Conscious, Conscientious

"Burn this into your memory, Pang: if anybody gets in the way of your survival…their lives don't matter anymore."

"Okay, Daddy."

~~~

Pang's eyes drifted open. Finding her body cradled within lavender cushions underneath a weightless blanket, she thought she may as well have been floating. The morning light shone in to greet her from the wide windows behind the TV, which had been switched off at some point.

As she sat up, she immediately found her mind sharper than yesterday. Her muscles worked with just as much ease; the effects from the lab must have finally worn off after her apparently deep rest.

When Pang noticed she was turning to look behind herself, she realized a sound must have stirred her awake.

"Morning, sleepyhead. You snore a bit, you know that?"

Irma stood near the apartment door in a clean new outfit, her multicolored hair still damp from a shower. Her clothes were just as neon and athletic as before, but now she carried a small purse at her hip.

Pang tried not to envy her form, which Irma was clearly confident showing off. But her eyes lingered on those long legs.

Even though they were artificial, now that they were reattached there was no way to tell.

"I'm glad you're up. Now you don't have to bother with that letter I left on the fridge," Irma said. "I have a bunch of boring stuff to do this morning, so I won't be around. And you've got a busy day, too."

"Yeah? Says who?" wondered Pang.

"Proscious. Your new organization. Didn't we go over this?"

Irma checked her purse for something, and slid her feet over to the kitchen when she couldn't find it.

"They have more tests to do on you," she elaborated.

"Tell them I'm calling out sick."

Irma placed her hands on her hips. "Listen, I convinced the uppers–our bosses– that you'd play nice from now on since I was nice to you," she pressed. "That wasn't easy, so I suggest you try to cooperate. Don't screw it up for yourself."

Pang pouted, already predicting the discomfort and delirium she was about to subject herself to in that lab. Plus, the amount of credit Irma was paying herself made her want to puke.

But she knew she had to listen.

Though she never asked for Irma's help, at least it got her here: in a cozy environment where she could probe for all the information she wanted. All she had to do was keep playing along, and Irma's generosity would lead to her own downfall.

At least she's not waiting for a 'thank you,' Pang figured. She's not getting one.

This wasn't where she belonged.

Phillip's murmuring voice wasn't here to wish her good morning. She couldn't reach for her TeamTrack to remind Skrili of an old joke or pick on Deon.

Her life was stolen.

Pang's glare burned through Irma as she watched her walk obliviously back to the door.

You're all going up in flames, Pang swore.

"Alright whatever, where do I have to go?" she inquired aloud.

"The same building you escaped from. Just head back that way and look for the one with the windows you smashed up."

Pang tried to hold back her menacing smirk of pride. "Got it," she said.

"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I put a towel and some clothes out for you next to the shower," Irma told her. "I'll take you shopping for more clothes later. Oh–that reminds me…"

She retrieved a notepad from her purse and scribbled something. Within a moment, Pang found herself observing rough directions in bubbly letters.

"What's this?"

"Where we all meet for lunch," Irma explained. "The food court's on the second floor. Meet us there on your lunchbreak!"

Yesterday I'm a lab rat, and today I get a lunchbreak…? Pang thought.

"Okay…but who's we?"

"The rest of our team!" Irma said, checking her watch. "Alright, gotta go. Can't wait to see you at lunch, Pang!"

The way Irma's pink and yellow eyes lit up with her smile repelled Pang's scowl a bit. It was too genuine not to feel.

In fact, it was an energy Pang recognized in herself: the same eager friendliness she'd felt towards Skrili and Phillip when their teams first started.

Pang blocked it out before her heart could soften even the slightest bit.

"Sure. See ya."

Irma departed, and the apartment door closed.

At last, Pang was alone. The notion of sheer freedom befalling her nearly compelled her kick through Irma's window and take another break for it.

But she had to play the slow game.

This sketchy campus was too powerful for her, thanks largely to her new roommate…

…for now.

Fueled by the thought of gathering more details to feed her escape, plus the faith that Phillip and the others were on their way, Pang convinced herself to stand up. A dreadful day awaited.

