Save State Hero -Ch9- (Patreon)

“Wake up. Do the thing. This is the nice alarm. Remember?” his phone spat out at him.

With a grunt, he rolled over and tapped the button to silence it.

Moving back to the center of his bed in the hotel he let out a long sigh.

The day had been spent with Alina and Dorothy in the end. They hadn’t let him escape and had forced him to lead them around HQ. Then around the city, surrounding areas, and even the small library that he’d met Felix in.

To the point that he felt a lot like he should’ve had a name-tag that introduced him as tour-guide Barbie.

Opening his power he froze.

The third save-state that he hadn’t been able to actually touch was now active. He could see that it was a save-state from the day he’d met Felix, in fact.

The view-point that he could see of the save-state was himself staring up at Felix in the library.

Errr… it made an auto save on my behalf… I guess?

That’s disconcerting. Did I do it without meaning to?

Was it that big of a diversion in my life that it created one all on it’s own?

Damn. That’s unnerving.

Edmund promptly dismissed his concerns about it and saved right on top of it.

The save-state was simply too far in the past to be useful to him. Going that far back would leave him with no resources, nothing to work with.

He hadn’t even had a bed back then.

Taking a moment, he looked over his save-states.

He had one from yesterday morning, the one from just before his big-box store escapade, and now the one from this morning.

Okay so… daily, weekly, monthly? That’d work out.

Having more makes it easier to deal with whatever might come up.

Yeah, that works out a lot better.

Opening his eyes Edmund flinched as his mind landed on the fact that he’d be dealing with Romina today.

Romina, Dorothy, and Alina, in fact.

Then his phone went off, stating it’s absolute dismay as ever.

Picking up his phone, Edmund looked to the lock screen.

It was a single exclamation point.

Frowning, Edmund was more concerned now than he’d been previously. This message meant very simply that his sister needed him immediately.

That there was no time for him to do anything other than to come to her immediately.

Then the phone rang even as he held it.

It was Felix.

Tapping accept Edmund put it to his ear.

“Boss?” he asked.

“Hey, Edmund. Got a big thing coming up tomorrow. Could use your help with it in the future I imagine. After I do my side of it at least. Going to be going up in front of the Supreme Court to discuss that act they passed. It isn’t really legal or big in the public view, but there’s reasons for it.

“I’m going to be discussing it, Legion, and the association. Your recent run in with those supers and a few other factors has made it all pretty muddy but we don’t care about the act one way or the other.

“Even if they revoke the act and try to make what we’re doing illegal, we’ll just go further into the global space. The Association is here to stay.”

Edmund nodded his head.

He knew for a fact that Felix was going to force the Association into the authority position he wanted them to be in, regardless of anything else. If the United States didn’t accept them, he really would just go global and then operate in a de facto sort of way.

Knowing how he worked, and that he was a Super Villain, the chances were good that he’d likely work to show any and every flaw in the country so long as they didn’t support the Association.

He probably wouldn’t go so far as to induce anything directly, but he’d campaign for it as much as he could indirectly.

“That’s it,” Felix stated.

“Okay. Got it. I’ll finish up what I can here and head back to the Association then,” Edmund answered definitively.

“Good. Do that interview with Romina though. That’ll likely help us. That little dance video of yours really keeps getting played everywhere. I especially liked the little twirl you gave that woman at the end,” Felix teased with a snicker, than hung up.

That woman?

Hm.

Maybe he doesn’t know that Ryker left consultants with me. Wouldn’t be the first time those two aren’t working in concert.

Now that I think about it though… Alina and Dorothy didn’t question me about anything that happened. Not at all.

They accepted it all.

Even when I used names for them I shouldn’t have.

Damn… dug a hole there.

Whatever.

Rolling out of bed, Edmund needed to get dressed in a hurry. He needed to check in with his sister.

***

“You grew up here?” Dorothy asked from the passenger seat.

