Felicio

A Way In

Stephanie

“I see you had an eventful night.” Peter walked in looking exhausted. That was his new look these days, ever since what happened to him had happened. He'd been quiet about the whole experience. Being his best friend, I was the only one who knew the truth. It's not like he could have kept it secret from me even if he wanted to. We've known each other since we were kids and we know each other inside out. I could tell there was something different about him when he stumbled out of the Egyptology exhibit looking dazed, but he hasn't told me how he got his powers.

I tried telling him he was an i***t but he's always been stubborn and he's filled with these ideas that he can make a difference in the world. People like us don't make a difference. We're just a part of the machine and the best we can hope for is to make enough money to have a comfortable life. Peter always says I'm too cynical and bitter for someone so young but it's the only way I know how to be. My parents showed me the true side of life from a young age, fighting and bickering and cheating on each other and never hiding anything from me.

It's a wonder I grew up to be as normal as I did.

Peter slumped into the chair next to me and yawned.

“Don't even start,” he said. We kept our voices low so that nobody could hear us. We never used the word Felicio out and about just in case. Peter was a little paranoid. People didn't care that much about our lives, although I suppose he had a right to be paranoid given the way people had reacted. Then again I don't know what he expected. Nobody was going to take kindly to someone dressing up in a black suit and wandering around accosting random people in the street, even if they were guilty of crimes. I wasn't about to have that discussion with him again though. We'd done that enough when he started this. He was going to do it whether I liked it or not so it was best that I helped him try to not get killed. It was good for him to have someone to talk to as well.

“Did you manage to do the assignment for today?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Peter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“In all the confusion I forgot. I've had a lot on my mind.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“Not here,” he said, his eyes darting furtively around the room. Class went quickly. Mr. Murdoch was annoyed at Peter again but I think he was getting used to Peter's nonchalance in class. It was a shame. Peter was so smart but it was all going to waste as Felicio was taking up so much of his time and energy. When it started I thought it was just going to be a hobby. So much for that. Felicio. The name sounded absurd. Feh-lee-see-oh. He said he wanted something that sounded feline but, well, once he has his mind set on something it's very hard to sway him.

After class we grabbed a coffee, Peter got his customary hot chocolate (he was lucky he got his physique enhanced because the amount of hot chocolates he drank was not healthy at all) then we went to our regular area at the top of the college, nice and secluded. From here we could see the majority of the campus, and all the people looked like ants.

“It was horrible. I was standing there, so close to her, and she just fell back. I'll never forget the expression on her face. She was so calm, like this was everything she wanted from life. I had to watch her fall all that way and I couldn't do anything. I've never felt so helpless,” he said, evidently haunted by the experience. It was difficult to know what to say. I can't imagine what he was going through.

“She didn't say anything?”

“Nothing that mattered. I went there again this morning to see if I could find out anything...as myself. Detective Lang was there.”

“Your favorite person.”

“He's just trying to do his job. I don't think he knew much either. I hope one day he can see what I'm trying to do.”

“I guess there's nothing much you can do about it now. You can't save everyone.”

“Yes I can,” he said. His blue eyes were steel and he said it in a way that unnerved me. I knew Peter better than I knew myself but there were times when he could still surprise me. There was an intensity to him now that wasn't there before. His experience as Felicio was changing him. Sometimes I worried so much that he would lose himself to this other identity, that his mind would split into two separate selves. It was my job to make sure that it didn't happen. In so many ways he was superior to his old self. He was stronger, fitter, more agile, his senses were keener and he was able to focus more as well. In almost every way he was better, but he wasn't any happier. Felicio seemed like a curse as much as it was a gift, and I just hoped that Peter wasn't going to let it get out of hand. I decided not to argue with him. He was hurting, and he was probably feeling a lot of pressure given the fact that he was now subject to a manhunt as well. Well, Felicio was. Sometimes it was so confusing differentiating between the two. Was there any difference? Even Peter wasn't sure.