She tried to guess what was supposed to be happening right now. Perhaps today she and Phillip would have been leaving the Conscious Conference to travel to their first Conscious Competition together. But she had no real idea how many days had passed.

Between the Fiction Country woods and the lab, everything had blended into a haze.

Pang forced herself not to dwell on it as she located and entered the fruit-scented bathroom. Any thoughts that couldn't help her situation now were only a waste of energy.

The steam from the shower reminded Pang of her injuries, the water stinging each cut and scrape awake. But afterwards she discovered a box of bandages beside her change of clothes–Irma must have left them out for her.

The gesture turned Pang's stomach. Instead of fighting her primary enemy, she was sharing her shower, nursing her wounds with her bandages, and now, about to dress in her clothes.

She had a lot of ground to cover.

The outfit was cute enough, but certainly too frilly for her taste. She was pretty sure the pink blouse was, in Irma's size, a belly shirt. But it reached down nearly to her waist.

Pulling up the leggings until she could finally see her ankles, Pang nearly cursed her small size–but she'd always known better than that. As her father drilled into her: smallness was her crucial first weapon in any scenario.

Nobody would expect such power and tenacity from someone so little.

Now that her mind was clear and her body strong again, Proscious had no clue what sort of monster they'd just set free in their cage.

But they were going to find out soon.

Though she barely filled these clothes, Pang exited the bathroom with nothing but confidence. She stopped by the kitchen to down a banana and then rolled her shoulders.

Let's get these 'tests' over with…she decided.

~

"We'll see you back here after lunch, then. Enjoy your break."

"Uh…sure. You too, I guess."

The second Pang exited the lab room, she heard a chorus of sighs behind her.

"Wow. Irma must have really whipped her into shape…"

"Scary…but good for us."

She rolled her eyes, the workers' relieved conversation fading behind her when the door slid closed. The lab personnel had tried to remain level-headed all morning, but Pang could tell they were holding their breath the whole time.

Something about the dozen armed guards in black armor they'd assigned to watch her every move gave it away.

Pang congratulated herself as she retraced her steps from this morning to exit the facility. She'd managed to keep her cool the whole time, and as a result, these tests were much less taxing. In fact, she'd spent most of her time just sitting there in the container while they collected data with wires and lights.

More than anything else, it was a bore. She noticed the green-haired lady with wooden-framed glasses was absent this time, and seemingly as a result, the lab workers were much less conversational. In her place, Pang ended up fishing for chances to see what she could learn.

Any questions she had were met with tight lips, however, so she was grateful she had Irma to spill the beans–or, most of them, at least.

All of this nerdy crap just to copy my powers into someone else? she contemplated. How about they just work for it and get good themselves?

The open air met her face as she stepped outside the facility from the front entrance. Hearing a series of clanking and buzzing, she looked high up to find workers replacing the windows she'd destroyed.

I guess there's a shortage of good Imaginers around here, Pang figured, remembering how minimal the Imaginer guard's techniques were yesterday.

From the ground, the drop looked even more deadly than she'd realized in the moment.

Man, I amaze myself sometimes…she thought.

Resuming her walk, she noted how the sky above's empty white color matched that of the abyss surrounding the campus. It seemed more like endless nothingness than a proper sky, as if this place was suspended in oblivion.

But if these Proscious people came and went, there had to be some way out. Once she could surpass Irma and Benton, figuring that out came next.

Irma's neat handwritten directions were informative enough, and after passing several smooth streets of office buildings and busy people, she reached the location of her unwanted lunch date.

"Evil Island has a mall, huh?" she noted out loud, earning a glare from a passerby.

Almost blending into the spacious, gridded layout of this city, a particularly long building waited before her. Its many windows were larger than the testing facility's, and through them Pang observed an array of shops with clothes and devices on display.

Second floor, she remembered.

Her stomach groaned. Apparently, sitting strapped up to a bunch of data systems worked up more of an appetite than she'd expected. Maybe lunch would be worthwhile, after all.

Despite existing in a hidden illegal base, nothing odd stood out on the inside of the mall. It even featured an outlet selling devices clearly meant to mimic TeamTracks. If not for the circumstances, Pang could see herself shopping here.

