Chapter 35

As a general rule, Alyssa did not gasp dramatically or waifishly. It wasn’t a part of her vibe. However, seeing her friends already waiting for her at the airport, she very briefly did an immaculate impression of a 19th century countess who had just seen the ghost of her surely-dead husband. There was even a little shriek, before the two of them ran over to tackle her off her feet with only a whispered “of course we’re going with you, you idiot.”

Not to say she wasn’t deeply, intensely glad they were there, though. For one, getting on a plane wasn’t going to be an option as Alyssa. She’d talked about it with Mom, and the only way her passport was going to be accepted was if she presented as Eric again. 

Even thinking the name felt wrong, now. It had only been a few days but the old name felt like a veiled insult now, a sort of reminder of the person she had tried to be, that the world still saw her as the boy it had demanded she perform as. Having her friends there was going to help. A lot. Sure, she didn’t really want them to see her as Him again, but they knew what she’d looked like and they wouldn’t judge. 

Apparently, the company that Lauren was doing the job for had sent her two additional return tickets by accident and had also rented a two-bed hotel room adjacent to theirs, also by accident. Just a bunch of funky little accidents. So Mom had contacted the two of them, their parents had approved – “It’ll be good to have them out of the house, and I can’t imagine them getting into trouble in Iceland.” –  and that, as they say, had been that. 

Getting through customs had been uncomfortable, if only because she had to look at a small, grainy picture of herself from a few years ago a lot and nobody really enjoyed that. The biggest frustration was looking like him again, even though Amy had helped as much as she could by keeping her hair long and her skin soft. It was a small mercy, at least. It was something to hold on to.

That said, Alyssa had never been one to have huge panic attacks and here, too, she was finding it, if not exactly easy, then at least doable. It helped to pretend like she was in a spy movie, making her way through airport authority, if a little. 

There were a few moments of anxiety, though. Her mom had gone through first and would have to step through the scanner next. After a second, she felt fingers intertwine with hers, and saw Serena smile, before giving her hand a quick squeeze. Immediately after, Anthony took her other hand and nodded. 

Well. Well. 

After that, being brave was easy. Well, being brave about the airport was easy. Sitting in the same row as the other two — Reykjavik was not exactly a summer travel hotspot — was really putting her through her paces. Well, at first. Serena had never been on a plane before and the flight was a good six hours. There was only so much teasing one could comfortably do when strapped to a cushion full of farts. Amaranth had taken a nap, which had felt a bit like having a cat wrap itself around her brain keeping it and herself warm. There was a gentle vibrating feeling. 

The Reykjavik airport was small. It was quaint. It was the kind of airport you expected in a video game about farming. Maxine was already waiting for them, looking like a piece of goth crumpled paper. How, Amaranth wondered, does she manage that? We barely need to sleep, how does she look sleep deprived? Still, she was hard to overlook, with her side-shave and leather jacket. Her shirt had something rude on it, and she was holding a little sign that said “McCoy” on it. Someone had drawn a pair of wings on it in red marker.

“How was the flight?” she asked as she approached them. Serena talked excitedly about seeing the world from that high up, and then everyone gave Alyssa a little sideways glance and a chuckle. “How are you feeling?” Max asked her. 

“I’m doing okay,” she said. “Stiff. I think my stomach’s still upset from falling on a car.”

“Yeah, I’ve had my insides rearranged a couple times,” Maxine said, and then her eyes went wide. “By extreme physical trauma!” she added hastily. Serena was already cackling like a hyena. “How about you?” she said, turning to Lauren. “You look good. Have you recovered any? I know it’s been hard on you too.”

“I, oh, thank you, yes,” Alyssa’s mom said, clearly not expecting the question. Is she blushing? I think she’s blushing. Oh wow, your mom is blushing.

“Good. Victoria is at the conference center right now, but you can go see her when you’re settled in. There’s no rush, and you’re being paid on commission, not by the hour.” She smiled warmly, and Alyssa could see her mom relax a little. “You’re a guest. Please take the time to relax. This is a huge deal to Victoria, sure, but to the rest of the world? This is as low-stakes as it gets. They were talking about dark matter for a full seven hours yesterday.”

“Do you think it’d be possible to get a transcript or something?” Serena asked. Tony shot her a glance that had an implied eyebrow-raise in it. “What? I’m just interested.”

“I’m sure you could. I’m afraid I can’t tell you much though,” Maxine said as she led them out of the building. “Penny and I do our best to keep up but these people are on another level when they get going. And I like to think neither of us is stupid.”

