Nine-to-Five 036 (Patreon)

PTO II

~~~

Amanda never understood why Sophie liked running so much. Running was something you did to get from Point A to Point B. It was the means but never the goal. That was fine, though. She didn’t need to get running to be friends with Sophie. Much like how neither of them ever paid much attention to whatever Kate’s obsession of the month was. That was just the way of things.

Things were different now.

The wind against her face, the feel of the asphalt against her sneakers, the sense of freedom, of accomplishment.

It was… nice. Good.

Fulfilling in a different way from getting an A.

Amanda probably wouldn’t feel that way if the nanites on her body hadn’t given her the energy to run without tiring. But they had, and she did. Amanda didn’t know if that somehow made her closer to Sophie, but at least she understood why Sophie liked to run so much now.

That didn’t mean she would ever run with Sophie again, though. Not at all.

“No way! Really?” Sophie’s giggles drilled through her ears as they ran. No longer was her friend tired and out of breath. She had pep in her step and cheer in her voice. “I can’t believe it!”

Anyone who looked at the three of them would assume they had all come together with how casually they were talking with each other as they ran. It was all Sophie's work. She was good at striking up conversations and keeping them going. That was something Amanda had always envied about her.

In the past minutes, Amanda had learned the name of the guy who had saved her (Mark), his age (they were the same age), that he had just moved to the city from Kentland (he was living with his uncle), and that he wasn't much of a runner (he certainly could have fooled her with how easily he was keeping pace with them) but had joined up when he heard this race was for charity.

This last fact, in particular, made him very appealing to her. But not as much as his ability to never let his gaze wander despite what Sophie was wearing.

"Did you hear that, Amanda?" Sophie said, expertly bringing her back to the conversation before she could skulk away, something Amanda had been trying to do for a while. "Mark says he's transferring to AIM this year. He's going to the same school as us! How crazy is that?"

“Is that right?” Amanda asked, looking at Mark for confirmation.

“Aye, it’s the reason I moved into the city,” Mark said. He had a nice smile. “My parents weren’t too thrilled about it, but commuting from Kentland wouldn’t have been easy.”

Amanda nodded. “I can imagine that.”

Kentland was a farming town located on the outskirts of Port Stanley. It was technically still a part of the city, but most liked to consider it its own thing. While the subway system did go all the way there, it was by no means a short trip. Going from Kentland to Waynesville every day, even by car, was just impractical.

“How are you liking the city so far?” Sophie asked.

"Haven't had much time to see it, what with the snowstorm and all," Mark replied. His muscled arm gestured at their surroundings. "And before that, my uncle was too busy working to show me around."

"It must be awful being on your own without knowing anyone." Sophie made a face as if she had just come up with an idea. It would have been believable if Amanda hadn't seen her make that face countless times. "Oh! How about we show you around?"

"Really?” Mark blinked. “I wouldn’t want to impose-"

“Oh, pish posh! It’s no problem at all! Better to get to know the city now, or you’ll be lost when school starts!”

“She’s right,” Amanda said, nodding at Sophie. “Port Stanley is big. It’s better to have someone friendly showing you around.”

“Exactly!” Sophie winked at her, no doubt mistaking her honest statement as support. “Take out your cell. I’ll give you my number.”

“Sophie!” Amanda hissed at her friend.

It wasn't that she was outraged at her friend's forwardness. She would have lost her temper much earlier if that was the case. Rather, Amanda was worried because Sophie had just assumed Mark had a cell phone. Being around Tim had taught Amanda that wasn't always a safe assumption to make. Nothing was quite as awkward as realizing the people around you didn't have the same purchasing power.

"What?" Sophie asked. "How else are we going to keep in touch? It's not like we can go out now. The city's a mess. Besides, if we don't exchange numbers, we won't be seeing each other until school starts, and showing him around the school doesn't have quite the same ring to it."

"I don't really mind trading numbers, but..." Mark smiled a sheepish smile as he held up his phone. "I'm not really sure how to work this thing yet, or even what my number is."

Amanda bit back a whistle. The flip phone in his hand was a sleek green and black thing, the Astro Mobile TO. It was the latest model on the market and could even connect to the internet, though Amanda couldn't say she saw the appeal. Either way, it was expensive.

In hindsight, that he was going to AIM should have clued her to the fact that he was far from poor.

"I can help you with that," Sophie said, snatching the phone from his hand and flipping it open. "Oh! Nice!"

"Sophie!" Amanda hissed again.

"Oh, relax. I'm just putting in my number. Now, I'm calling, and..."

Sophie’s phone started ringing. Amanda had no idea where she kept it wearing what she did, and she didn’t want to find out.

“There we go.” Sophie handed the phone back to Mark. She somehow managed to expertly flip her hair in the middle of a run while at it. “Now that we know each other’s numbers, we’ll give you a call, and-Ow!”

Sophie suddenly stopped running and clutched her leg in pain.

“Sophie!”

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh, I think I pulled a muscle,” Sophie said, still holding her leg. “You were right, Amanda. It’s been too long since the last time I ran. You should-”

“Stay right here and help you out like the good friend I am,” Amanda finished for her while putting her arm under Sophie’s shoulder to “help” her up.

“Do you need help?” Mark approached them with concern. “I could-”

“It’s fine, Mark,” Amanda said, raising a hand to stop him. “I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry. I couldn’t ask you to stay. Just go finish the race. We’ll be fine-Ow!”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Sophie hissed at her under her breath while sharply poking her in the ribs.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Amanda hissed back. “You didn’t pull a muscle! You just want to leave me alone with him!”

“Well, duh! You’re welcome!”

"Is everything alright?" Mark asked them. Bless his heart, he still sounded concerned.

"Everything's fine. Sophie's just a drama queen. Don't worry. You can leave" Amanda shooed him away with her hand.

"Are you... are you sure?"

"Positive. Just keep going. We're just going to hold you back. Really-Ow!"

Amanda glared at Sophie, who had just poked her again.

"You're ruining my efforts here!"

"Your efforts? I didn't ask you for help! I don't even know how to talk to guys!"

"Which is why you shouldn't be wearing this stupid thing!" Sophie hissed back, lightly pulling at her oversized gray shirt.

Amanda blushed. "I'm not taking my shirt off!"

The last part was not at all said silently, resulting in all sorts of looks from the runners passing by. Amanda quickly turned around with a thousand excuses ready for Mark.

He was gone.

Sophie tsked. "He ran away. He gets minus points for that, but he's cute, so it doesn't really matter."

"Is this because I made fun of you? Is that it?"

"Amanda, I'm shocked you think I need a reason to set up one of my best friends with a nice, attractive guy… but yes, you hurt me a lot, so I'm getting back at you like this."

