[color=springgreen]<“Lift with your legs, Qing Yuan!”>[/color] [color=tomato]<“Oh sure, he’s not an air conditioner. So now you know all about lifting! I’m taking all of the weight here!”>[/color] Qing struggled with the crumpled Little Mountain. He was heavier than he looked. Together, Qing and Bo Wen got him situated in the back of the van. His blood began pooling on the subfloor. All Qing could think about was how hard it would be to clean after this, probably to keep himself calm. [color=springgreen]<”Stay with him, I’ll drive.”>[/color] Sliding the van door shut on the other pair whilst Qing’s stunned eyes could only stare back wide-eyed as the metal interior filled his vision. [color=tomato]<”But it’s my van!”>[/color] Qing protested, but Bo Wen was already climbing into the driver’s seat. Qing slid, before grabbing a handhold as Bo Wen hit the gas, saving the wounded hero from a blow from falling drywall with his other hand. Looking at him, Qing Yuan didn’t know exactly what he should be doing that would really do him any good. He looked like Qing might have if the man from the alley was actually worth his salt with a sword. He had cuts all over, big bruises, broken bones. Part of his chest looked caved in. Qing could at least try to stop the bleeding. [i]There really is a lot of blood filling the van, isn’t there..?[/i] Problem was, the closest thing he had to bandages were the rags he used to cover the floor during paint and other messy jobs. And they were hardly hygienic, let alone sterile. He raised his head to ask his father for suggestions, but was stopped short as he recognised the streets flying by out the front of the van. [color=tomato]<”This is not the way to Calder General!”>[/color] [color=springgreen]<”He is a superhero! They do not do regular hospitals!”>[/color] Bo Wen countered. He yanked the wheel and the van made a noise of protest Qing felt in his soul. [color=tomato]<”Then where do you suggest?”>[/color] Qing asked, incredulous. He realized he knew the route Bo Wen was taking. [color=tomato]<”No. Noooooo. You’re bringing him to the shop!? This is not something we can fix! Once again, he is not an air conditioner! This is beyond duct tape and resin!”>[/color] [color=springgreen]<”Have faith, Qing Yuan. We will figure something out at home. Maybe the Vanguard will come get him.”>[/color] Bo Wen said, as if his faith would keep the Little Mountain from bleeding out in the back of Qing’s work van. [color=tomato]<“Between your driving and his health, my faith doesn’t spread that far! How much blood can you even have in you?!”>[/color] Qing Yuan had his hands over the worst of the Little Mountain’s bleeds. His blood was warm but his skin was cold to the touch. [i]Cold. Ohhh. That’s not a good sign.[/i] The dwindling flame of a candle. [color=tomato] <“Shit.”>[/color] [color=springgreen]< “Is he–”>[/color] [color=tomato] “Eyes on the road! Let me worry about back here!”>[/color] [i]Breathe in.[/i] Qing’s eyes closed. He dived deep internally. His hands moved as he felt his own body’s energy pool and sluice within, then took control. Diverted the flow. [i]Breathe out.[/i] His hands aglow, he rested them over the fallen hero’s sunken core. It took a level of concentration beyond his ability to re-open his eyes. He felt certain he sensed a heart beating stronger, and pushed on choosing not to give way to what must have been overconfidence. The glow to his hands faded as he pushed the flow beyond himself and it re-dispersed, finding its level in the form that lay before him. The next barrier he hit certainly wasn’t overconfidence, and he noticed it wasn’t concentration that was knitting his eyes. The lids started to feel heavy. [i]That’s not right, I know he’s messed up pretty bad, and I know it’s been a long day but I shouldn’t be–[/i] As Qing slid down beside the fallen hero, his father’s words and a single thought went through his head. [i]Just because I wanted to buy drywall…[/i] [color=springgreen]<“Qing Yuan! Your chi!”>[/color] The words fell from Qing’s mouth absent of thought. [color=tomato]< “Do not. Crash. [sub]mY vAn...[/sub]”>[/color] Qing drifted away free of the moorings of consciousness, until being shaken awake once more at their destination by a father who couldn’t lift their wounded guest alone. [hr] [CENTER][sup][h1][center][img]Banner[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] F L O W S T A T E[/color] [color=tomato]F L O W S T A T E[/color][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup][/center] [hr] The bell chimed, the buzzer sounded, and a pair walked in - a [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019f3b57-ad2a-706d-be2b-9b0e28840ebc.webp]young woman[/url] and an [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019f3b57-d230-74bf-b55a-33b11a9baca7.webp]old white man[/url]. Qing realized in their rush to get the Little Mountain to a bed upstairs, he flipped the sign to ‘CLOSED’ but in his exhaustion had failed to actually lock the door. [color=tomato]“I’m sorry, we’re actually closed.”