Alina had to leave to handle her “other job” and wasn’t with them at the moment. She hadn’t been very happy at being called away just as they left the hotel, either.

Separating from them and heading off toward the parking lot structure to apparently meet up with Ryker.

“I mean… sort of. More like I inhabited spaces around here. I didn’t really live here,” explained Edmund. “My parents kicked me out early. Real early. They wanted the benefits for having a kid, but not the kid itself.

“At least not me. They tolerate my little sister a lot better than me. They didn’t kick her out and then pretend she didn’t exist.”

They were currently parked in a small parking lot. One that Edmund had picked out specifically for an exclamation point message. His sister would be able to see the car from their trailer.

“I always thought my own childhood was rough but I at least had Ryker from a young age. Then he gave me power,” muttered Dorothy. “I’m not so sure I could have come out as optimistic as you did if I went through this.”

His phone vibrated in his pocket, alerting him to the fact that his sister had probably texted him a single dot. Which meant she saw him and could be out shortly.

“Who says I’m optimistic. I see a damn dark cloud to every silver lining. I’ll be back,” Edmund muttered and then levered himself out of the seat after opening the door.

Stepping out he then carefully shut the door and moved over to sit down on a partly broken bench. It’d been there as long as he could remember and was always broken.

Even when they fixed it, it was broken.

Some things just couldn’t be changed.

Sitting there, Edmund just did his best to look bone tired and world weary. Just like everyone who sat on this bench did. As if he belonged here and was part of the neighborhood.

It really wasn’t that hard to slip back into the mentality he’d been trapped in for most of his life.

There was a flash as someone moved past him from behind.

A note fluttered down into his lap and landed between his thighs.

Looking up and to the side he saw his sister moving away quickly. Right back to her trailer with a bucket being carried in both hands.

Good reason to leave and wouldn’t make mom or dad question her.

Always a smart girl.

But… I’m concerned about this just being a note.

Frowning, Edmund put his hand on the note then slipped it into a pocket. He’d read it in the car or later. Reading it here would just attract attention to him.

All it’d take was one of his parents to look out the window and notice him.

Though he really wasn’t sure if they’d even recognize him at this point. The scrawny malnourished scare-crow they’d tried to get rid of was long gone now.

Smirking, Edmund stood up.

And nearly bumped into Harper with the speed in which he did it.

Her eyes were wide and she was staring at him. Her face was a mask of rigid features. Locked into place and held there by sheer force of will and terror.

“Oh, Harper,” Edmund said with a rushed breath. “Fucking scared me. How’s that knife wound healing up. Ya’ll right?

“Your man kinda got you deep with it but hey, you didn’t die. So that works. None of your little gang seems to be around though.”

Edmund looked around himself to see that there was indeed, no one with Harper.

“I told them to leave. They robbed me afterward, too. Took everything I had,” Harper admitted with a shake of her head. “Tried to fight them but there wasn’t much I could do given what’d happened with the knife.

“Wasn’t doing me any good leading them and after that ass kicking you gave me, then them robbing me. Not to mention some of them were so quick to be willing to kill you… it was a wake up call. They’d probably have tried to kill me if I fought anymore than I did.

“I heard that wake up call. Heard loud and clear. Didn’t expect you to come back but I was hoping you might.”

“Uh,” Edmund stated profoundly. “Okay? Cool. Cool cool cool. Imma just… go now.”

“Could you get me somewhere I could put a resume in with the Association or Legion? Not a job… or even an interview, actually. Just somewhere to put in a resume. Even if it’s a shitty cleaning job,” Harper muttered, her eyes drifting down toward Edmund’s chest rather than his face.

“Err, even a cleaning job?” Edmund asked.

Harper’s face twisted in on itself in a strange way before she sighed and then nodded her head. Her eyes moving back up to his own.

“Yeah. Just… anything. There’s really nothing around here that’d probably give me a shot at doing more than-more than what I’ve been doing. What I was shaping up to be,” Harper explained almost seemingly more to herself than him. “Everyone who got a job with Legion or the Association are already gone. Moved out and moving through life now.