~~~

Days after Amanda's race, Tim left Regum Tower for the first time since the snowstorm.

It was a bit alarming now that he thought about it, but Tim was perfectly content not focusing on that for the moment. He had other things to think about.

Namely, that Amanda hadn't been kidding about the damage the snowstorm caused.

It was mega easy to lose perspective when you spend all your day in a nice apartment with a working a/c and all sorts of delicious food just an elevator ride away.

Plus, the pool. The pool was amazing.

But yeah, Tim hadn't been paying attention to the city other than through the headlines of the newspapers he saw people read, something that was making him feel a little guilty now. They were driving through the streets of Roger Point, but the buildings were so damaged Tim could almost believe he was in Petersburg. There were broken windows and cracked pavement everywhere. Some roads were so damaged they had been completely blocked, making the traffic even more hellish than usual. It made him glad they had gone out in a large sedan instead of some uber fancy limo.

Things only got worse when they reached Petersburg.

"Damn," Tim whispered when he saw a partially collapsed building.

"The city suffered a lot during and after the snowstorm," Ms. Steiner told him. The pretty, blonde lady was his minder for this trip. Not that Tim needed a minder, but he kinda probably did.

"No kidding." Tim sucked in air through his teeth. "Sooo, did people, you know?"

Tim made a vague series of incomprehensible hand gestures that somehow got his point across.

"I mean, the news said very few people died, but..."

He waved his hand at yet another partially collapsed building. Cheap construction materials hadn’t been a match for a dedicated snowstorm.