[/color] Qing put on his best smile, half-lidded as the events of the car ride still left him weary, and hoped he hadn’t missed any bloodstains trailing from the door up the stairs. The woman and the old man did not turn to go. Instead she fixed Qing with a steely gaze. [color=tomato]“Ah, we’d be happy to help you another time but right now we --”[/color] [color=aquamarine]“What have you done with my brother!?”[/color] She cut Qing off. She had her hands wrapped in fists, thumbs tucked inside, like she’d never thrown a punch before. [i]Her brother…? Could this be the Little Mountain’s sister?[/i] Qing put his hands up. [color=tomato]“We didn’t hurt him! We just found him in a bad way. We tried to help.”[/color] [color=aquamarine]“And you brought him [i]here[/i] instead of to the [i]hospital[/i]?”[/color] Qing Yuan cringed. He knew it was a bad idea. He saw Bo Wen at the bottom of the stairs, roused from their guest’s bedside by the commotion and gestured to him. [color=tomato]“Ba, that question’s for you.”[/color] The old man put his hand on the woman’s shoulder. [color=cornsilk]“It was probably for the best, Shenden. Everything going on in this town, who knows what kind of farshtinkener got to him. The hospital might not have been safe. Better I can take care of him here.”[/color] Qing spotted the leather bag he carried. It was about as stereotypical of a physician’s kit as they come, complete with the ears of a stethoscope hanging out the lip. [color=springgreen]“See. Was right! Superheroes don’t do regular hospitals.”[/color] He pointed to the doctor. [color=tomato]“It was literally the first thing she asked, Ba, and she’s his family…”[/color] Bo Wen swatted away the criticism from his son like a gnat. [color=aquamarine]“Where is he?”[/color] The woman, Shenden, asked. Each syllable was measured, and her fists were still balled. Qing kept one hand open in passivity, and with the other he pointed to the sky. [color=springgreen]“Yes, yes. This way, follow.”[/color] Bo Wen bade the pair upstairs with him. Qing moved to follow the trio, then remembered himself and set to locking up [i]Liu’s Fix-It[/i] properly. All three of the locks and the rolling shutters. By the time he joined them upstairs, Bo Wen managed to convert the hallway outside the Little Mountain’s door into an impromptu waiting room with three mismatched chairs. Shenden sat in the middle, no longer looking ready to punch him or Bo Wen out, instead maintaining a steady focus on the door. Bo Wen stood by, wringing his hands, not in any of the seats he dutifully brought out, making a face that told Qing he was holding down a fit of nervous laughter. [color=tomato]”Ba?”[/color] [color=springgreen]”There you are! This Qing Yuan, my son. We found your brother together.”[/color] [i]Tactful, Ba.[/i] Qing’s brow furrowed at the older man. He then noticed the seating arrangements. [i]Middle. You sneaky old–.[/i] He picked the closest seat. [color=aquamarine]“I’m Shenden.”[/color] She nodded to him. [color=aquamarine]“I’m very sorry about earlier. I was a bit panicked.”[/color] She said, not looking too much less panicked. Qing would be too, at the sight of her brother. [color=tomato]”Don’t worry about it.”[/color] Qing waved her concerns off. [color=tomato]”Where’s the Doctor?”[/color] Qing asked, trying to fill the silence. [i]Stupid question[/i]. [color=aquamarine]”Doctor Idell is in with him now.”[/color] She answered anyway. [color=aquamarine]“He says my brother doesn’t look good, but a lot better than he expected. He says you two stabilized him. Is one of you a doctor?”[/color] [color=springgreen]”Only to air conditioners.”[/color] Bo Wen said. [color=tomato]”Ba!”[/color] Qing chided. [color=tomato]”Not doctors, no…”[/color] Qing scratched the back of his neck. [i]How do you even explain chi to a layperson…?[/i] [color=tomato]“Maybe he must have just got lucky..?”[/color] It didn’t even sound convincing to himself as he said it, and when he dared to make eye contact with Shenden he could see it hadn’t been with her either. [color=aquamarine]”You don’t have to say. Whatever you did, thank you.”[/color] Her grace shocked Qing to silence, a rare feat. They had essentially kidnapped her brother off the street, and now she seemed willing to give them carte blanche. Qing supposed it turned out well enough, but… The silence hung over the hallway for a moment as each turned the day’s events over in their heads. Soft yiddish mutterings passed under the door. [color=springgreen]“I’ll bring tea for everyone!”[/color] Bo Wen said, seeing his moment to diffuse the tension and disappearing around the corner into the kitchen. [color=tomato]<”Just for our guests, Ba.”