Chapter 12- Broken Glass
Location: Seattle (Sundown)
On top of the Space Needle, Shawn leaned back on the top of the towering colossus of architecture, taking a much needed rest from his earlier endeavours. He had fun tearing down a DUP checkpoint and helping out the Sheriff. But with the amount of energy he had already expended, the teen felt like he ran a 5k marathon. A much needed rest was well worth his time as the sun was slowly beginning to set.
As the big ball of fire slowly went down over the horizon, the Conduit pulled out something that was given to him the last time that he was here. An Akomish totem. It was a gift from a dear friend of both Shawn and his father. But to Shawn, this friend felt more important to him that they might’ve realized.
When he was only eight, he and his family went to Salmon Bay for a friendly cookout. Sheriff Douglas had invited the Kingstons to come and travel since he thought it was a good chance to have their families get together. During this time was when they met Reggie Rowe, who at the time, was considered as a Blueblood. His brother at the time, was a sophomore in high school and just absolutely was thankful for getting out of there. Despite a few other kids around his age playing games by the shore, the young Kingston at the time was very nervous and stayed as far away as possible. But then, those kids began to mess around with him, pushing him around and calling him names. Teasing him.
Then, one last push had Shawn falling into the bay. None of the children then realized two things. One, that Reggie and Delsin Rowe had seen the events play out. Two, Shawn at the time couldn’t swim. If it weren’t for the Blueblood jumping after him at the time, Shawn could have drowned. It was an act of kindness that he was ever so grateful till this day.
Shawn still remembered when Reggie gave him the token as a way to help him in the toughest of times. He even remembered when Delsin was complaining about the freezing cold evening weather and Shawn let him keep a hat he originally had at the time.
A red beanie cap.
Opening his eyes again after the brief look on the past, Shawn leaped back onto his feet. Taking a brief second, he sent a text to Celestia, saying that he was going to check on something for a moment and that he would be back in an hour. To not cause any commotion, he took what was left of his powers and landed softly onto a rooftop with a puddle of water. The Conduit drained the source and continued to move to street level, walking towards a bus stop and looking at the map. He couldn’t tell much about it since it looked like it was vandalized because of their being red spray paint across a few points that would be bridges. But Shawn remembered that the bridge from South Island to North Island was still functional. The Conduit wondered if this meant something as a bus came up and soon opened it’s doors to allow him inside.
“Hello, does this bus go to Salmon bay?”
“Yeah, in two weeks…” The driver remarked with a snarky tone. “Ever since that Augustine B*tch was here, she tried to break apart the bridges to prevent anyone from getting in and out. The North and South Island bridge is fixed, but the bridge to where you want to go is only halfway done. Even with the help of that Delsin Rowe kid.”
Wow… Apparently, he’s become the talk of the town. “How close can you get me before I go on my own?”
“Kid, do you have a death wish or something?”
“No. I have a friend I want to visit.” Shawn replied back. The Driver sighed. He told the teen to get in and make sure to pay. Shawn took out a ten dollar bill and placed it in it’s respected place. He noticed a couple of other individuals on the bus with him as it began to move. But one of them was reading a magazine and the other had a hood on, so the conduit wasn’t able to see their faces. Soon though, after ten minutes, the bus stopped.
“This is as far as I can take you kid.” The driver grunted, proceeding to turn around immediately.
“Thank you sir.” The Conduit started as he began to make his way across. What he didn’t know though was his actions caught the attention of the two individuals on the bus. Now, the individual holding the paper had it fold rapidly and form a new shape in her hands.
“Should I follow him or you?”
“You should keep an eye on him. I’ll look around the city and see if he is working with anyone you might know or recognize.”
‘Man, the driver wasn’t kidding when he said that Augustine trashed the bridge.’ Shawn thought to himself. Different segments were half submerged in water while other pieces had strands and puddles of water that formed from High Tide. Around a third of the way there, Shawn took a moment to fully drain one of these pools of water to restore his powers fully and not only a portion like back in the city. It felt good to be rejuvenated again. Like he was going at full throttle now!! And that felt amazing!!!
The only problem though sometimes was the gaps of space in between certain segments of the bridge and also the fact that one small misstep could kill him. If it weren’t for him dashing across gaps, then going across would’ve been three times harder to accomplish. He loved it when jumping across though as he enjoyed the thrill of being able to move freely. Something way different from his eight year old self all that time ago.
Once he made it across though, he found a lot of empty and abandoned cars. Possibly ditched when there was a mad dash to get across the bridge before it collapsed. He didn’t find anything valuable inside them besides a few spare bucks and some dollar bills. He took a few, but not all of them because he rather not have pickpocketing become a habit. He was on the lookout for a Road sign, not a few twenties on the ground.
He didn’t exactly find one immediately, being greeted by old DUP equipment that was trashed and blast shards that had already been drained. He also found broken concrete barriers and some other bits of junk until he found something that he came across that caught his attention. A light blue pick up truck, vintage. He noticed though that the door was unlocked and found a keyring on the ground. On it though, had something stand out.
