Guilt lies heavy on a burdened head ... - Part 3

Aunt Mary was happy that Caitlyn had made it home early the night before and that they had eaten dinner together. Caitlyn could find her own happiness in that. Since the day Black Staff had died, since Caitlyn had got the suit, her life had become complicated and chaotic. Staying out late, returning to her Aunt's apartment and going straight to her room to hide the bruises that the suit would heal by morning. Caitlyn had noticed the concerned edge that had entered Aunt Mary's voice, but she never accused Caitlyn of anything. Only worried.

Well, after tonight, if Alaina could get what she said she could get, which Caitlyn doubted, she wouldn't have to worry about any of that. Things should, hypothetically, return to normal. Or as close to normal that any teenage girl's life could be. Especially when that teenager had a friend like Alaina. So, far from normal, but nearly as far from normal as having a nano-liquid superhero suit inhabiting her.

School was school. The epitome of normal. Normal-ish. What with the ongoing repairs and the use of temporary classrooms. Everything normal. As normal as normal could be and Caitlyn would keep saying that to herself until it actually was, you know, normal. Which, with Rayna Alden standing in front of her, was not going to happen any time soon.

"I'm so sorry my father cancelled your internship. That must have come as a shock." Rayna tilted her head and turned down the corners of her mouth to advertise just how sorry she was and Caitlyn made some noise she didn't quite recognise in response. "I don't know why he said it was to do with costs. From what I've seen, the company is in good health. Great health, actually. I don't know. Maybe he just decided to go with older candidates? Someone closer to the age where they can transition to full-time work if things go well. Still, he could have been honest with you, right? Give him a few days. Maybe he'll change his mind. I hope he does, but he's not quite himself since the ... ahem ... well, since a few days ago."

"Uh." Caitlyn looked around, searching for Alaina, but she knew her best friend had already called in sick with 'period pains'.

She didn't know what to do. Up to now, Rayna had showed no interest in talking with anyone. Even Alaina had failed to get a decent conversation from her and that was, to put it mildly, impossible. Alaina had once struck up a conversation with a Secret Service guy that was in the detail for some political person, Alaina never bothered to ask who it was, and those Secret Service guys were notorious for their stoic natures and strict adherence to duty. Alaina had made him laugh and talk about the New Hastings Arrows football team. She was that good.

Yet, with Rayna Alden, she had struck out. Now Rayna talked to Caitlyn, the least interesting or talkative of the two friends. She curled her fingers around the strap of her bag as Rayna looked at her, as though expecting an answer, but she hadn't asked anything. At least, no question that Caitlyn thought Rayna expected an answer for. It didn't help that, up close, Rayna's complexion looked even more perfect, with only the tiniest, scarce layer of product.

"But, you see, I think there's more to it because, before, he was all, like, 'You should get to know Caitlyn Carter. She will be a good influence on you'." Rayna lowered her voice to a deep growl that didn't sound anything like her father, puffing out her chest and stomping her feet. "But now, he's all, 'You stay away from that girl!' and, of course, that means I absolutely have to get to know you better. And don't worry, I'm not expecting to become besties. I know that spot's already taken, but, you know, maybe we could hang out?"

"Uh." That was a question. A very definite question and Caitlyn answered in the only way she could. She shrugged.

"Great! Oh, this will really piss my father off!" She leaned in, clutching Caitlyn's arm and kissed her cheek before standing up straight again and digging into her bag for her phone. "Number swap! I could have just got yours from father's work, but that would be a little creepy, right? Number swap?"

"I, uh, lost my phone." She had asked Aunt Mary for a new one and the tiny, almost imperceptible look of disappointment had stopped Caitlyn from chasing it up. "I'll get a new one. Soon. Kind of soon? It might be a while."

"Lost your phone?" Rayna licked her lips and scraped her teeth against the bottom lip in thought. She gave a little nod and a strange, lingering look. "That must suck! I guess we'll have to go medieval. Here, I'll give you my cell, home number and the extra-super-special line at Ald-Tech that is only for me. You'll catch me on one of them. Meanwhile, school waits for no woman! Education. What is it good for, right?"

While she had continued talking, in that rapid-fire, rat-a-tat-tat fashion, Rayna had already found a pen and some paper, wrote several numbers on it, folded it and placed a lipsticked kiss on the outside before handing it to Caitlyn. That was unexpected. And so was the accompanying wink. Not a friendly wink, like the one Trooper Jane had given her, but a more, could she say, intimate wink? No. That was unlikely. Wasn't it?

-+-

Later that day ...

Rayna had spoken to her a few more times during the day and Caitlyn had progressed from guttural grunts, to stunted half-sentences, to trying, and failing, to make jokes. Progress! It seemed like Alaina wasn't the only one who could make friends, which made the decision she had come to all the more important. She was doing it for Rayna, after all. If not for Caitlyn, and the suit, and her stupid fall into playing at being a super-hero, Rayna wouldn't have come so close to dying.

Now, back in that abandoned, half-constructed building, she would bring an end to that silliness before it could make things worse. Before someone died because of her. It was still early, plenty of time to get this done and be home to do her homework and eat Aunt Mary's world-renowned casserole. Well, maybe not world-renowned, but renowned by Caitlyn, at least.