>[/color] Qing called after him in Wu. [color=aquamarine]“You speak Shanghainese?”[/color] Shenden asked. [color=tomato]“We speak Wu.”[/color] Qing flatly replied. Just as the Liu family didn’t care for the North’s ideas to make China a monolithic culture where all regional dialects would give way to Mandarin according to the wishes of the Party, they also held true to their attitudes regarding the notion that their own native dialect was purely for those of ‘the city’ as it was so often colloquially called. Qing more than most. [color=springgreen]“It’s okay.”[/color] Bo Wen re-entered the room with tea, wide smile across his face. [color=springgreen]“Qing just… get weird about these kind of thing. He’s a good boy, really.”[/color] [color=aquamarine]”I understand. I can ‘get weird’ about Burmese. It is one of the few things that belongs to us.”[/color] Shenden said. [color=aquamarine]”I have only had the pleasure to study Mandarin, and some Cantonese. My specialty is the South Eastern languages, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese…” [/color] [color=tomato]“Well, it makes sense academically in respect to China. If they don’t speak Cantonese, it's a fair bet they’ll speak Mandarin.”[/color] Qing conceded. [color=tomato]“So have you got your brother microchipped?”[/color] She smiled sadly, flicking her gaze to the door where her brother fought for his life. [color=aquamarine]“I really should, for all the trouble he gets himself into. He had one of my Dad’s old utility belts, and it sent a distress signal. It used to go to the Vanguard, but he hasn’t used it in so long it defaulted to Dad’s phone.”[/color] She fished it out of her purse and showed an ancient flip phone. [color=tomato]“...And anthropologists dusted that thing off and realised it was some kind of a communications device.”[/color] He jibed at the age of the phone. [color=tomato] “So he went in alone, and got himself…”[/color] He trailed off. Had this guy alienated himself so much from everyone, or was he just so hot headed that he jumped in without backup? If he were honest with himself he could see himself doing both. Because he had in his own past. His own experience just went very differently. He was the one who walked away when it was all done. Qing yawned openly. His father never missed the opportunity. [color=springgreen]“Oooh. You need Qigong in morning. Don’t forget!”[/color] He needn’t have said anything. They never forget, but that wasn’t the point. Before Qing could find a way to stop him, Bo Wen continued, smiling broadly to Shenden. [color=springgreen]“Qing and I. Run Qigong every morning before open shop. Moench Park. Very good way start day. Every day. Good for mind. Good for body. You should try some time.”[/color] Incredibly cheesy grin accompanying the open invitation. Qing had not yet discovered a method to manipulate one’s chi, causing spontaneous combustion with only a glare. As evident by the fact that his father was not currently on fire. Bo Wen instead moved on from the scene of the crime, returning to matters pertaining to her brother. [color=springgreen]“Vanguard not with him?”[/color] [color=aquamarine] “Pardon–?”[/color] She struggled to follow the sudden rapid change in conversation. [color=springgreen]“Brother.”[/color] Bo Wen pointed to the door. [color=springgreen]“Vanguard not with him?”[/color] [color=aquamarine]”Not exactly. Rock quit all this superhero stuff when he was a teenager. I saw him for the first time in a long time at the funeral and… He’s just been spiraling. But I…”[/color] She wrapped her arms around herself. [color=aquamarine]“I think this is my fault. I think I told him something I shouldn’t have.”[/color] Qing looked at his father. [color=tomato]“I get that. Funerals, and their causes, can do that.”[/color] He winced at the clumsiness of his own choice of words. That funeral would have been for her father as well. [color=tomato] “Sorry. About your father as well.”[/color] He added. [color=aquamarine]“We always knew this was a possibility, him being a superhero. We saw so many of his friends go over the years. It just never seemed like something that would happen to [i]him[/i].”[/color] It was a crazy thing to hear in such a matter-of-fact tone. A superhero. As if that were something someone could just decide to be. Made only more crazy that in this case, the person in question actually unquestionably was one. The word coming from someone who had long since made her peace with the nature of that being a perfectly reasonable thing for one to be. Over tea. [color=aquamarine]“Now that he’s gone it feels like the family is shaking itself apart. It figures that The Mountain disappearing would cause an earthquake.”[/color] She said, and she laughed, but Qing saw the tear in her eye. [color=springgreen]“Is a lot. Time when, family have to really come together or everyone can fall apart. Is good thing that you’re here. Show that important, at time when he most needs.”