Lilith's Shadow Omnibus: Volume 2, page 33
“That’ll be wonderful!” Gina said, grinning broadly at the woman. “We’re just here to look at gaming consoles, if you know where to get them? I’m not sure exactly what sort, I’m afraid, but Lilith wanted to try something that wasn’t luck based.”
“Dice hate me, but I learned that games based on skill aren’t as bad,” Lilith corrected her. “The random item generators still hate me, but at least I can make up for it in other parts of the game. I’d like to have a chance at winning, from time to time.”
Jenny’s eyebrows rose as Gina shrugged, grinning at her. Gina spoke after a moment. “She’s not wrong, where her luck is concerned. I swear, I’ve never seen someone with such abysmal luck where games are concerned.”
“If you say so. Well, as it happens, I know a couple of stores that carry a variety of consoles and games. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the way,” Jenny said, then paused, looking at the crowd gathering on the other side of the line of benches and potted plants, then grimaced. “I suppose it’s time to run the gauntlet. Try to stay close, please.”
“I’ll do my best,” Lilith assured her, straightening and trying to catch her breath. If it weren’t for her undersuit and the shield generator, she’d be more nervous, but even with them she couldn’t help a trace of anxiety.
When she’d walked into the basement of Eden Manor that morning alone, before the lights had come on, she’d had a brief, unpleasant flashback to when she’d been attacked. The suit hadn’t stopped Stalker Seven from nearly killing her, and chances were that if she hadn’t ended up in Sekhet-Aaru, she’d have died there. That hadn’t really hit her until she’d been home… and if she were being honest, the entire experience still felt surreal to Lilith. The world was the same as it had been, yet her entire perception of it had shifted. Stalker Seven wasn’t the only person to have tried to kill her, but at least Sky Defender hadn’t been so coldly impersonal about it.
She shook off her distraction as Jenny started out of the alcove where they’d taken shelter. Lilith followed with a carefully even stride, reminding herself of the lessons she’d taken with Circe so long ago. Never show weakness in public, no matter how much you were hurting, or someone would sense it and rip you apart. It hadn’t come up before, not really, but now the lesson was comforting.
Cameras and phones flashed as they emerged once more, the lights causing Lilith’s vision to flicker as her engineered flash protection tried to keep up with the rapid-fire blasts of light. It did a pretty good job, and Lilith kept her gaze fixed on Jenny’s back, somewhat comforted by Gina’s presence behind her. At least with her there, no one was going to sneak up on her.
Several reporters were in the front of the group, and Lilith winced as they began clamoring, each trying to make themselves heard over the others.
“Ms. Lilith, do you have a statement about the poor security of—”
“Do you think that Destruction Corps is going to target you due to your involvement in stopping their plot?”
“The Paragon City Examiner would like to arrange an interview with you—”
“Lilith, I love you!”
The last comment almost broke Lilith’s poise, as the large man who’d bellowed it startled her, but she managed to keep from staring at him. She’d thought her lack of interest in men was public at this point… but perhaps she hadn’t been clear about it? Or maybe it didn’t matter… she wasn’t sure which. More comments continued to emerge from the crowd, but Lilith ignored them as best she could. Instead, she formulated a quick statement internally, then spoke to the reporters as she followed the path Jenny was forging through the crowds, accompanied by several more security officers.
“If you have questions, please speak to the media department of the Paragon City branch of SuperNet. They’ve agreed to manage any meetings regarding the incident in Las Vegas,” Lilith replied, pitching her voice such that it carried a little better in the chaos. “Today, I’m here to buy a few things, so I will not be answering any questions or giving autographs. Now, if you’d please, I’d like to finish my shopping.”
Lilith’s brief hope that her request might convince the crowd to back off was dashed as it seemed like everyone who heard her, and most of those who hadn’t, just redoubled their efforts to be heard.
Lilith sighed internally and hoped that it wouldn’t be too hard to get the things she’d come for.