From across the open floor of the building, Caitlyn heard an intermittent squeak. At first, she tensed up, but then Alaina appeared, tugging along a little red pull truck and, on that truck, sat a metal tube. As Alaina neared, Caitlyn could see the hazardous waste stickers on the side of the tube. She had said she could do it and Caitlyn wondered how she could ever think Alaina couldn't.

"How the hell did you get this?" As Alaina came to a stop, Caitlyn unscrewed the lid, taking a sniff inside. It smelled clean. More than clean. It smelled of industrial grade disinfectant. "Seriously. How the hell?"

"I know a guy. Forget about it." Alaina waved a dismissive hand. "Look, Larry, my cousin, you know Larry, right? Well, he knows a guy, and when I say 'knows him', I mean 'knows him', who works for this big pharma company. So, anyway, long story short, they won't miss it. It should hold pretty much anything."

"Right." It sounded completely illegal. Illegal, but necessary. "Well, there's no point on wasting any time. Here goes nothing."

"Wait!" Alaina grabbed the lid from Caitlyn, holding it to her chest. "Are you sure about this? Once you've done it, there's no turning back. I take this to Larry's 'good friend' and that suit gets incinerated. Like, totally burned until there's nothing left. I mean, Caitlyn, you're a superhero!"

"A superhero doesn't almost get people killed. I ..." Her mind flashed back to seeing Rayna smiling earlier in the day. "I couldn't live with that. I have to do this."

Alaina didn't say anything else. She wasn't the type to drag things out like that. Instead, she gave Caitlyn a nod and stood to the side, holding the lid ready to return to the hazardous waste container. Caitlyn took a deep breath. She had thought about this. About how the suit appeared to listen to her thoughts, reacted to what she wanted. What she wanted now, was for the suit to leave her. She held her hand over the opening on top of the container and concentrated.

She felt it moving. Her eyes closed, she imagined the suit sloughing along her arm, falling into the container, leaving her body and, as she opened her eyes, she saw the suit covering her body, but it was doing what she asked. It flowed along her body, collecting in a large, thick mass upon her arm, pausing before it dripped into the tube.

The tube disappeared from between Caitlyn and Alaina, a concussive boom following it as it tumbled away, the little red pull truck bouncing along with it. Caitlyn found herself falling backward and her first thought was for Alaina, but Alaina had fallen the other way, laid on the floor, her back to Caitlyn. The suit had returned to Caitlyn's body in an instant.

"Ah, ah, aah!" The voice sounded strange, high-pitched, inhuman. A cackling laugh reverberated around the few completed structures of the abandoned building. "Not yet, Caitlyn. Not yet."

-+-

Ald-Tech headquarters ...

Stanley Ditko had heard the news from someone at the weapons lab outside the city as soon as the incident had occurred and now it fell to him to inform Raymond Alden. He didn't relish it, giving such bad news to one of the most powerful businessmen in the world, but, if nothing else, Raymond Alden was not one for shooting the messenger. Alden expected the best out of everyone, both in business and in manners. None more so than from himself.

The entry and exit logs had shown that Alden had not left the building and Stanley could see the lights in the room through the milky privacy glass. Alden often spent time in his office at hours far later than this. He knocked on the door and moved to enter after only a second's wait. No standing on too much ceremony at this company.

"Mr Alden, sir, there are reports of an incident at weapons lab twelve. Apparently, there's been a break-in. No-one has been hurt, but several experimental ..." Stanley pushed his glasses up his nose. Alden's chair sat empty. "Sir?"

He edged a little further inside, but Alden was nowhere in sight. The only sign that he had been there was the half-full tumbler of whiskey on the desk and Alden's computer still on, the latest financial reports on the screen. Wherever Raymond Alden had gone, he'd done so in a hurry.

-+-

The grinning figure stood upon a hovering platform, four thin wings fluttering, keeping the platform on the air. It looked familiar, after a fashion. The figure wasn't wearing a mask. At least it didn't look like a mask, but the features were hardly human. Bulging yellow eyes, fierce looking eyebrows, a mouth so wide, it didn't look human and with gleaming, sharp teeth behind thin lips. The skin looked grey and scaled, like an alligator, or a shark, or something, and the only clothing they wore was a deep purple leotard and a satchel bag hooked over their elongated, bald head. The screeching, cackling laugh chilled Caitlyn to the bones.

"You're not getting off that easy, Caitlyn Carter. Not that easy at all." The figure hovered higher, feet spread wide on the platform. "You don't get to quit until I say so. Not until I've ruined every last part of your pathetic little life. Then, and only then, will you die by my hand."

"Who are you?" Not that they would answer, of course, but Caitlyn needed time to move away from Alaina. This person, this villain, knew who Caitlyn was! "Why are you doing this?"

"Hush now, dear. I am a Fiend of your own making and I'll make you regret the day you ever put on that suit." The grinning, evil face turned, but its bulging eyes remained on Caitlyn. Right until the end. "Starting with taking your best friend from you. Say goodnight, Gracie!"

The Fiend moved fast. So fast, Caitlyn could hardly keep up. Their hand dug into the satchel and pulled out something round, gunmetal grey, with something that looked like a button on the top. A button the Fiend pressed before tossing it toward the unconscious form of Alaina, cackling and laughing as it looped away on their platform. A grenade!