Super Jaded 2 - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2: Forum

Anya glanced down at her phone as she wandered her way through the graveyard to double-check her destination. Row after row of neatly arranged tombstones formed a grid of sorts, but she’d already managed to get herself more-or-less lost by the time she’d finally bothered to consult the directions she’d been given. A few more turns led her to the top of a hill, from which she could see the woman who’d invited her to this place. 

Iris didn’t notice as the other woman approached. Her green eyes instead remained focused on the engraving upon the tombstone before her, marking the grave as belonging to 'Jeannine Novak, Beloved Mother'. She'd left a bouquet of hyacinths just in front of it, and remained in her own world until the sound of someone's voice broke her reverie. 

"Iris? You're Iris, right?" Anya asked hopefully. From this distance, the blonde-haired, hoodie-wearing forum administrator got a proper look at the person she'd spent so many hours chatting with for the first time. Iris' hair had apparently once been dyed a vivid green, but the color faded to little more than a tint in the frazzled, curly sea of brown that was evidently her natural shade. “I’m Anya, we’ve talked online…” 

Before the brunette had a chance to respond, Anya’s phone began to ring. After glancing at the number, she dismissed the call with a scowl.

“Oh? I–Yeah, I’m Iris.” She awkwardly stuck out her hand for several long moments before pulling it back and crossing her arms, “So, uh, what do you want? Like… Do you want to take me to dinner or to see a movie or—” 

“I’m here because you get it. Everybody else on Eternals’ Ending just wants to act like things can go back to normal. They want to pretend like Nina and Fern can just be worked around, like the world before them didn’t burn to ashes. So I thought that maybe we could like… Talk or something.” Anya said as her expression turned toward a semi-awkward frown. 

“Alright, what do you want to talk about then? I’m on EE, like, every day, you could’ve just sent a DM or something.” Iris’ own expression soured more severely, prompting Anya to pensively glance downward and kick at the ground.

“I just figured it would be nice to have a real person to talk about it with. Isn’t it lonely to hold onto all that pain and stuff on your own?” 

“Sounds to me like you’re the lonely one, Anya. But you came all the way here so we might as well chat. C’mon, this place is fucking depressing.” Iris turned to walk away, paying no heed to whether Anya followed.

“I– Right. Like I was saying, none of this shit is normal anymore. They're moving around, they're doing things and nobody wants to talk about it!” Anya gesticulated as she forced herself into a jog in order to catch up with the taller woman's pace. “Last week they hit a convoy going around Cape Horn, yesterday we had that leak from the NOAA guy about high-energy emissions in Greenland, and who even knows what they’re up to that we don’t learn about!” Her voice raised every other word or so, reaching the point where Iris turned to actively shush her. 

“Keep your voice down, we’re in public.” Iris muttered under her breath.

“They’d be able to hear us either way, it’s not like whispering stops super-hearing.” Anya retorted, pouting and drawing inward slightly.

“I’m not worried about them, I’m worried about everyone else who is going to think we’re crazy.” Iris vaguely gestured in the direction of a small group wearing all black. They all seemed to be staring, at least until Anya looked their way and they suddenly found less conspicuous places to dedicate their attention toward.

“Whatever, they don’t get it anyway so fuck them. They wouldn’t know reality if it threw a car straight at them.” The shorter girl shrugged, “Literally, in some cases.”

“I mean, can you blame them?” Iris’ tone became gentler, more contemplative, “Even if the world has changed, that doesn’t mean they don’t still have stuff to do. Who would want to go to work and pay rent if they knew their apartment could just be incinerated at any time? I wish I could ignore it too, since it’s not like we can do anything about it. Sucks to admit it though.” She paused her walk to take a deep breath, glancing around the cemetery curiously, “How many graveyards do you reckon they’re gonna fill?” 

“What?” 

“Y’know, how many bodies do you think they’re going to pile up? Doesn’t have to be a hard number, I’m just curious what you figure their endgame is.” 

“I mean they’ve gotta be in the thousands already right? All the agents and soldiers from when Nina snapped, the people before that—” 

“220 on Polaris 331.” Iris interjected, a hint of sharpness entering her voice with a twitch of her lip which lasted but a moment.

“Right, my point exactly. We haven’t really seen a lot of destruction for its own sake so it’s definitely not in the millions. I don’t think that question has an answer, though. It really depends on when they decide to stop themselves, right? That video they posted was pretty clear that they won’t desist unless they’re left alone, right?” Anya’s voice was back to its previous pace now, though her volume remained mostly in check.

