city, which is to say, silent except for the monotonous breathing and the sputtering of one of them trying to start a conversation. It was Melanie who eventually succeeded, asking Jackson "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Don't you have a car?" he replied, dodging the question.

"Not at the moment. My sister is borrowing it. Um, Lilian drove me..." she trailed off.

"Oh," Jackson hadn't really had time to think about it. This may be stressful for him, but it must be ten times worse for her. "Want to talk about it?"

"No, not really," she said, looking down at her feet perched one on the grass and one on the sidewalk, "It's not that I'm not glad to be rid of 'em, it's just..."

"You're not sure what to do now?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, I'm gonna need your help once we get to our destination."

Melanie stopped walking, turning to give Jackson a confused look. "What's going on?"

Should he tell her? Jackson pondered why he wouldn't, looking for an excuse to keep her in the dark. But... Why was he looking for an excuse? Did he still not trust her? Jackson took a long look at Melanie, who was looking at him, still confused. Their eyes met and Jackson knew he didn't. Not yet, after how complicated she'd made his life. Well then, this would be a test.

"Just trust me. Go along with it, even if it seems strange."

Melanie hesitated. "... Alright."

They set off once again, and Jackson's mind went to other things he had to address. By now he'd decided contacting Ivory was a lost cause. Why hadn't he asked her for her number? He mentally banged his head against a wall for that oversight. Well, he was going to see her on Sunday, so he could tell her about it then.

"Hey, Jackson," Melanie started, startling him.

"What?"

Melanie pointed at the green sticker affixed to his shirt, "What's the deal with that?"

"Oh my god I'm an idiot," Jackson mumbled, remembering the "Yuck!" sticker Ivory had given him. It was for situations just like this. Yet another thing he had forgotten. "If I activate it Ivory will apparently be able to find us," he explained. At the very least, that's what he thought it did. He just sincerely hoped it tracked all his movements, or Ivory would be headed towards an innocuous street corner almost a mile away from their destination.

Without further ado, Jackson rubbed the sticker, which changed the green color to a dull yellow. The squiggly face also transformed, it's mouth turning from the classic about to barf expression to a much more pleasant smiley face. It still said yuck though. Kinda cheapened the whole effect.

"Are we gonna need her wherever we're going?" Melanie asked Jackson, feeling put off by how quickly he jumped to using the sticker.

"I hope not, but she's the one with expertise in what we're about to do," Jackson disclosed.

Melanie seemed to think that was sufficient information, so their conversation petered out. They had reached the edge of the real city, although this time it wasn't into downtown to the north, but city center to the west. City Center had shorter buildings, but it was still undeniably in the midst of things. It spanned most of the South-Western corner of the Vera Penninsula, protected by The Jetty, which the Adjusted Humans Bureau's main office was on. It also followed the name fairly well, most of the city government facilities were in the neighborhood. City hall, the courts, Sentinal Bank, basically everywhere a supervillain would hold hostage. Normally that would drive away residents, but the insane hero presence in Vera City helped keep things in check.