The Library of Powers

Chapter 9 - Part 3

A late night meal later, the four seated in the booth by the window had become downright chummy. They were the only four customers by this point, which made sense considering the time of night. However, Big Burger had a 24/7 policy for some reason, and Jackson wasn't going to complain. It was so perfect, he was sure Chase had specifically chosen this location. Now if only he would finally ask them to join their team. They had probed and prodded the subject, but the cautious exploration continued, making sure to check every nook and cranny in the tomb before opening the glittering sarcophagus.

If Jackson could be considered antsy, then Melanie had ants in her pants, because she couldn't keep still. No way she would be in the school musical, she had no idea how to act. Well, not that Jackson knew either, but at least he could see bad acting. He wondered if either of the two supervillains had caught on yet. Well, if they had, they wouldn't be acting so happy.

"So, yeah, by the time she came back, I was sitting on the refrigerator!" Chase joked. Jackson laughed, even though he didn't know the context of the joke. Seriously, pay more attention.

"I was not happy, to say the least. But Evan's cat was safe, so whatever," Samantha commented. They shared a look and laughed again. Were they an item? Jackson could never tell those sorts of things. Maybe if he could, he would have been able to see the whole Selina debacle coming. Still, he needed to learn more about his classmates. He couldn't stay low profile anymore, so he needed to catch up with the... Gossip... He shuddered at the thought.

"That's hilarious," Melanie smiled, slightly leaning into the table, "so you guys have, like, jobs? Some of your capers come with a pretty big bill for damages."

Woah. Jackson might have been wrong about Melanie's acting chops. That worked pretty well. He mentally snickered at her use of the word "caper".

Samantha's eyes went wide, and she started to let us in on her little secret. "Well, actually. We wanted to talk about that...."

She trailed off, looking for the right way to approach the subject when the door chime rang out its solitary note. As the glass pane swung forward, Ivory walked through the door. She was wearing the same Calypsos jacket as always, and looked confused. 

When she noticed the four of them, she had a much different reaction then Jackson had hoped. He mouth dropped, her feet swiveled, and she was out the door as quickly as she came in. Jackson assessed the reactions of the others. Melanie and Chase were just confused, but Samantha was furious. Jackson got up from the table, gave a quick "I'm gonna go see what that was about," and ran after Ivory.

Through the doors and into the night sky, Jackson looked down the street both ways, trying to discern where Ivory had run off to. He couldn't figure it out, but considering the area to his right turned off into an intersection much sooner than the area to his left, he went off in that direction.

As he passed the alley in between Big Burger and the next door apartment complex, he caught a glimpse of a hand coming to grab him by his shirt collar. With a reflex time he didn't know he had, he partially entered the library, and took a closer look at his aggressor. It was Ivory, which surprised him for a moment, until he realized she was probably just being overdramatic. Just in case, he moved well out of her grasp, into the alley, and set his time scale back to normal.

Ivory reached towards empty space, closing her hand around only air (and maybe some dust). "Ivory, let me explain."

"What the hell Jackson!" Ivory accosted him, rotating to grab his shirt. This time, he let her.

"I'm in!" he loudly explained, "Chase and Sam, those supervillains, they totally trust me. We can take them down!" Jackson had a fervor in his voice he barely recognized. This week had been such a rush, and only now was he truly enjoying himself. He felt bad about the subterfuge, but he knew it would work out in the end. Hell, the Writing Well had basically told him as much.

"Dude, I already confronted Sam. She knows what I look like. She knows my name!" Ivory countered, knocking out Jackson's verbal gladiator before they could even get in a blow.

"Oh no," he said, much quieter.

"You used the signal, but wanted me to just come in blind and be able to play along? You've got to give me a little more wiggle room then that, if we're going to work together," she paused, thinking something over. It gave Jackson enough time to sheepishly put some distance from her. his personal space had been broken far too many times already. "We are working together, right?" she asked him.

Jackson hadn't yet consciously told himself that yet, but yeah, he had decided to. He wasn't a superhero though. Never. He was just making some positive change until he can find a way to do it in a better way. One that didn't require all... this.

"I guess so."

"You don't seem super enthusiastic."

"Should I be?" he grinned, "I messed up pretty bad day one."

Ivory smiled and looked down at the slightly damp brickwork laid along the alley. "Well, there's still a chance to salvage it. Maybe I won't have to fire you before the night is through."

"It would be the longest I've ever held a job," he joked.

They laughed. Jackson looked down at his phone, noticing a message sent by Melanie. "Don't come back in," it read, "I've got it under control. You're compromised, I'm not. Talk to you about it tomorrow. Meet me at The Writing Well tomorrow, noon."

"Looks like I won't be going back. Melanie says she's in," Jackson told Ivory.

"Huh, guess I underestimated her. But can we trust her?"

Jackson wanted to say no. It's how he truly felt, but at the moment she was their only choice. It would probably be better to instill some confidence. "Sure, it will work out."

"Alright..." After another pause, this one considerably more awkward, Ivory asked him "We still up for Sunday?"

"The day in which all secrets will be revealed? Sure. Super's Ladder, seven o' clock."

"We could do it now. You know, uh, I could show you Dino & Sons. The night's still young," Ivory asked, considerably less sure of herself then she was when she tried to literally drag Jackson by the collar.

Jackson checked his phone for the time. Midnight. "No, Sunday would be better. It's been a long night. I need to head home."

"The parent's expecting you?"

"Nah, I just need to... You'll know by Sunday I guess. See you then." And without another word, Jackson left, back through the cat's cradle of Vera City's streets, towards his house, alone.