The Library of Powers

Chapter 17 - Part 2

It took Jackson two busses and half an hour to reach Dino & Sons. The entire time, questions ran circles through his head. How had they found the place, even with its artifact preventing people from taking too close a look? Why did they want it? Why were they kicking Ivory out? Why so late today? Why no notice? After a certain point, Jackson's questions became less helpful and more anxious. What would Ivory do without Dino & Sons?

He stepped into the alley that lead to the courtyard that lead to Dino & Sons. Orange Police tape, unlabeled, blocked the way forward. He recognized it, it was the kind of tape the Adjusted Human Bureau used. Jackson ducked under it and turned the corner into the courtyard. The string lights above were on, illuminating the brickwork in a pale yellow. Ivory was yelling at a tall man in an officer's cap, as a few policemen walked in and out of Dino & Sons. Jackson headed up to Ivory.

"What's going on?" He asked her. The tall man looked at him. He had a full black beard and stern eyes.

"What's going on," the man answered, "Is you have trespassed onto an active confiscation site. I will ask you to leave now, and I will once again ask you the same, miss." His voice was deep but smooth. In a nice suit, he exuded the arrogance of a high-up bureaucrat. Someone from the AHB for sure.

"I'm not leaving until you explain what's going on," Jackson shot back.

The man rubbed his forehead. "I already did to the little miss here," Ivory scoffed at her description, "Will it get you two to leave if I do?"

"I can try."

The officer acquiesced. "This officially licensed AHB hideout has just been taken off the Untenable Register. The previous resident," he gestured towards Ivory, "Used a quite nasty legal loophole to keep it on the list. We couldn't touch it until she turned 18, as it was primarily used to house Artifacts." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jackson looked at Ivory. She was red in the face, fists clenched. He put a hand on her arm. "What's this about Artifacts?" He asked.

"It's illegal for the Bureau to use a minor's power without permission. Since she created the Artifacts, it's technically part of her power, and so," He let Jackson fill in the dots. They didn't know Ivory didn't make the artifacts. He thought it best to keep it that way.

A policeman walked out of Dino & Sons, black bags in hand. "So where are you taking them now?"

"Now that she's 18 we are forced to confiscate these artifacts. It's highly illegal to have unregistered Artifacts on government property." He took his hat off and set it down on a nearby bench. He tousled his hair. "Now, I can't pretend it's not incredibly satisfying for me to see a freeloader given their what to. But I have a job to do. Will you please leave and let me get back to work?"

"No!" Ivory yelled. They were the first words Jackson had heard out of her. He stood his ground with her. The tall man looked unimpressed.

"Alright, I didn't want to do this, but you're under arrest. Both of you," Before he could do anything else, a loud bang sounded from inside Dino & Sons. They all looked towards it as smoke seeped from under the door.

"What the," The man ran towards the building. "You stay there!" he yelled back.

Jackson looked at Ivory. She grinned, grabbed his hat still lying on the bench, and jerked her head towards the exit. They walked out nonchalantly.

Once they reached the street, Ivory stuffed the hat into her backpack. "Thank god I left my Urbanity costume in here," She commented.

Jackson gave her a closer look.  Her short brown hair was even more unkempt than usual. She clutched at the hem of her shirt. She seemed almost on the verge of lunacy. He looked around, the street was empty. He gently put a hand on her back and led her towards the curb, which they both sat on. She started to take off her contacts as if it was a nervous tick. Dino & Sons was gone. They had taken it. Her home. Not to mention all the artifacts that appeared in there. He wondered what they would do about the portal in the backroom Ivory's father had made. Would they cart it off to some secret facility, never to be seen again? For a moment, he understood the anguish Ivory was going through. Her father was still in that room.

After what seemed like a lifetime, he spoke. "What are you going to do?"

Her eyes narrowed. She looked at him. "I'm going to make them pay."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"I don't know. I'll figure it out. I'll find some secret spot to sleep. And then I'll petition the AHB to give me back Dino & Sons as Urbanity's secret hideout," She started talking faster, "I won't be able to sell my Artifacts anymore, but I'll just pick up the slack with more Superhero gigs. And I have a little money saved up so once this year is over I can try my hand at a Heroism major, and then I can become fully registered. And once I'm a real Superhero I'll be in the clear."

She caught her breath. Jackson frowned. "No, you're not."

"What the hell can you do about it?" She argued half-heartedly.

"I can," He sighed, breath heavy in the dark, "I can help." How could he help? Obviously he would help petition for Dino & Sons as a hideout, although Jackson found the idea that the AHB would give one to some entree unlikely. Maybe more likely as a superhero team, if he threw Stopwatch's name in there. But there were other, bigger problems. Ivory went from living alone to having no home. Living alone... Jackson thought about his house. There was a guest room, and no one to say he couldn't have a guest.

"You can stay at my place until you get Dino & Sons back," he told her. She started to protest, but he spoke over her. "No way am I going to let my friend live on the streets. Besides, I'm alone anyway, and my parents aren't likely to visit until summer. We can figure something out by then."

She put her head down and thought about it. To be honest, Ivory wasn't sure if she could handle being in the same home as someone else. Even Jackson. The saying "Don't live with your friends or you'll start to hate them" had merit. But at the same time, this was too nice, too helpful for her to pass up. She hated to admit it, but she needed help. And hey, maybe Jackson and her would make perfect flatmates.

"Okay," she agreed. She hugged him weakly.

Jackson stood up, "Let's get there before we freeze our butts off." She nodded and stood. They headed back together.