[/color] Bo Wen was clearly getting frustrated that his English was falling short at this time in particular. [color=springgreen]“Qing like that when happened too. Even when people don’t show appreciation, sometimes just making sure to hold close when people need.”[/color] [i]Don’t do that. That’s not what this is. ‘Trauma bonding’ over dead parents. She’s not–[/i] He wanted to scowl at the old man, to tell him to shut up. But it was clearly too sensitive a situation for him to even call his father out. [color=tomato]“So he tried to go and beat the world into making sense himself.”[/color] He left no question to it and realised he could have been describing both Rock and himself, after his mother. An affirmation of understanding. [color=aquamarine]”It’s all he knows. Dad took him in in the first place to show him a better way, but he’s been fighting the whole world since before we ever knew him. We gave him so much love, and sometimes I wonder if it wasn’t enough.”[/color] Qing wanted to ask exactly who ‘we’ was, in this family which was shaking itself apart. But knew he couldn’t plainly ask given the secretive nature of the lifestyle. He knew she’d probably just politely decline to answer because it was too personal, but for some reason he didn’t want to seem ‘stupid’ to her in asking it in the first place. It was one of the few times he regretted that his father knew more about the lives of these types than he did. He looked across at his father for any sign of clues and only saw him nodding solemnly in understanding to what she had said. He wanted a problem to fix. But all there was were feelings and hurt. [color=tomato]“Do you know what he was looking into? We found him only a few blocks from our place. If there’s someone or something that can do [b]THAT[/b] to someone like your brother, I’d kind of want to know about it.”[/color] Shenden looked at the ground. [color=aquamarine]”It was his father.”[/color] [color=cornsilk]”We’re ready for you, bubele.”[/color] Doctor Idell said, appearing at the door with his surgical mask drawn down. His face was perfectly neutral, no sign of how Shenden’s brother was faring inside. Qing could only hope it was good news, for her sake. [color=aquamarine]”Coming.”[/color] Shenden said, gathering herself. [color=aquamarine]”Thank you. Thank you both. For the talking and the tea, and the everything else. Wish him luck.”[/color] She followed the Doctor, the grief of her face giving way to focus as the door closed behind her. Qing's brow furrowed with confusion once she had left. [i]Wait... his father? Your father's dead..? Or is this how people in this business "retire"... nobody seeks revenge against a dead man...[/i] [center] [sup][h1][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019e955d-c7ac-71af-ab26-948b50548d89.webp[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] R O C K[/color] [color=green]R O C K[/color][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup] [center][b]Chapter Four[/b][/center] [i]“Be aware of yourself, and accept yourself as you are. [/i]That[i] is where your training should begin.”[/i] -Takehiko Inoue, [i]Vagabond[/i][/center] [sup][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][b]"You’ll live to fight, and fight to live, or I will end you myself."[/b][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][right][color=springgreen]<“Lift with your legs, Qing Yuan!”>[/color][/right][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][color=tomato]<“Oh sure, he’s not an air conditioner. So now you know all about lifting! I’m taking all of the weight here!”>[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][right][color=green][b]"Get up, Rock. You can do this."[/b][/color][/right][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][color=springgreen]<”Qing Yuan! Your chi!”>[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][right][color=aquamarine]"What have you done with my brother!?"[/color][/right][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][color=green][b]"The Mountain and The Rock never quit."[/b][/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][right][color=tomato]"Sorry. About your father as well."[/color][/right][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][b]"Strike harder, whelp."[/b][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][right][color=cornsilk]"If you hadn’t found him when you did, he’d be dead already."[/color][/right][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][color=aquamarine]"Will he make it?"[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][right][color=cornsilk]"If I have anything to say about it…"[/color][/right][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][color=green][b]"Wherever you go, kiddo, I’ll believe in you."