“Then they’re never gonna stop.” Iris added somberly, glancing downward at the ground.

“Well you’re a ray of sunshine in person… You really think people are gonna be dumb enough to keep provoking them?” 

“Take a fucking look, if people were going to live and let live they’d have done it already. Plus, do you really think they’ll stop if people just let them do what they want? That’s not how tyrants work, you give them what they want and they’ll just take more. They’ll take and take and take until there’s nothing left for anyone else.” 

“Hey, I don’t disagree with you ok? I just didn’t expect this kind of hostility when we’re just talking y’know? I figured we’d just be two friends chatting like we did online or whatever.” Anya glanced downward and began to slowly knead her hands together.

Iris closed her eyes and shook her head, then turned to look the shorter woman in the eyes, “Sorry, it’s a rough topic for me. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it and not a lot of time talking about it. It isn’t personal, just kinda—charged. It’s a lot to think about, y’know?” 

“I guess? I didn’t think you’d be so much more aggro here than on the forum. Just try to keep in mind that I’m not your enemy ok? I’d like to think we’re friends.” 

“Oh, right. Friends. Haven’t really done that in a while…” Iris trailed off, glancing out across the grassy field of headstones semi-idly.

“Right? So let’s um… Do the friend thing? Not shout at each other just because the main characters of Earth ruined our lives?” Anya suggested, “That’s just letting them win right?” 

Iris’ expression refocused and one of her eyebrows raised. “Main characters? What are you on about?”

“I mean think about it, right? Everybody and their sister is trying to figure out how to make Supers, and it just happens that the two people who manage it are Nina Eternal and her girlfriend? Some people are lucky enough to get power and some aren’t. Those who can matter, the rest of us are basically NPCs. But we don’t need to let that get us down, y’know?” 

“That’s… Definitely a take, but I don’t know if you’re right? They might have something that makes them special, but it’s not like that doesn’t make the rest of us people or anything.” 

Anya’s smile widened, “Ah, but what does it mean to be a person? It’s the ability to decide for yourself right? So if someone else can countermand your will, then are you really a person? Or are you just a formality in the flow of history?” 

Iris glowered like a perpetually-unblooming flower. “People are more than that! God, people really can’t imagine a world outside the cruelty of the status quo and just assume that people cannot change and that we are doomed to learn nothing from history when history has always consistently surprised us! It just… sounds so defeatist and un… human?”

As Iris raised her voice, Anya’s expression became yet-more-indignant, “They’re not human anymore! That’s just how things are, Homo Superior exists now and–” 

Anya froze mid-word as her phone began to eagerly chirp at her again, and Iris tried to suppress a smirk at the harsh industrial music track that serenaded everyone around them. Iris shrugged and dismissively waved her hand, “Go ahead, take it. They probably wouldn’t call twice if it wasn’t actually important.” 

Anya’s blush remained practically incandescent as she tapped at her phone’s screen and raised the communications device to her head, “What do you want?” The annoyance in her voice carried over the line only to be greeted by a nonplussed response.

The caller’s voice was slightly distorted, barely even a whisper nonetheless warped by digital static, “Is this Anya Torres?” 

The question caused Anya to blink a few times, “Nope! Wrong number, uh, sorry.” She lied.

“Ms. Torres, you’re going to want to hear this I promise. I’ve been following you and Ms. Novak for a while, we’ve talked on your website before. My name is Dr. Loken, and I’d like to speak to you about a way to kill Nina Eternal. Not over the phone though, even with the groundwork I’ve done on my side you lack such things. If you’re interested, come to the location I’ve sent to your inbox.” The call dropped and Anya was left staring at her phone.

“So what did they want?” Iris inquired, leaning a bit closer to Anya in the process.

“Some crazy who– Actually, have you ever talked to someone called 'Dr. L' on Eternals’ Ending?” 

“Yeah. Some agent type I think? Seemed to be really knowledgeable about the Etana Serum. Also seemed really cagey though, why do you ask?” 

“That’s who called. They wanted to meet up at… Just a second.” Anya flicked through the menus of her phone before settling on her chat client, “It’s not super far from here actually. Some kind of cafe. So what do you think the chances are that they will try to steal our organs?” 

“Only one way to find out, right? Shall we?” 

With one more furtive glance to each other, the two returned to the footpath.