A small police dog tag that said Reggie Rowe across the top.
‘If this was Reggie’s, then why the hell would he leave his truck out in the middle of nowhere?’ Shawn wondered. Looking at the road, the only thing that he thought was that the road would lead him to where Reggie would’ve been coming from. Setting the key on the drivers seat, he closed the door to the car and ran. The road was filled with Twists and turns as he dashed off. But as he came closer to his destination, he saw something that… in truth… startled him. The Teen was hoping to see the one who saved his life. But instead, the illusion of what he wanted to see was replaced by what was really there.
It was a Memorial… A Memorial of Reggie.
Shawn, in disbelief, went closer. His expression was different now as he noticed Bouquets of Roses and some blown out candles near the base of the the Billboard. He was in disbelief… In denial. This couldn’t be real… Was Reggie, the same man that risked his life to save his so long ago…… really gone? He dropped to his knees, tears gushing out a little as he tried to get a grip on his feelings.
“No… This can’t be…” The Teen tried to tell himself. But soon, reality caught up to him upon noticing a letter on the ground. Encased in a frame.
To a loving and caring Brother,
I’ve never really appreciated how much you’ve done to help me until it was too late. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you when I should have, but thank you for having my back every step of the way. I will continue to do the right thing and make Seattle a safer place for not just the people, but for conduits like Fetch, Eugene and I.
I love you, Brother.
Delsin.
The last part had Shawn dry up the tears from his face and remain as he got up. But something else caught his attention. Turning around he heard the sound of someone talking.
“I don’t know who you are, but I’m giving you one last chance to leave before I call the police-!!”
Shawn raised an eyebrow at the sound of the voice as he turned towards the Lodge and made his way up the hill. That’s when he saw two people. Both of them women. But the thing was. Shawn had seen both of them before. One of the women was the hooded individual on the bus. While the other was a old friend.
“Betty?”
The elderly woman was holding a stapler and reaching for a cell phone, but the hooded lady responded with shattering a glass car window and having the shards swarm around her hands.
‘Oh no!’
The glass formed small arrowheads as it broke the nearby phone to pieces and caused the elderly adult to fall backwards. But as the conduit was launching a few more projectiles at her, Shawn reacted on instinct and put himself between her and the projectiles. Quickly, Hardened Snow similar to an igloo formed around him, blocking the glass shards. Once the shield came down, Shawn stood firmly in front of the hooded conduit. It wasn’t Janus, that was for sure. The Hood was from a green cloth jacket, not a leather one.
“Leave her alone.”
“Well, aren’t you brave. Little boy.”
The voice sounded like a hissing snake, but it also seemed… familiar. When the woman took off her hood though, the look on her face made Shawn recognize immediately who it was.
“Miss, get inside.”
The elderly adult behind him nodded as she closed the door behind her. In a split second, Shawn dispersed into snow as he tried to get behind the woman. But, her hands reached the ground and a glass cocoon formed around her, causing Shawn to his broken glass and make his hands bleed. What he didn’t notice though was the blast of shards that followed and sent him flying back a few feet.
“Damn it.” Shawn cursed as he spat a bit of blood that was in his mouth. “I expected tricks coming from you, but nothing like that.”
“Oh? So you know me?”
“Quite. You don’t know that here, you have quite a reputation… Chrysalis.”
“That’s Queen chrysalis to you.”
“A queen that failed.” The Snow Conduit snickered.
“SHUT UP!!!” The Queen yelled, forming two spinning buzzsaws around her and chucking them at him. Shawn realized though, that the attack was a lot like Frieza’s Death Slicer attack since the sawblades chased him after he originally dodged it. The Two saw struck him around the chest, but didn’t cause him to lose focus as he charged some energy inside his hands.
“Try all you like, Snow boy!! That isn’t going to work on me.”
“Heh… You seem to forget one thing…” Shawn said, grabbing a stone on the ground and channeling his energy around it.
“That at one point…”
WHOOSH!!
“...Glass can always break.”
The teen was quite right. Especially since the stone he shot at her had enough force to break through her defensive cocoon. But the teen himself was in a bad situation. Almost half of his energy was expended and he was getting torn apart here by a Glass Conjuring Chrysalis.
“Why you little-!!! Do you WANT to die!?!”
Before the queen could do anything though, scraps of paper began to form around her. Shawn thought for a minute that the evening breeze was kicking up and blowing in any trash and paper from the harbor. But he soon shut himself up on that thought when a new figure stood in between the two of them.
A girl with a paper mask. A mask of a Rabbit.
“Hunh?”
The girl said nothing at first. But as she turned towards Shawn, he could only hear the girl say one word.
Yukianesa
Before the Snow Conduit could even react, a swarm of paper formed around both herself and Chrysalis. In the Vortex, Shawn saw moving origami of butterflies and doves flow with the wind. The only thing that was left behind was a piece of Origami on the street.
“A Paper dove? Really?”