“What's the next step?” I asked, trying to get his mind away from dwelling too much on everything that had gone wrong.

“I need to get into the research facility run by her parents. It's the only lead I have.”

“Peter, what if this is just a suicide? I mean, what if she was just unhappy? I don't want to make light of her death because it is a tragedy but we're not mind-readers. Nobody knew what was going on in her mind when she killed herself, and if she didn't leave a note or anything then nobody is going to find out. Sometimes I think you're going to have to let these things go. Just because she's the Shaw's daughter doesn't mean there's some grand conspiracy. She might have just been unhappy. Maybe it's better to let her rest in peace.”

“You didn't see her Steph. There's more to this, I just know it. I know this is all still new to me but I have this instinct, this gut feeling. I just know when something is wrong and this has wrong written all over it. I need to get to the truth for her sake. I can't explain why I feel this way, I just do, and you're just going to have to trust me.”

“Okay, whatever you need,” I said. Sometimes it was hard being his friend, but I would do whatever was necessary. I'd been there from the beginning of this journey and I'd be there until the end. I'd helped him learn how to use his abilities, I'd helped him make the suit, and now I'd help him with this.

I had class soon after so I had to tell Peter not to do anything too rash. I really hoped he would be okay.

I found it difficult to concentrate through class and when Mrs. Drew called me to stay back I thought I was going to be told off. I was surprised.

“Stephanie, there's an opportunity being presented that I think would be quite suitable for you. The Shaw research facility is offering an internship program and I think you'd be ideal. There are a dozen places so it's quite a prestigious opportunity, and I think with your grades and your expertise you'll be accepted no problem, so if you'd like I can start the process?”

“I'd love to!” I said, but my heart was filled with trepidation as well as excitement. Peter had wanted a way into the facility. Now he had one.

*

Detective Lang

I ignored everyone around me. To them this crime scene was something out of the ordinary but to me it was just another day of work. I hated how this had become familiar. I remembered a time when I swore that I would never let myself be numb to things like this. That was long ago. Life had passed me by in a blur. Two marriages, a kid in another state that I never saw, and a whole lot of death.

And now him. The man calling himself Felicio. I never thought I'd see anything like it. Nice to know the job could still throw a few surprises at me I guess. When he first appeared I thought it was a prank but from the reports I'd seen he was the genuine article, some kinda freak who could do inhuman things. Better to stay away from him even though I wanted to see him in cuffs. This whole affair sickened me as well. It was one thing to break the law but another to withhold information. If this Felicio knew anything then he should have come forward, even if it meant he'd be detained. Some people were calling Felicio a hero. To me he was anything but.

There was nothing on the ground that told me anything knew. I had to get up to the roof. The elevator ascended swiftly and soon I felt the cool air swirl around me. I walked to the edge and looked down. A lot of people thought those who killed themselves were cowards. In my mind it took a damned brave person to throw themselves off something this high. I shuddered as I looked down, wondering what that girl had been thinking about as she was falling.

I strode around the roof, trying to put myself up there as it all happened. I imagined Felicio standing there with the girl. Everything else was a mystery. So far he hadn't killed anyone so if this was his doing then it was out of character, but there was so little I knew about him it was difficult to know what was normal for him. He'd come out of nowhere, wearing a mask and that full body suit. There had been no clues about his true identity, although there was much speculation. Some of the rumors made me laugh. Some of them even said that it was me. I wish that I could move as quickly as him, or had enough time. I barely had enough time to feed myself.

No, if Felicio was the future then the world really was changing and it wasn't a place for me anymore. How could I keep up with a man who could leap across rooftops and disappear into the night, evading all our security cameras? He had the entire police force after him and none of us were close to finding him. Experience counted for a lot in this game but I was beginning to think it was a game for the young. Maybe it was time I started thinking about retirement...ha, there was no way I could retire. What else was I going to do with my life?

I walked up to the edge of the roof and looked out over the city. I tried to put myself in Felicio's mind. What did he see when he looked over the horizon? Were we people to be protected or ants to be trampled?