Once she ascended to the second floor, her nose guided her successfully to the food court. None of the options looked familiar. However, many were obvious knockoffs of places she'd seen at Gloat Stadium and Conscious City.

Towards the far end of the bustling seating area, she spotted big white sunglasses atop a head of multicolored hair. But beside her, barely fitting in his seat, was a bald gray man.

Benton.

Aw, come on…this guy's on the team? she lamented. She'd suspected it, considering he helped Irma kidnap her, but she'd hoped that was a coincidence.

That made two people that could finish her in a blink with whom she'd be spending all her days.

Yeah…screw this.

The thought crossed her mind to sneak over to a nearby food option and hurry out with a meal to go. But there was a glaring problem:

No money.

Wait, what am I thinking?

Pang straightened her back and began her stride towards the table.

I don't wimp out for anything.

"She made it!"

Irma was the first to notice her. Pang reached the table covered in food and stood wordlessly at the end of it, her stare shifting between the two of them.

"Howdy. Uh…remember me?" Benton tried, his mighty hand raised in an awkward wave.

Pang let her stare linger on this living headache of a person for one more moment before speaking. "I'll hang out, but only if this creep swears not to screw with my mind."

"Yeah…she remembers me, alright…" Benton sulked. “Hey, sorry ‘bout all that before. Just doin’ my job…”

Pang ignored his words, but her glare only broke once she realized there was a third member sitting across from them. She'd been so still Pang's thoughts must have registered her as a statue.

Oh…it's her. That weird chick.

The blue-green hair with overgrown bangs hiding her face was unmistakable. This was the young woman she'd first awoken to in the lab, finding her concealed face inches from her own. Until now, Pang had convinced herself that was just a weird dream.

The girl's sleeve-covered hands had been pressed up against the glass.

What did she want back then?

Even now, when the girl's head turned to face her like an apparition, she appeared transfixed.

"Hey…do you guys already know each other, or something?" Irma wondered.

Pang blinked, breaking free. "Uh…not exactly…"

Irma shrugged and pulled herself up. "Well anyway, let's get you some food!"

"Take the lil' missy to the barbecue place," Benton suggested.

"Ew, no. I'm getting her sushi. Right, Pang?"

She didn't bother confirming, because Irma already had her hand and was guiding her away with sparkling eyes.

They returned with food in hand much later than Pang would have liked, having endured Irma's thorough lecture on the history of proper Normal Country sushi all the way to the restaurant and back. Pang observed the available chairs, and sat decidedly next to the quiet young woman.

After all, she was the only one who hadn't kidnapped her yet. Though the bar was low, that made her Pang's favorite.

"So Aoi, this is Pang. She's our new teammate," Irma introduced. "Pang, Aoi."

Pang motioned to shake her hand, but Aoi sat blankly.

"Shake Pang's hand," Irma commanded.

On cue, Aoi stirred. Her sleeve fell back to reveal nearly white pale skin and black fingernails. Her hand felt soft in Pang's, but it was ice cold and trembling.

Pang's eyebrows furrowed. She leaned close to Aoi's ear.

"Hey, these crazies kidnap you, too? If you're scared, nod twice," Pang whispered. "Maybe we can team up to bust out of here."

She may as well have said nothing. When their hands released, Aoi's simply fell like a doll's.

Pang's eyebrow twitched. She turned towards Irma and Benton, thumb pointed at her mute new teammate.

"Uh…is she, like, okay?"

"Physically: yes," Irma said.

"Mentally: no idea," added Benton.

Shouldn't that be something they should be concerned about…? Pang's mind spun.

"She's weird, but she's our cute Aoi," said Irma. "Right?"

Aoi nodded once.

"Depending on how your tests go, she's the one they're gonna copy your powers into first," Irma added.

"They're gonna make her into a Manipulator?"

"Not exactly," Benton said. "That's how it works for the rest of us, but Aoi's kinda special. They give her a lot of the powers we bring here, and she's the only one whose body can take it all. But it don't come out exactly like it goes in. Never knew why."