“And here I am. Getting shanked. In a trailer park. All while worrying if I’m pregnant and if I need to stop drinking. I’m just… I’m a mess. I’m wrecked. I need to do something.”

Fuck her. She can just crawl off into a gutter and die there.

With all the other rats that were with her.

A idiotic thought snapped through Edmund’s brain to the core of his being.

The moment he’d met Felix and been given a small amount of money and an offer.

Such a massive change in his life that a save-state had been created from it without him intending it to be.

Only for him to over-write it and then condemn Harper to a fate he himself might have been stuck in.

I’m the fucking rat her.

I’m the scumbag, not her.

“Huh. I… ah… alright. Alright I will,” Edmund murmured. “I can get you a job there, not a problem. You’ll have to earn the right to keep it though. Just be honest, direct, and do what your bosses ask of you. If they ask something stupid, just go to HR.”

Edmund had stuck the letter in a pocket and then pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open, reached into the bill-fold, and pulled out a card. Gently pushing the two twenty-dollar bills Felix had gifted him to start with.

Those were precious to him.

Next to those were several fifty-dollar bills.

Grabbing all three of them and feeling a smile on his face, Edmund held out the card and money to her.

“Break the cycle then. Here’s enough money to get you through a few days. Send me an email with your resume, I’ll get it pushed over. You do it today, you’ll have a job tomorrow,” Edmund stated. “So… be better. Be more than what you think can or can’t be.”

Harper took the card and the money with hesitant fingers.

And maybe even the things we think can’t change, can.

Edmund didn’t wait around and instead turned away from Harper. Leaving her standing there and heading back to the car.

I wonder if this is how Felix felt.

Curious to see if someone could claw their way out. To step above whatever was holding them down and move out of it.

Reaching the car Edmund opened the door and sat down in it.

“That looked interesting,” Dorothy mused as soon as the door closed. “Ex-girlfriend?”

“Nah, she tried to take me for a ride so I had six-inches stuffed in her,” Edmund got out with a chuckle. He was trying not to think about the note from his sister in his pocket.

He had a feeling he really wouldn’t like reading it and it was more than likely bad news. Bad news and problems.

“Hah, I don’t believe that for a minute. You’re as glib as Ryker is,” Dorothy accused.

“Wouldn’t know. He and I are fairly formal in our talks. I don’t think I’ve ever had a real casual conversation with him,” Edmund said and then pulled out the note from his pocket.

Unfolding it gently he pulled it apart until it was spread open.

Hesitating for several seconds only then did he actually begin to read it.

I can’t believe you’ve done this. I can’t!

I told you to wait! I told you I needed time! That this wasn’t the right moment! I told you and told you!

Why’re are you forcing this now?

This is the worst time it could ever be! Now I can’t even leave for anything!

Not for any reason!

Even then they watch me so close I feel like I can’t even breathe!

Just let it go. Drop the case.

That’d make everything just be better again.

This isn’t worth it.

Let the case go and I’ll contact you again when I can.

Frowning, feeling greatly confused, Edmund had no idea what the hell the letter was talking about. As far as he was concerned, his sister was babbling incoherently about something that had nothing to do with him.

Pulling out his phone he unlocked it and sent a quick note off to Faith. It was a very simple question.

Had she or Felix done anything about his sister outside of what she’d told him?

The response was instantaneous. Not even a minute had passed since he’d asked.

It was also only one word.

Nothing.

They haven’t done anything.

Then whatever’s happening is being manufactured by our parents, or… or Earline is going crazy. One or the other.

I guess it’s possible she’s losing it.

A break with reality.

It’s not like I can do anything about it either.

“What’s she talking about?” asked Dorothy. She was bent over the center console and reading the letter as well.