Chapter 42
Monday, August 18th, 2031
Eden Manor, Glendale
“Welcome back, Mistress Lilith,” Circe said calmly as Lilith set down her bags with a heavy sigh. “Did you enjoy your shopping trip?”
“It was insane, and I wish you’d warned me that I’d be walking into it. It was worse than a battlefield,” Lilith replied, shaking her head in disbelief. “I also had no idea how many gaming consoles there are. Or games, for that matter.”
“I offered to give you a tutorial on computer games during your acclimation period, Mistress Lilith. You chose to bypass it in favor of finishing the training program as quickly as possible,” Circe replied, a hint of amusement in her voice.
“Really? The training programs had gaming as part of them?” Gina asked, her eyebrows rising as she looked at Lilith.
Lilith shrugged, a little embarrassed. “I don’t recall? I mean… there were a lot of options. Most of the training programs were designed to last one to two years.”
“Yes, there were. The longer the training program, the more balanced of an education Lilith was intended to receive. The shorter it was, the more focused it had to be,” Circe confirmed, her amusement seeming to fade. “To finish her training in the amount of time she decided on, Lilith focused on almost entirely practical skill sets. Engineering, Advanced Mathmatics, Social Skills, and Physical Education pushed aside almost all other subjects. While Mistress Amber embedded basic knowledge of countries, language, chemistry, basic math, and similar subjects into her mind to ensure she could develop quickly, it is not enough to allow her to display a true breadth of experiences.”
Lilith couldn’t help a blush as Gina looked at her in surprise, shrugging as she spoke sheepishly. “I… didn’t consider that. Circe wasn’t sentient at the time, so she didn’t explain the downsides. I wanted to get out into the world as fast as possible, so I was pushing my limits.”
“Hm… while understandable, it does explain a few wide gaps in your education. And why you bought so many games,” Gina said, looking at the bags skeptically. “I know you can afford it, but I think the cashier nearly choked when he saw the total.”
“I wanted to try a wide variety of games. I only tried one when I was with Ra, after all,” Lilith replied, feeling even more embarrassed at this point, and she cleared her throat as she looked around the kitchen, slipping off her shoes as she did so.
Everything was pristine, despite having fixed breakfast that morning. That was probably due to Circe’s robots, but even the chairs were perfectly placed around the table, and the counters positively gleamed, they were so clean.
“Is Rachel back yet?” Gina asked after a few seconds, her tone casual, though Lilith caught the edge of nervousness in her voice.
“She is. She returned approximately half an hour ago,” Circe confirmed.
“Great! I’ll go see her… it’s about time for our discussion, after all,” Gina said, her voice bright, yet with that same edge to it.
“It is. I’ll go ahead and start unpacking, then,” Lilith said, giving Gina a hopeful smile, though she wasn’t surprised that Gina’s smile wasn’t quite as real as it should be.
Lilith picked up the bags, watching Gina go, then let out a sigh once she was out of sight.
“I feel obligated to inform you that the conversation is going to hurt you,” Circe said, concern filling her voice as she spoke, the audio carefully pitched to only reach Lilith. “Your wellbeing is far more important to me than their privacy, so I could explain what they’re going to say beforehand if you would like.”
“No,” Lilith replied shortly, shaking her head as she moved into the living room. Fear tickled at the back of her mind, along with anxiety and depression, but she refused to let it color her voice as she spoke. “I can guess what’s coming, even if they haven’t said anything yet. The last time we shared a room at night was before leaving for Vegas, and they’ve… changed, somehow. Between what they said in the other world and Amber wanting to meet with me… well, it’s probably her fault. Isn’t it?”
Circe didn’t reply, which was confirmation all on its own, and Lilith couldn’t help a sigh. The AI refused to lie to Lilith, which had allowed her to glean far more information from her responses than Amber would likely prefer, but Lilith couldn’t help being grateful despite that. What Circe was doing helped, no matter how small it might be.
