The Library of Powers

Chapter 11 - Part 4

Back in Dino & Sons, Jackson got up from having slumped over against the glass as Ivory stirred near him. The sun was no longer so violently upon them, having fallen behind some nearby skyscraper. Jackson guessed they had been in the Library for around half an hour, given the sun's position and how long it took him to find Ivory. He didn't move quite yet, instead waiting for her to fully realize they were back in reality before making any sudden movements. When she did, he still didn't do anything, because he honestly didn't know what to do.

"So, my dad is the one who has this power," she told him, reorienting herself. "It started with him."

Jackson was a little confused by that, but let it slide for now. Strange things can happen with powers. Family members getting the same or similar powers was rare, but not unheard of. Hell, The Mayor and her twin had the same power, but he assumed they were both in The Library at the same time, so that was likely unrelated. However, Phoebe Winter did have some way of getting into The Library. Jackson shuddered at the thought once again. He felt invaded.

Ivory continued, "His power was incomplete also, but that was his fault. He was walking through The Library, reading a particularly interesting page from his power book, and tripped. And so, you know." She mimed tearing a piece of paper.

"What parts did he lose?" Jackson probed.

"Two parts over 5 pages. The most important bit was knowing what the artifacts did. So for 20-odd years, he meticulously tested every Artifact so that he could sell the useful ones to Supers, and destroy the dangerous ones. And that's what Dino & Sons was. An antique store built out of my grandfather's cafe, moonlighting as a very secret shop for things less old and more strange."

Ivory stood up, cracking her neck. "I loved it. I'd helped out behind the register since I was little, and it was just pure magic. So many interesting people would come through the doors, even some fairly famous ones," She pointed to a framed photo on the wall of a large man he assumed was Ivory's father standing next to Warden, the Superheroine leader of The Calypsos.

"So, naturally, I hatched a plot. If I got my night in the Library, I would find and grab the pages my dad had missed, and then give them back to him. It would have been such a sweet surprise. But instead, I got powers even more incomplete then his were."

Jackson stood up to console her. "That sucks." He knew she was leaving an important piece out, but did not even consider asking her about it. She would tell him if she wanted him to know.

"That's not the worst part. I mean, having any powers is better than having none."

"Then what is the worst part?"

She grinned despite the still somber tone. "My secret obviously. I mean, I can't beat the god-damn Library of Powers," she shook her head a tiny bit, which Jackson took as the realization of that finally setting in, "But I'm sure I can still surprise you."

"I thought Dino and Sons was your secret?"

Ivory chucked at him, a little rudely, "Nah, Dino and Sons is more of an open secret. Like I said earlier, if you have enough money you can find it. How do you think I can afford to pay rent without..." she trailed off.

He tried to rope the conversation away from that proverbial cliff. "Well, as to me being surprised, you'd be right. I'm easily surprised," Jackson admitted.

Her grin was a little wider, and she turned around to face away from him. Jackson was, as was what seemed to be his default expression this week, confused. Still, he was able to see her put a finger up to her face and remove a contact, then the other. What did contacts have to do with it? 

"So?" she said, turning back around. Her eyes, once brown, were now an electric red, so bright it looked like she had two little flashlights behind each of her eyes. jackson recoiled, and slowed down time just a tad to figure out the appropriate way to respond to the situation. For one, Ivory did not look particularly comfortable with revealing this, her posture the opposite of its usual confident post. On the other hand, acting like it was no big deal would be rude for something so personal. To be honest, Jackson didn't really think it was that big of a deal. Sure, it was strange, but plenty of supers had strangely colored body parts. At least her's wasn't prominent. In fact, it was kind of cool.

He decided to echo those sentiments, smiling and saying "Woah, that's cool!" It seemed to work, as Ivory gave him an exaggerated wink.

"Yeah, you know the contacts hurt like hell, but I don't have the luxury to not have a secret identity," she tried to play it off. She had been expecting a different response, although Jackson wasn't sure as to what.

"So those are what lets you see the purpose of all these?" he asked, waving his hand as to indicate the shelves of Artifacts.

"I mean, Probably. Doesn't actually say anything about them in my book, but I sure as hell wasn't born this way."

Jackson thought back to the party, when he repaired Selina's book (an act he now regretted). That certainly didn't seem like a fluke, he thought he could do it again. No sense in not bringing up the possibility. "Ivory, with The Library, I could get the rest of your powers back," he said.

She bit her lip, considering it. "That's really nice of you, but I'm not sure if that would have the desired effect."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it could give me the rest of my father's powers, or it could give them to him."

That was not the response Jackson was expecting. To be perfectly honest, Jackson had assumed her parents were dead. "Ivory, where is your dad?"

She grimaced.

"Let me show you."