Ms. Steiner favored him with a smile. “I’m sure Matty will be happy to hear you’re learning to be skeptical, but there are no hidden numbers this time. Those buildings collapsed after the snowstorm, not during it. There was enough time for the residents to notice the impending danger and evacuate safely.”

“They probably don’t have homes now,” Tim pointed out.

“True,” Ms. Steiner said. “The city’s homeless population has drastically increased.”

Tim pursed his lips. “Kind of feeling bad for lazing around the past few days now.”

“You were hardly lazing around,” Ms. Steiner scoffed. It was enough to make Tim stop looking at the streets. This was the first time he heard her sound anything but kind and pleasant. “You have been doing important work for Regum.”

Tim scratched his cheek. “Like, I get that’s supposed to be important in this big, long-term way, but…”

“But you want to do something about the problem right in front of you,” Alice finished for him. “That’s understandable.”

“It is?”

“Of course it is. No one likes being confronted with their own uselessness.”

Tim blinked.

"Ouch?"

Kirk, one of the security guards he talked to every morning, laughed. He was the one driving them.

“That’s Ms. Steiner for you. She doesn’t pull punches. Why do you think she and Ms. Martel get along so well?”

“Shush you.” Alice pouted at him. “You’d think I am an ogre the way you tell it. I am just putting things plainly.” She turned back to Tim. “Think of it like this. Would you still feel the same way if you didn’t have powers?”

Tim frowned. “I am… not sure?”

“You most likely wouldn’t,” Alice said with more certainty. “You would have been too busy with your own problems to actually do anything. However, that’s no longer the case. You have power, and you recognize it. Because of it, you are holding yourself to a higher standard. That’s not bad, but it is not necessarily good.”

“How is it not good?” Tim looked at her dubiously. “Is this a supervillain thing?”

“We don’t use that term outside the building,” Alice warned him. “But no, it is common sense. Wanting to do good and knowing what good is are two very different things that people often mistake for each other. I could, for example, put you in one of our construction crews.”

“You can? Wait, we have construction crews?”

“We do, and I can. Regum is putting money and resources to help rebuild the city,” Alice replied. “One of the construction companies contracted belongs to us. You wouldn’t even have to worry about giving away your powers. I am sure you would find it very fulfilling, but would that really be the best use of your time? Or would you be doing it only to alleviate your misplaced guilt?”

Tim mulled on that for a moment and rubbed his chin.

“When you put it like that, I want to say the opposite of what you want me to say just because."

Alice laughed.

“Spoken like a true teenager. That’s fine. You don’t have to agree with me. That’s not why we are here,” Alice said as the car came to a stop in front of a building.

His building.

While it had definitely seen better days, at least it was still in one piece. That hopefully meant all his neighbors were safe and well.

It also meant all his things were in one piece, something for which he and Ms. Steiner were very grateful for as they rummaged through his mother’s room a few minutes later.

“I think it should be somewhere around here,” Tim said

They were looking for his school papers. Since the school year was about to begin, there was some paperwork that needed to be done. Normally, his mom would have taken care of it, but that wasn’t an option right now.

“Say Ms. Steiner, Amanda and I never asked this, but what exactly do you do for Regum?” Tim asked as he turned an old box upside down and let its contents fall over the mattress.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Ms. Steiner asked as she neatly arranged the drawers she had rummaged through back to how they were. “Well, I guess you can say I am Arthur’s secretary. I mostly handle odd tasks for him here and there.”

Come to think of it, she had been there during the interview process, and she had shown them around the building on their first day. Someone as important as her had no reason to do that stuff, but she did it because Regum hadn’t been looking to hire workers.

They had been looking for research subjects.

Huh.

“So it’s all super-” A warning glare from Alice had Tim biting his tongue. Right. That word was forbidden to use outside. “So, it’s all super hush hush stuff then?”

“Mostly,” she said, leafing through a set of papers before picking one out. “This is what we came here for. Looks like you’ll have no trouble going to school.”

Tim made a face. “Do I really have to go?”

“Absolutely. School is a vital part of growing up.”

She really was a supervillain.

~~~

AN:

This chapter was pretty difficult to write. Then when I finished I was like, "Wait, did I even need this chapter?" 

But what's done is done. 

Deleted Line: "And? I'm track and field. Guys like sweaty girls!"