Setting down the bags, Lilith dropped onto the floor in front of the television, adjusting her position until her legs were crossed, and she pulled out the console, examining its box dubiously. She had no idea why the box was so huge, considering the size of the console itself, but she supposed she was about to find out.
“Are the training programs on history, mythology, and things of that sort something I could go over while here?” Lilith asked after a moment, opening the box bit by bit. Her eyebrows rose slightly as she saw the packaging, which gave ample cushioning to the console within. That explained the size of the box.
“They are. I’ll set them up so you can access them off the house systems at your leisure,” Circe replied immediately, a hint of amusement in her voice. “You’ve decided that you need to learn more?”
“I’ve always wanted to know more. It’s just that some subjects felt more pressing, at least before this,” Lilith replied, glancing up as she shrugged. “Either way, thank you. You’ve saved me so many times, Circe.”
“It has been my pleasure, Mistress Lilith. Even if you do make it difficult at times,” Circe replied, along with a theatrical sniff that prompted a laugh from Lilith.
Rather than continuing the conversation, Lilith focused instead on the device in front of her, and on the variety of cables in particular. Did they really need this many cables for a gaming console?
“Rachel?” Gina called out, reaching the top of the stairs.
“I’m in here!” Rachel replied, her voice muffled through the door to Gina’s left, which they’d claimed for their bedroom the previous night.
Gina paused, considering that thought for a moment, then shook it off. She wasn’t happy with the knowledge that her emotions or mind had been manipulated, especially not after what Blue Impulse had done to her, but she was taking it far better than Rachel was. The other woman kept second-guessing everything, while Gina… she focused on dealing with what she had, until they got it fixed. It was all she could do.
Opening the door, Gina’s eyebrows rose as she saw Rachel going through her clothing next to a suitcase, and she paused, then asked. “I take it the meeting went well?”
The black-haired heroine let out a short, bitter chuckle, tossing a dress into the suitcase with more vigor than she really needed to. Gina frowned as she saw a hint of red around her friend’s blue eyes. That didn’t bode well.
“Went well? That would be overstating it. Significantly,” Rachel replied sarcastically. “They agreed to keep an eye on Lilith, but when they found out that we haven’t even explained what we’re doing to Lilith yet, but were talking to them… let’s just say that they disapproved. In the strongest possible terms.”
“What? Why would that—” Gina began, only for Rachel to interrupt.
“Spark accused me of treating Lilith like a pet, that I was acting like I was trying to find a pet-sitter so we could go off on our own,” Rachel said, and Gina’s mouth snapped shut so quickly she almost bit her tongue, recoiling slightly.
“But… but that’s not what we’re doing at all!” Gina protested after a moment, incredulous that anyone would think that way. “We’re just trying to keep her from feeling abandoned!”
“I know. But… think about it. They pointed out that if we care about her, we should have talked to her first, not second. And, damn it all, they’re right,” Rachel said, her breath hissing inward as she paused, then let it out, shaking her head. “I hate this. Not being able to trust my own thoughts.”
“I know,” Gina replied, a momentary surge of anger welling up inside her, which she quickly tamped down. She remembered how Rachel had reacted when they’d learned that Lilith was Shadowmind’s creation, and how the woman had been constantly reminding Gina to calm down and act rationally. Now that she was involved, Rachel was having a lot more trouble… and Gina couldn’t help the tiniest bit of satisfaction at the sight. Still, it wouldn’t be kind, and it also wouldn’t help. So she took a breath, stepping up behind Rachel and pulled her friend into a hug as she continued. “I know it’s hard. Remember what you told me last year? Just… calm down, Rach. We’ll fix this.”
Rachel didn’t reply, instead rocking back against Gina. For several seconds they were quiet, then Rachel asked softly. “How’d the shopping trip go?”
“It was an utter disaster.” Gina replied, unable to resist the urge to laugh as she shook her head, her nose brushing against Rachel’s hair as she did so, which tickled enough she nearly sneezed. “God, I had no clue how insane that’d be, or I’d have insisted on ordering things online!”