[/b][/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [center][color=cornsilk]”Rise and shine, Rock…”[/color][/center] [/sup] Rock woke to the circling ceiling fan casting a revolving shadow across his face. The room was still and spare, blank walls and no sound but the gentle thrum of the fan and the murmur of the city beyond the walls. He was wrapped in warm sheets, lying on a bed that felt softer than any he’d slept on in a decade. How did he get here? He remembered the beating, the pain. The Count’s face twisted in disgust as he dragged Rock across the sand. Then nothing. Rock expected the pain to redouble any second now, but all that was left in its place was a dull ache. [color=cornsilk]“Ah, the nudnik is finally awake.”[/color] Rock blinked the sleep out of his eyes and turned to the familiar voice. An old man sat on a chair pulled up to Rock’s bedside, leather bag lain across his lap. He smiled at Rock and his eyes twinkled behind his bifocals. [color=green]“Doctor Eye?”[/color] It was a face Rock hadn’t seen in a very long time. The last he could recall was Saw’s last battle against Darksaber. Doc Eye was Saw’s de facto physician, though The Mountain rarely needed such a thing. His grey abilities meant he could see and identify people’s ailments better than about any other doctor in Calder City. X-ray vision, telescopic vision, magnetic resonance vision, thermals, and more. When Rock was still a sidekick, Doc Eye was the chief medic of the Vanguard, but looking at him now in his old tweed coat and his bent spectacles, he looked like any other haggard primary care. [color=cornsilk]“The very same,”[/color] Doctor Idell opened one of Rock’s eyes wide and shone his ophthalmoscope. [color=green]“Where am I?”[/color] Rock tried to piece together more details, but the room was spartan, almost entirely unfurnished. It looked like an unused apartment. He saw Shenden snoozing in the corner, a handmade blanket thrown over her. [color=cornsilk]“Above a repair shop in Hudson,”[/color] Doctor Idell said, concluding his exam. [color=cornsilk]“No brain damage, looks like. Besides what you’ve always had, anyway.”[/color] Rock glared at him. [color=green]”How did I [i]get[/i] here? Doesn’t look like a Vanguard safehouse.”[/color] [color=cornsilk]”A couple kind souls plucked you off the street,”[/color] Doctor Idell said. He tucked the last of his equipment into his bag and stowed it under his chair. [color=green]”And then you found me from the belt signal?”[/color] Rock asked. [color=cornsilk]“I didn’t. She did.”[/color] Doctor Idell nodded at Shenden. [color=cornsilk]“Asked me to come out of my retirement from this farkakte superhero business to make sure you were alright. I could never say no to her. You know, she’s the strongest person I’ve ever met.”[/color] Rock snorted. [color=green]“Aren’t you doctor to the superheroes? I know you’ve seen plenty stronger.”[/color] [color=cornsilk]“These old eyes have seen a lot. Have learned a lot. For one thing, I’ve seen that strength doesn’t always come from the muscles, shlemiel.”[/color] [color=green]“Don’t give me that bullshit,”[/color] Rock said. He’d heard enough nonsense like that from Saw and from his Senseis over the years. Esoteric philosophizing about what strength is. No high minded philosophy could explain why he was brutalized and left stuck in this bed. [color=cornsilk]”How’s about you settle with the kvetching and give an old man a moment to say his piece?”[/color] He reached into his bag and produced a lollipop. [color=green]”Trying to bribe me with candy? I’m not five, doc.”[/color] [color=cornsilk]”You do act like it. But this is for me, something besides a cigarette I can suck on while dealing with difficult patients,”[/color] He said. He unwrapped it and stuck it in, rolling it around his mouth. [color=cornsilk]“Now where was I… Ah! I’m sure you remember how tough Saw was, eh? Pain tolerance like I’ve never seen.”[/color] It was true. It was something beyond his regeneration. Even through the brutal lethwei training before his abilities awakened, the worst of the body conditioning, the microfractures across every bone in his body, he’d push through like nothing happened at all. He could get shot dozens of times and smile about it. [color=cornsilk]“I can tell you Shenden doesn’t have it. You can always see the hurt in her eyes. And like your old man, she can’t use any painkillers either, her body shoots through them too fast. But still, I’ve had her on my table more times than I can count. A heap of topical griseosporine and I can open her up, let her donate things most people only get one or two of. Through it all she won’t whine or thrash, she just curls her hands up and lets herself cry about it. Then by the time I’ve wiped my ointment off and she’s knit herself up, she’s the one asking me when I’ll be ready to go again.”