"You'll see what we mean," promised Irma. "After all your lab stuff is over with, you'll start working with us."

Working with you to force people to share their powers with normies? Pang doubted. As if.

But a part of Benton's explanation stuck out to her:

"Wait…then you guys have hand-me-down powers, too," she realized.

"Most of us fighters here do," said Benton. "Dampener and Hypnotizer were the ones that worked on me. Hurt like a brick. I was born a Withstander, though, so I still got that, too."

Pang’s surprise must have shown on her face, because her expression fed more enthusiasm into Benton. He leaned forward, a chicken wing dangling in his finger.

"If you like that, well Irma here ain't even a consciousness," he said. "But they were able to give her Thoughtfeeder, Substitutor, Illusionist, and Dampener–that's more than anyone in Proscious besides Aoi. And now she's an expert in all of 'em."

Irma played with her food and took a long bite, her dismissive gaze off into empty space.

"She won't tell ya, but the kid's brilliant," Benton added.

"Kid?" Irma pressed, taking the bait back into the conversation.

As Pang watched on, her captor-teammates seemed to tower over her even more than before. Between them alone, there were seven consciousness types sitting across from her.

And she was afraid to ask how many more were right beside her in Aoi.

These people were monsters.

But despite the insanity of it, Pang felt a devious intent fostering within from this new information. Now she knew exactly what powers Irma and Benton had; that alone was progress.

Even further than that, though, it dawned on her:

Perhaps they weren't undefeatable. Perhaps, if she was guessing right, she was much closer to beating them than she thought.

"So then…those splitting headaches you guys kept giving me…" she started carefully.

"Yep. That's what happens to Manipulators when we switch types," Irma said.

That's IT. That’s all it was!

Pang tried to hold back the glint in her eye. She mustered a smile. "Well, since we're teammates now," she said, "I guess we'd better find out how to stop that from happening whenever you switch."

With a sprightly nod, Benton rushed to finish chewing his last chicken wing. "Hey, look at that. She's already getting the right mindset," he celebrated. "I wasn't so sure about it at first, Irma, but you were right askin' them to have Pang fill the spot."

Pang's smile widened.

Idiot.

Just like that, the main obstacle keeping her at their whim was set to be removed, and they were going to help her figure out how.

Without the disabling pain they caused with their power switches, they were no worse than regular enemies.

Too easy.

"So I'm replacing someone, huh?" Pang asked. "What happened to them?"

"Finally managed to get himself killed," said Benton plainly.

Irma shook her head. "That moron."

While their words were underwhelming, the silence after them was much more telling. Pang could practically picture the history of disagreement, of frustration, with this stranger written on their suddenly sullen faces.

But that disappointment didn't appear to come from a place of resentment—rather, of love.

Even Aoi had stopped eating, her head lowering.

Benton observed his teammates for a moment. Wisdom seemed to emit from his sigh. "Alright, girls…" he started.

Irma's hand squeezed her cup, spilling juice onto the table and cutting him short.

"We should have won that," she cursed.

Benton nodded patiently. "You're right."

"From now on, this team is gonna be different. I vote no egos–we only fight together," Irma spouted, not a trace of her usual lethargy in her voice. "We told Wei that would happen someday. We told him…"

Benton's oversized hand reached up to pat her shoulder.

"It will be different, Irma. Nobody else's gotta die." He turned his head to Pang. “We’ve got your new buddy here now. It’s a fresh start.”

Pang tensed under his soft gaze. She would have preferred it was as cold as the feelings she harbored for him—for all of them. But she supposed if they didn’t hate her back, it only made tricking them easier.

Whatever happened to their friend, pretending to fill his place for a while seemed straightforward enough.

“Welcome to the group, Pang,” Benton smiled. “It’s alright if you don’t like me yet—it was a bumpy ride—but you’re with us now. So I promise we’ll treat ‘ya good.”

“Uh…thanks, gramps,” Pang managed.

I already found people who ‘treat me good,’ thank you very much, she defied in her head. And once they make it here, you’re all toast.