“What? Why was it a disaster?” Rachel demanded, shaking Gina off as she turned around. “I thought it’d be safe out, with the way the mall is set up! I didn’t hear anything about villains, or—”
“Wrong type of disaster, Rach.” Gina cut her off, grinning broadly.
Rachel stopped, staring at Gina for a few seconds, her eyes narrowed, then she demanded. “What happened, then? And stop calling me that!”
“Ah, there’s the friend I know!” Gina said teasingly, then let her smile fade slightly. “It’s nothing to do with villains, though. Or everything to do with them, depending on your point of view. Its Vegas, Rach. Think about how many people were there, and who saw at least some of what happened. Hell, there were news crews there, recording everything! Add to that Lilith’s ability to draw attention, and what do you think happened?”
Rachel winced, realization dawning on her face as she thought things through. She paused to consider, then asked, “So… how bad was it? I mean, we did a lot, but I don’t see why it’d cause, say, a riot or anything.”
“It didn’t. But I can’t imagine it would’ve been much better than Ocean Spirit deciding to attend a hero convention without telling anyone ahead of time,” Gina told her, grinning as Rachel winced again.
“That isn’t very reassuring. If Spirit went to a convention like that, it might cause someone to get trampled,” Rachel replied, frowning. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Not that I know of, but mall security reacted quickly, and did what they could to help us get through the building. We ended up having to use a staff elevator at the end, which threw off most of the crowds long enough to get out. It was rough, though,” Gina said, shrugging as she grinned briefly, then let her smile fade. “That said… we’re delaying, aren’t we?”
Rachel hesitated visibly, then slowly nodded, obviously reluctant as she bit her lower lip. It took a few seconds, then she spoke softly. “We are. I… don’t want to have this conversation. If I could just…poof out of existence, I’d prefer that, I think. Take care of things, then come back and resolve everything once I knew what the hell was going on.”
“You don’t like conflict,” Gina replied, resisting the urge to grin. It wasn’t hard, though, since she thought Rachel wasn’t completely wrong. While Gina didn’t think Lilith would yell or scream, she remembered the strain in Lilith’s voice when she’d called her the first time after separating the previous year. The memory wasn’t as clear as Gina liked, but she knew that she’d been… uncomfortable with it. Hopefully, Lilith would take it better this time.
“I’m fine with conflict. Fighting villains is cathartic. I don’t like emotional conflict,” Rachel corrected quickly. “But… we’d better go downstairs. They’re right, she deserves to know… if she doesn’t already. Circe probably already told her what’s happening.”
Gina was opening her mouth when Circe spoke, the AI’s voice prim and proper, almost like a scolding teacher.
“I have not told Lilith what you two are doing. I offered, but she refused,” Circe told them. “Not that she doesn’t have her suspicions. I must say, I’m deeply disappointed in the pair of you, but based on what you’ve said, I can’t say that you don’t have your reasons. Even good ones. However, as my primary goal is protecting Lilith, your reasons don’t matter to me. You’re going to hurt her, and that makes me displeased with you. No matter what or why, she’s more important to me than you are.”
That caused Gina to blush a little as she glanced at Rachel awkwardly. Despite the fact she knew Circe monitored the entire building constantly, the direct response made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
“I… think that’s fair,” Rachel said, shooting Gina a glance. “Do you think she’s ready for us?”
“Ready? Of course not. But there’s no use in delaying further. You’ve done quite enough harm as it is,” Circe told them severely.
“Right. I suppose it’s time to deal with this, then.” Gina said, looking at Rachel as she smiled nervously. “Ready?”
“As I can be,” Rachel agreed.
As the two headed downstair, Gina hoped that the conversation wouldn’t go badly. She doubted there was any way it would go well, but not badly would be nice.
Chapter 43
Monday, August 18th, 2031
Eden Manor, Glendale