[/color] Rock looked back at her, snoring softly. He put a hand against the ribs The Count shattered. They were intact, sore, but firm. [color=green]”Are you saying she just…?”[/color] Doctor Idell nodded. [color=cornsilk]“You were destroyed. Bad as anyone I’ve ever treated. But with her help, we took a recovery time of six months and shortened it to six hours. Her blood loses its potency the longer it's been out of her, but I was able to IV you two together directly. It did a lot to patch you up, and she was able to donate the parts the blood couldn’t hack. But it sure wiped her out. She’s been sleeping a long while.”[/color] [color=green]“She didn’t have to,”[/color] Rock said. This was [i]his[/i] mess. He could get out of it on his own. [color=cornsilk]“Didn’t she? Her brother nearly kills himself and she’s just supposed to let him wither away? You might have missed it kid, but she’s the one that’s been fighting to hold your family together, you included. She’s never fought in her life but she marched in here ready to tear heads off if that was what it took to get to you.”[/color] [color=green]”She would never,”[/color] Rock said. The Shennie he knew wouldn’t hurt a fly, literally. She always made Rock or Khaing Min deal with the bugs around the house growing up, and insisted they put them in a cup and release them. [color=cornsilk]”She’d do anything for you,”[/color] Doctor Idell said. His tone did not brook disagreement. [color=green]”I’d do anything for her,”[/color] Rock said. It was Doctor Idell’s turn to snort. [color=cornsilk]”As long as you don’t have to push your ego down first, right?”[/color] Doctor Idell crunched into his lollipop. [color=green]”You’re on thin ice, old man.”[/color] Rock cautioned. [color=cornsilk]”That’s another thing about your sister. She’s always [i]kind[/i], to a fault. She’ll welcome anyone into her heart. She’s already gotten some kind of close to the folks running this place. But you? You push everyone away, with all that piss and vinegar. You’re too weak to let anyone get within spitting distance of you.”[/color] Doctor Idell tossed the stick of his lollipop into the trash as Rock stewed. What the hell did the old man mean by that? Where did he get off? Rock heard a pair of footsteps coming from somewhere else in the building. [color=cornsilk]“Ah, here come our hosts. The kid’s a real mensch, and his dad’s one hell of a balebos. Make sure to show them gratitude, sheygets, more than you’ve shown me. I’m going to go fix myself some more of this yuhua tea.”[/color] Doctor Idell grabbed a used coffee cup from Rock’s bedside table and excused himself as a pair of Asian men walked in. One was young and lean, with a beard that looked like it hadn’t seen a trim in a few days. The other was a little bigger, rounder, looked like an older version of the first. Father and son, Rock figured. The younger one’s eye held on the blanket his sister was curled up in, or maybe even Shenden herself, for a beat, before returning focus to the now conscious Rock. [color=tomato]“You’re awake. Supervillain hit you with a truck?”[/color] The younger newcomer asked, immediately undercutting everything the doctor had said about them. [color=green]“Felt like it,”[/color] Rock said. He laid back into the pillows and looked up at the ceiling fan. [color=green]”Ever think you’re gonna have an easy time and then it blows up in your face?”[/color] [color=tomato]“I caught a bullet today and forgot about it. So yes.”[/color] He uttered, accompanied with a yawn. Rock sat up and locked his eyes on the young man. Not just some slipshod repairman, was he? [color=green]”I might’ve been alright if I was that fast. How did you manage that?”[/color] Rock asked. An inkling squirmed at the back of his mind. Something about the way this guy carried himself, the tone of his body. [color=tomato]“No it’s not like that. I’m not… in your ‘field’.”[/color] He waved Rock off. [color=tomato]“Just… wrong place, wrong time.”[/color] [color=green]“You don’t catch bullets by being in the [i]wrong place[/i],”[/color] Rock said, feeling the edge creep into his voice. He bit the inside of his cheek. He was supposed to be [i]grateful[/i]. [color=tomato]“I’d say it’s the only place you catch them. If you’re in the right place, you dodge them. So… agree to disagree.”[/color] [color=green]”You seem like you get around to a lot of those wrong places,”[/color] Rock said. He looked experienced, trained. His hands looked right for it, thick and rough, not the kind you get from doing just anything. They looked like the hands of his senseis, seasoned after decades of striking. [color=green]“What’s your name, anyway?”[/color] [color=tomato]“Qing Yuan Liu. Just like the name on the front, [i]Liu’s Fix-It[/i]. Well, you weren’t awake when we got you in here, so I can get how you’d miss that.”[/color] [color=green]”I’m Rock,”[/color] Rock said, offering his hand, [color=green]“but I’m sure Shennie or the Doc already told you that.”