“Speaking of that, meet me back here after your lab stuff is done,” Irma told her. “We need to get you toiletries, whatever snacks you like, and definitely clothes—there’s a spot with fighting outfits that’ll look so cute on you.”

“Oh, boy. Just don’t let her pick up your…uh, tendencies,” Benton chimed in.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothin’, just…modesty goes a long way, is all,” Benton defended slowly, hands raised in defense. “I know how guys can be, alright? You’re a very pretty young lady, and when you’re always dressin’ all revealin’…”

“Dude, I’m thirty. We are not having this conversation.”

Pang couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony. She needed to butt in. “This is literally the first time I’ve seen you wearing a shirt, my guy.”

“SEE?! THANK YOU!”

Irma stretched over the table to exchange a high-five with her.

“HA! Pang’s on my side!” Irma cheered. “I knew we needed more girls on the team; this is gonna be amazing!”

Benton looked around the table. Finally realizing just how outnumbered he’d become, surrounded by young women, he brought a hand to his tired forehead. “Oh, brother…”

By the time Pang’s lunch break felt like it should be about over, Benton and Irma’s ‘modesty’ debate had fizzled out. Benton’s surrender came in the form of stepping away to take everyone’s empty dishes.

Pang stood, finding Aoi remaining entirely in place. She didn’t even stir when Irma got up.

“Uh…see you later,” Pang tried.

Aoi looked her way, but that was all.

“Say bye, Aoi.”

Loyally, she raised a single sleeve in a slow wave.

Alright…that was kinda cute, Pang admitted to herself.

“I think she likes you,” Irma noted. “That’s the most you’ll get from her, though. Nothing personal.”

Then why did I wake up to her staring at me all intensely? wondered Pang. I thought she was about to bust me out of there for a second.

A new potential avenue to victory opened up in her mind.

“I’ll get more out of her, just watch,” she resolved. She thought of Skrili and Phillip. “I have a pretty solid track record with this kinda thing.”

“Good luck with that,” Irma huffed.

When Pang began her way out of the food court, she noticed Irma decided to walk along with her.

“I know my way back,” Pang insisted.

But Irma simply looked behind her and remained close. She stared back until Benton acquired Aoi and they walked away in the other direction together.

“Everyone seems pretty nice—” Pang restarted.

“You don’t have to pretend when it’s just me,” Irma interrupted.

Pang’s heart skipped. “That obvious, huh?”

“Benton’s gullible. He wants to trust everyone,” Irma said tenderly. “But you’re not gonna fool me. I know you hate us. I know you still don’t want to be here, and I don’t blame you. So when it’s just us, you don’t have to act like you do. Just be you.”

Pang crossed her arms. “What, scared I’ll pull something?”

“Not really.”

“Then…you’re just that desperate to win me over to your weird cause?”

“Yeah, I am,” said Irma. “Because I know it’s all you have now.”

“That crap again—no it’s not,” Pang denied. A cocky smile grew. “Just wait. Once my friends find me—”

“Nobody’s coming for you. Nobody’s looking for any of us.”

Her words were flat. Heavy.

Pang stopped walking.

Reaching up, she seized Irma’s collar and yanked her close.

“Say that again,” she threatened. “What do you know? What do you know about what Phillip would do—what Skrili would do—to help me?”

Irma didn’t flinch, and her focused eyes didn’t blink. No sign of rage, or even annoyance, filled them.

Instead, Pang only saw sorrow.

“Apparently, a little more than you do right now,” she uttered hollowly.

Pang’s grip weakened all at once. For a split second, her vision was replaced with a ship flying away, and her hand stretched out after it.

Her hand fell from Irma’s collar. Irma softly nudged her shoulder.

“I’ll meet you back here tonight for shopping,” she said, her speech gentle. “But if you don’t want to, it’s okay. I’ll make sure they add your fingerprint to my apartment lock. See you later.”

Irma broke away. Though her pace was lazy as usual, she still left before Pang could manage to find the words to ask what she meant.

Was that just a bluff?

But as Pang’s eyes followed her still, she could hear the words echoing over and over.

Why did they seem so honest? And worse: why did they sound so broken?

Wait…what…does she know?