Amelia, Ch 265- Trevor
These readings are fucking insane. I went over the data from Chevalier's power, and from that unknown 'Doormaker' as well. Idly, I wondered if Cauldron had any idea how much value I was getting out of that data. Foldspace drives, maybe even a way to access new worlds without Labyrinth's help. Of course, the biggest flaw in any plan to replace her wasn't a matter of creating the gateway. That was easy, we did it every time we shunted. The problem was trying to control what world we accessed. Or, for that matter, getting a world at all.
Near as I could tell, actual reality was an extremely small percentage of the interdimensional void. There may be nigh-infinite numbers of dimensions, but that was in the same way there were a nigh-infinite number of stars. A random portal was pretty much infinitely more likely to hit nowhere than it was to find somewhere that actually existed. It helped to not to think about that too hard. It would probably help more to be of legal drinking age.
So unless we had 'coordinates' from Labyrinth, by means of crossing the dimensional divide with scanners active, we would have no idea how to locate worlds. And thus far the pattern wasn't showing itself. But, with a sample size of only a hundred, that wasn't a surprise.
At least Mom won't be too upset about my staying at the lab. All objections went out the window when she found out I made enough in a month, just selling designs to Dragon, that I could retire to a life of luxury in a year.
I glanced at Riley, fresh out of what passed for her shower, with a new set of spray-on clothing. She was practically glowing with happiness, and not the bubbly exuberance she normally expressed, but a calm, confident sort of bliss. "Enjoy your bath, I take it?"
"Yep," she smiled dreamily.
Okay, of all the things I've seen her do, why is this the one that's weirding me out the most?
"So I have the new readings on Chevalier's power," I told her. "You were right, it does impact all dimensions at once. More than that, it transposes one reality over another. Functionally identical to Labyrinth in its nature. It's very likely they have cousin Passengers."
"Will we be able to use him in conjunction with Lily?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, no," I answered. "Maybe to create new stable portals, but not to access new dimensions."
Of everyone we've found with cousin powers to Labyrinth, she's still the only one whose can handle the process of actually finding usable realities.
"Well, drat," she complained.
"How's your work with Cão's samples, anyway?" I asked.
My specialty didn't let me work with those experiments, but of course I'd be interested in a drug that cured all disease ever. Who wouldn't?
"Poorly," she admitted. "We've confirmed there's nothing special in the saliva, itself. It works the same way as Newter's venom, because the Passenger makes it happen that way, not through any natural process. Not much different than Othala's power. We're still trying to find a way to trick it into believing the artificial samples are sourced from the host."
"So, you and Theo and Missy, huh?" I asked. It was both a change of subject and something I was curious about. She hadn't told me anything. No one had, really, and apparently I was one of the last to know.
"Yep," she said happily. "Isn't it wonderful?"
Well, I am doing a lot of wondering lately. "Sure it is," I agreed. "You're not... bothered by it?"
"Bothered by what?" she asked. "What's wrong?
She doesn't know what jealousy is, does she? I guess it makes sense that she wouldn't see relationships the same way as normal people, considering she spent half of her life under the thumb of the Slaughterhouse Nine. "No, I guess nothing's wrong. Why'd you keep it a secret, anyway?"
"Missy asked me to," she answered. "Sorry, she said we should give it a little time to see how it fit first. After all, if the experiment didn't work there was no point in explaining it to everyone."
"Can't argue with that logic," I agreed.
Step one to talking a Tinker into anything: use the word 'experiment'. "So, I assume Amelia already knew, at least? As young as you are, I think you should probably get parental permission before you can start dating. I know I'd need to ask my mom first. And she'd tell me no, that I needed to finish school and get into a good college before I even thought about getting a girlfriend."
Having me when she was sixteen had something to do with that.
"Huh," she paused. "I didn't know I was supposed to get permission, do you think she'll be mad at me?"
"Well, she didn't tell you to stop, so she can't have that much problem with it," I pointed out. "I bet it's because she trusts your boyfriend and girlfriend."
"They are pretty awesome, aren't they," she agreed.
Missy was one of the Wards that extended some trust to me, something that Clock and Kid Win never could. In a way, I was glad those two didn't. I couldn't imagine they'd have accepted Riley, which Missy and Lily had managed to do, eventually. Theo was one of the few other friends I had, alongside Emma and Zach. I didn't feel ostracized or anything by others, I trusted the whole group, but they're the ones who I enjoyed just hanging out with. "Can't disagree with you there. C'mon, they should be done getting clean now."
....
I caught the rest of the group near the shower rooms. This was a lab building, after all. It had beds, sure, but it really wasn't meant to be a permanent place to sleep. We had actual homes for that, now. Our own headquarters that could support all of us, in addition to some of us having actual places to live. No one was supposed to stay the night in the labs often, if at all. On the other hand, we were literally right next door to the HQ. This being, without question, the most important of the lab buildings.
The boys still had damp hair, and normal clothes that I had to assume were brought to them. Emma was almost surgically attached to Zach, giving him the occasional kiss. I couldn't really blame her, she'd spent the whole time he was disabled absolutely miserable. Missy was a little more shy about the PDA, but was still wrapped around Theo's arm.
I smiled, noting that Zach was about to take a drink of soda. "So, how is it that I'm gay and it's the two of you that get inside another man first?"
Zach sprayed pop out his nose, and started coughing, as everyone else jumped back from the spray. He managed to look at me before dusting. He restored to his 'new' normal, which looked a lot healthier, at least. "Dude! Not cool!"
"Sorry, I should known better than to say that in front of the girls," I apologized, still smiling. "I could see how they might be upset that their boyfriends were so close that for a while there they were actually one person." Theo's blush was so satisfying, as was Missy's attempt at suppressing her giggles.
Riley gave me a smack on the arm, and a disapproving glare. "Stop being mean."
"Now Riley," Emma smiled saccharine sweet. "I think Trevor brings up a very good point. Zach and Theo literally gave their hearts to each other. We girls need to accept that we just can't compete with that kind of intimacy."
I did my best to keep a straight face, and failed miserably.
"Oh god," Missy hammed up her fake shock and concern, complete with wide eyes and hands over her mouth. "We've been so selfish, keeping them from each other! We really should apologize. And I know exactly how!"
"Really, because I can't think of anything!" Emma joined her.
This is easily the worst acting not in an Aleph movie.
Zach buried his hands in his face. "Dear diary, today I learned that I'm a terrible, terrible influence on everyone around me."
"Well, they've had to watch us this whole time, hogging their true loves," Missy continued, ignoring Zach's comment. "So it's only fair that we're punished the same way. By watching them have a wild makeout session in front of us."
"That is a brilliant idea," Emma agreed.
"I've got a camera," I volunteered. "So... ummm... you'll have a constant reminder of your misdeeds in the future."
"You're all horrible people," Theo managed to mutter. "Zach, I want you to know I blame you for this."
"Is it too late to get Lily in here to shoot me again?" Zach asked.
Riley spoke up next. The girl was distinctly more pink than normal. "Umm, do I get, I mean have to watch, too?"
===========
A/N- But in all seriousness, this was a great chapter to write. Expect to see a bit more of Trevor now that I've managed to clear out a lot of the more attention hogging characters.
here is a song that we all know