[/color] When Qing accepted the handshake, Rock pulled it closer, turning it over and examining his fist. [color=green]“For someone not in my line of work, you sure seem like it. Your knuckles are worn down from it. You fight,”[/color] Rock said, a declaration more than a question. [color=tomato]“I didn’t like having to catch a bullet.”[/color] Qing glibly replied, half-lidded. [color=green]“Who are you, really? The ‘God of Water’?”[/color] Rock asked. The pattern followed. Qing clearly had a lot more experience than he was letting on. The flow of his movements, even the way he weaved away from Rock’s questions. He said he could [i]catch bullets[/i]. Even The Count had to dodge them. A guy with all that expertise, floating around The Count’s lair just in time to snatch him up? It was too perfect. [color=tomato]“That sounds ambitious. God of Plumbing, maybe. Apprentice to the God of Plumbing, more likely. I’d be happy to let you write my online reviews though, with that attitude.”[/color] Qing said. If he was a liar, he was a good one, but Rock didn’t put that past him. The older man laughed at the thought of Qing being a god. Then laughed some more. Then laughed uncomfortably long until Qing closed his eyes and sighed, weary with everything. Maybe Qing [i]was[/i] telling the truth. It didn’t track with The Count’s grandiose explanation that one of his ‘Gods’ would be living with his Dad in a mom-and-pop repair shop. [color=green]”Maybe I will. Not every day I get fished out of hell by a couple good samaritans, I can thank you with a review. I’ll make sure to mention you both, Qing Yuan and…?”[/color] [color=springgreen] “Bo Wen Liu. And it’s my name on the front. That you weren’t awake for. Like Qing said.”[/color] [color=green]”I’ll remember it,”[/color] Rock said, realizing he actually meant it. Most people felt like set dressing to him. He couldn’t recall the names of any of his fellow pupils from his time in Japan. But these two, Qing in particular, had something special about them. [color=springgreen] “You pick fight with gods? Lead with face? And things not as easy as thought?”[/color] [color=tomato] “Yes, he’s not short on confidence. I think it’s probably part of the lifestyle.”[/color] [color=green]”I was supposed to be out of this ‘lifestyle’ already,”[/color] Rock sighed. [color=green]”You know how it is. One last job.”[/color] [color=aquamarine]”Rock has a hard head…”[/color] Rock’s head snapped to the corner and saw Shennie was awake, still wrapped up in her blanket, smiling at him softly. [color=aquamarine]“Some days it seems like what will get him killed. Most days it seems like it's what keeps him alive.”[/color] [color=green]”How long have you been awake?”[/color] [color=aquamarine]“Long enough.”[/color] Qing’s eye again returned to the blanket, and his mouth fell open he turned to the older man, before he thought better of it and chose to say nothing at all. He changed tack and decided there was something more important than whatever was on his mind. [color=tomato]“We’ll just give you some time to talk. Knock sense back into his hard head. Things like that. Ba, downstairs.”[/color] [color=aquamarine]“Thank you both again. I’ll never forget it.”[/color] Bo Wen gave Shenden a wide smile before Qing realised he wasn’t being followed. [color=tomato]“Now, Ba.”[/color] As the pair went back down the stairs, Qing’s words floated back into the open door. [color=tomato]“What a nice girl,”[/color] Qing said. Rock heard the footsteps stop. [color=tomato]“Not a damn word.”[/color] The older man’s laughter faded as the pair descended out of earshot. [color=aquamarine]”They’re amazing people,”[/color] Shenden said. She folded her blanket so it would fit onto her lap and pulled her chair to the other side of Rock’s bed. [color=green]”Amazingly odd,[/color] Rock said. [color=aquamarine]”Rock. They saved your [i]life[/i].”[/color] She leaned in, punctuated her point with a hard gaze. Rock’s expression didn’t shift. [color=green]”Maybe they shouldn’t have,”[/color] he said. He saw her heart break a little behind her eyes. [color=aquamarine]”What are you talking about, Rock?”[/color] She worked to keep her tone level, but she couldn’t hack it. [color=green]”Maybe if I died down there the Vanguard would have enough reason to come down on him and find proof of what he did.”[/color] It might be the only option left to them. The Vanguard would never move on him without something more substantial. The Count swore up and down he hadn’t been Saw’s killer, but what other lead was there? [color=aquamarine]”Why do you even believe it was him?”[/color] She kept the edge of the hurt out of her voice this time, but the question still cut Rock. [color=green]”Really, Shenden? Isn’t it obvious? Why even tell me he was in the city if you didn’t think he did it?”