Taking the dove, Shawn pocketed it inside his pocket as he walked back towards the lodge of the Akomish that was nearby. The door slowly opened and Betty stepped out.
“O-oh my… Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Are you okay, Betty?”
The voice along with the fact that the teen knew her name soon gave Betty the surprise of her life. “S-shawn? Dear, is that you?”
The Conduit nodded, hugging her. “Yes, it’s me…”
The two of them took some time to talk. From there, Shawn began to explain everything from how he obtained his powers to what had occurred since they had last seen each other. Betty herself had told Shawn about how Delsin got his powers originally from a two faced redneck named Hank, but also what happened back with Augustine. From there, she explained every piece of Delsin’s adventure three months ago in order to save the tribe. Not only that, but soon afterward, he made sure to keep a promise to his brother and constructed the self made memorial for Reggie.
Hearing how Reggie died made Shawn feel hurt at first, but soon, he was able to come to grasp with everything. He had received Christmas cards from them for the past few years and letters saying about their times in this city. In a way, Shawn felt like he lost a family member more than a friend.
Through this though, he also learned something important and in a way, could relate to his encounter earlier. Emotions were like Glass. They could break under pressure if not kept in check. Chrysalis was a prime example of that. Her anger, jealousy and rage fueled her fury when she fought him, but also caused her to become overconfident. In a way, too overconfident. Just like the way he remembered it in the season 2 finale.
Before he left to return to the city though, he left one final thing behind at the memorial. The totem that Reggie had given him originally, but now, it had a ribbon that had a simple message.
Thank you for motivating me to become the person that I am.
-Shawn Kingston, Your Friend
Location: San Diego
Ever since Augustine got back into the DUP, the conduit realized that she had a LOT to catch up on. Almost three months worth. But to her surprise, she was caught off guard by the changes that were made in Seattle. Her old stomping grounds. What she feared would happen to the conduits she couldn’t protect was non existent. Instead, Conduits and Humans co existed with one another. It was only a month ago that the DUP had returned to Seattle, but Augustine saw the changes that were made in the city that made the place seem… better.
But as she turned on the TV in her office to hear the World News, one of the headlines from the News Report caught her attention.
“Earlier today, Seattle and members of the DUP got a big surprise today as a new Conduit appeared today in the north island of Seattle’s market district. A cell phone video caught the individual in action as he protected a few individuals from some Soldiers of the DUP and defeated them with powers of Ice and Snow. Many people are calling this individual “The Snow Angel” after the display he put on today, but only time will tell whether or not he is here to help the people here or hurt them.”
Shortly after though, Augustine shut off the TV. A new conduit? With snow based powers? This to her, was very intriguing. But her train of thought was interrupted when Breaker knocked on the door to her office.
“Ms. Augustine? Can I come in?”
“Please. None of the formalities… Just call me Brook or Augustine, Mr. Breaker.”
The Metal conduit nodded as he stepped in. “There’s an assignment for you that I picked up that you might be possibly interested in. There was a Bioterrorist found in Portland; Oregon that some of our forces believe that she’s either insane, mentally ill or flat out crazy. Roman thinks that since you have a way with these individuals that you can be able to calm her down and be able to talk to her.”
Augustine sighed. It had been only hours after being on bail and now she was being put to work? God, can she never catch a break. “Where are they holding her?”
“Cell thirty two in the Containment wing.”
“I’ll go now. But can you do me a favor while I’m gone?”
“Of course,” Robert replied. “What can I do to help?”
“There’s been some reports in the media about a conduit called “The Snow Angel” up in Seattle. Can you collect any information that you find on them and put it on my desk for when I get back?”
“Certainly.”
With that, Augustine left the office and made her way towards the containment cell that Breaker had told her. Upon arrival, something told her that this might be a long conversation. especially with the amount of yelling she heard. The conduit she found was a girl, looked to be about nineteen years old, Silver hair, blue hoodie and jeans, all covered by a DUP jumpsuit. She had a patch on her clothes that either looked like a moon and a wand or something else. But most importantly, this girl seemed angry. Almost reminded Augustine of Fetch when she brought in her brother’s “boss” and allowed her to get revenge for her brother.
The Concrete Conjurer stepped inside. Sitting across from this girl as she began to speak. “Thank you for being patient. I am not here to harm you. I just want to talk.”
The comment was met with silence, but with an expression of mixed feelings.
Augustine sighed. “Tell me, what is your name?”
This time, she got an answer. “Trixie. Trixie Lulamoon.”
“Ms. Lulamoon, I’m going to ask you a series of questions and I want you to be able to answer them to the best of your abilities. These questions are related to your whereabouts of why you were in Oregon.”
“Trixie does not know how she got here and if Trixie tells you anything, you might not believe me.”
“Ms. Lulamoon,” Brook continued. “I can assure to you that I won't judge what you say or tell me. I’ve worked with many individuals such as yourself who were frustrated, scared and were in the same position as you. Now tell me, how did you find yourself in Oregon?”
The girl in the middle of the room now sighed. “Fine. Trixie will tell you.”
End Chapter 12