“I really have no idea. It doesn’t make any sense. None of it,” Edmund confessed and then held the letter out to her. “Nor is it any type of code that I know or of anything like that. We never made one up.

“It’s more like… insane chatter. Doesn’t make a lick of sense to me.”

“Oh. Hm,” Dorothy said then handed the letter back to him. “I’m sorry. I’m not really sure what you can do about it either. You seem like you don’t want to confront your parents about what they did to you, or your sister.

“Without moving forward, that doesn’t leave you with much that you can do about it. Does it?”

“Not really. Lee never wanted to have any obvious forms of communication open. That’s why we have the periods and exclamation points thing,” Edmund answered. “I can try texting her but I’m betting she’ll just instantly delete it. Maybe after reading, maybe not.”

“That really doesn’t leave you with much room,” Dorothy said. Then she sighed and pointed to the clock on the dash. “Need to get going. You’re supposed to meet with Romina relatively soon.”

Ugh.

Ugh!

I don’t… erf.

“You look like that’s the last thing you want to do. Is… she the ex?” Dorothy prompted.

“You’re really way too concerned with who’s an ex and who’s not,” complained Edmund, starting the car up and moving the transmission into reverse.

“I-well-look, Alina already said I was interested. No sense in beating around the bush. How’d you feel about going out on a date?” Dorothy asked.

Ha.

Maybe if I’d been able to muster that amount of courage up when I’d first met Romina, I wouldn’t be where I am. Maybe I’d actually be dating her.

Shit.

“You’re pretty. You seem funny. But I don’t really know you that well so I’ll just say no,” Edmund murmured as he came to a stop, put the car in drive, and started taking them out of the trailer park.

“That and you’re still getting over Romina shooting you down,” Dorothy added.

Her bead on him was much stronger than he’d thought it’d been. That or he was far more transparent than he was afraid of.

“Ah, that one was right. Ryker said that guessing at someone’s inner motivations aloud often was a great way to actually get an answer. Even if you’re wrong, their response is something you can use,” Dorothy murmured.

“Felix has said something similar,” hissed Edmund, feeling rather stupid and angry now.

“Well! You’ve declined me, Romina declined you, so let’s see what happens next,” Dorothy said with a laugh. “If this was some silly romance story, you’d end up falling in love with Alina instead of me or Romina.”

“Har har, very funny. Love isn’t a game of tag. It isn’t just rushing around to hit whoever’s closest. That kind of mentality just ends up with people getting hurt or a lot of miscommunication.”

“Or a lot of husbands or wives. Lot of them. Takes a certain type of person to be open to that though. You don’t seem like the type.”

Edmund could only shake his head at that.

He was most certainly not like Felix. The idea of trying to handle more than one woman made him feel inept without even trying.

I can barely handle Dog.

Shit!

I never asked Romina who’s actually feeding Dog.

See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. This right here.

Can’t even handle a cat and a woman who rejected me.

“Ah well. Let’s see what happens! Stories develop in their own ways. If they were always predictable, with an expected outcome, they wouldn’t be worth the time. Now would they?” Dorothy asked with a laugh.

Then she held up her left hand and made an odd gesture with her fingers.

A small creature made out of lightning sprang to life and landed on the dash. It was only a few inches big but it held an aura of danger to it.

“Now, Edmund, this is Spark Friend. Spark Friend, this is Edmund. Better to introduce you two to one another while Alina is gone. They don’t like each other very much.”

Edmund was eying the creature made out of living lightning warily.

“Hey,” he said with a small nod of his head.

Least I’m not the only person who names things weird.

“I named him that when I was a little girl. Can’t change his name now. It’s part of who he is,” Dorothy interjected, as if reading his thoughts. “Renaming him would make him someone entirely different.”

Maybe I am the only person who names things weird.

Argh.

Let’s… let’s reload a few times and see if we can’t figure out what the hell happened with Lee before we go meet Romina. It’ll give me some time to think.

Cycling through load states was an easy way to get time to think Edmund had found.