[/color] Rock snapped. He expected her to recoil, but she just scoffed. [color=aquamarine]”Because it was the right thing to do. Your biological father shows up to your dad’s funeral, and I’m supposed to keep that from you? I didn’t think you’d go on a tear through the city going after him. I didn’t think you’d wreck Uncle Phone’s store. I didn’t think Ben Knight would be calling me asking why you were beating on his son, and I certainly didn’t think you would go and do this to yourself.”[/color] She gestured at him up and down. His injuries were gone, but Rock got the point. [color=green]”Well what the hell did you think was gonna happen?”[/color] Rock said. Shenden knew him well enough to know [i]this[/i] was how he solved problems. The way The Mountain had against his worst enemies. The way The Count did, he realized. [color=aquamarine]”I thought you might come home and grieve with us. I thought we might all work it out together, as a family. Make right of this.”[/color] She reached out and squeezed Rock’s arm. [color=aquamarine]”All this time, we just wanted you to come home.”[/color] [color=green]”[i]We[/i]? Come on, Shennie. You know as well as I do how pissed Khaing Min and Thiri are. You know how much we fight.”[/color] He pulled his arm out of her grasp and rubbed where she touched like it would leave a scar. [color=aquamarine]”They did a lot of growing up while you were gone. I had hoped you did too.”[/color] She held her hand close to herself. It made Rock feel like he had slapped it away. [color=green]”It’s not about ‘growing up’. Do you remember that night when we were all at Doc Eye’s?”[/color] He offered his hand to her as a silent apology. Shenden nodded cautiously, put her hand in his. It was one of the nights after Saw’s last fight with Darksaber, lacerated to the bone, hanging on in the way only he could. All his children gathered around, supporting him. [color=green]”Do you remember what we all promised him?”[/color] He met her eyes, deep and intelligent brown, grasping the memory. [color=aquamarine]”That we would always be there for him,”[/color] she whispered. [color=green]”Of everyone who made that promise, who left?”[/color] Rock asked. [color=aquamarine]”You’re a special case Rock, you know that. You had to go and heal on your own terms.”[/color] She massaged the back of his hand with her thumb. [color=green]”Our siblings don’t see it that way. I don’t see it that way. I thought he had nothing left to teach me, so I left to become stronger, but I couldn’t even manage that. I left, and now he’s dead. I wasn’t there to protect him like he protected us. It’s my fault.”[/color] He drew his legs up to his chest. [color=aquamarine]”He knew the risks, Rock, made sure we all knew them. Is this what all this is about? You can’t face us, you can’t forgive yourself until you catch whoever did this?”[/color] Rock shook his head. He couldn’t. He fought the stinging feeling in his eyes. Shenden bit her lip and thought for a beat. [color=aquamarine]”I can’t tell you I wouldn’t want to see justice done. But I can tell you it wouldn’t matter to Dad. He died doing what he believed in. All he would want is to see you grow into a good man.”[/color] [color=green]”I’m trying,”[/color] Rock said. [color=aquamarine]”I know,”[/color] Shenden said. She wrapped him in a hug. [color=aquamarine]”Maybe part of the trying should be making amends. If you really feel you did wrong, you could apologize to Thiri and Khaing Min. I can come, keep them honest. Keep [i]you[/i] honest.”[/color] Rock looked away. [color=green]”I can’t,”[/color] he said. [color=aquamarine]”Maybe you just can’t yet.”[/color] Shenden rubbed his back. [color=aquamarine]”What if you started with something smaller, and worked your way up? Try apologizing to Scott Knight.”[/color] [color=green]”I…”[/color] Rock sighed. [color=green]”I can try.”[/color] [hider= Author’s Notes] -Another difficult chapter to write, harder than the funeral for sure, although Hound did help out a heap. It’s difficult to balance emotional storytelling, particularly with dialogue, against possible melodrama. Thankfully I’m emulating comics and manga which are famously melodramatic so it shouldn’t be a huge issue. -If second characters ever opened up and I had the energy for it (which I won’t), I think I’d be interested in pursuing the Doctor as a secondary PC. I like the idea of fleshing out the verse from the eyes of someone who has seen so much of it, even more than someone like Dusk or Rock. I also liked the idea of a Doctor that did not have a straightforward healing power, but rather something that just made him more effective as a doctor. I floated around faceclaims of all kinds, but I found that an old Jewish guy seemed right for the character and his relationship with Rock. I’m Jewish myself but practically speaking I’m a goyim who wears the hat at Hannukah, so I hope my portrayal is not too overblown. [/hider]