“Hold on,” Tony said. “Penny?”

“Oh, uh,” Max said. “Yeah, I don’t know, I think I kind of assumed you would have… told them? Kids and all that?” Lauren and Alyssa both shook their heads. As far as Tony and Serena knew, this was just a work trip they got to go along on. Alyssa had been very strict with herself to not let anything about Penumbra’s secret identity slip to the others. “Ah. Okay. Look, the hotel is a twenty minute walk from here. Let’s just go and I’ll introduce you.”

Serena and Tony shrugged, leaving Alyssa and Mom to share a meaningful glance and a smile. Both of them knew Serena had a Thing for Penumbra. There were posters on her bedroom door and everything. 

The walk was less scenic than Alyssa would have expected. Mostly large road and a lot of open nothing, though Max did point out the occasional landmark, like the university. The buildings were nestled closer and closer together as Alyssa and the others were slowly shepherded to the city center, until there was finally enough room for an alley. 

“Okay,” Max said, looking around, “I was going to wait until we got to the hotel, but honestly, coming out is one of those things that doesn’t get old.” She chuckled and checked her surroundings one more time. “Okay, promise this doesn’t get out?” 

Serena and Tony both promised, and Alyssa and Lauren both did for the show of it. Maxine stood upright and stretched, and seemed to keep stretching. What had been a woman of about 5’8” seemed to elongate until she was almost seven feet tall. That’s when her eyes glaze over with a milky white film. 

A viscous dark purple liquid, like crude oil, seeped out of her pores and slowly covered her body, and quickly took on mass until in front of them stood Penumbra in all of their amazonian glory. 

“Hi,” they said. “I’m Penny.”

Serena made a noise like a text-to-speech program translating a cat on a keyboard. She stammered. She stuttered. She squeaked. She reached out and grabbed Alyssa’s hand. Alyssa had taken that moment to also bring Amy out, in part because it meant no longer being stuck in boy-mode, and in part because she wanted to stand next to her mentor as Redshift. Mom looked on and she looked… proud?

“This is happening?” Tony said. “You know I didn’t think you were real until like, a couple of months ago?” He shook his head and took a step closer, looking closely at the material. “What are you made of?”

“I’m made of me, Tony Armstrong,” Penny said with a chuckle. He puffed up a little. Alyssa suddenly got the feeling he was trying to measure up to them, compare himself to them. Despite the fact that he was a foot shorter and had to crane his neck to look them in their milky eyes, he still struck a figure. 

Every once in a while, Alyssa was reminded of the fact that, while technically still a teenager, Tony had outpaced her significantly. He looked like a whole-ass man, hands on his hips, trying to get a measure of the superhero in front of him. 

“You’ve got it bad, huh?” Serena whispered. That was the moment Amaranth decided to betray Alyssa cruelly and without remorse, retreating so her blush was well and visible. She was also fully in girl-mode again, which was absolutely an improvement. Serena, realizing what had happened, leaned in close. “Thank you, Amy. She’s really cute when she’s blushing like that.”

“What is happening?” Alyssa squeaked. 

“Bullying,” Serena said and squeezed her hand. 

“Why aren’t you focused on the Superhero you’ve had a crush on for ages?” 

“I couldn’t say.” The mysterious smile made Alyssa want to implode. 

“My mom is watching.” That was, technically speaking, not true. Lauren was looking everywhere except at her daughter being flirted with. “Tony? Help?” Alyssa said. It was, of course, the dumbest thing she could have done. 

Anthony, realizing the kind of peril she was in, immediately rushed over to make it worse, leaving Penumbra to make small talk with Mom, who didn’t seem to mind at all talking to the tall superhero. 

“Oh?” Tony said. “Are you in trouble? I thought you were a superhero.” He took a step closer and, almost as a way to reaffirm what had happened at the airport, took her other hand. “You know, Serena,” he said, “sometimes I feel like something’s come between us, you know? As friends, I mean.”

Serena looked at Aly. “I know what you mean. What do you think we should do about it?” Theatrically, she held up a finger. “I know! We should give each other a big hug! Really squeeze together, you know?”

Alyssa realized too late what was happening when the air was very slowly squeezed out of her lungs. “Why,” she gasped, “are you two not focused on Penumbra?!”

“She’s really dense, huh?” Tony said. 

“She really is,” Serena said. “Squeeze harder until her little head pops like a grape.”

“I could lift you both with one hand!” Alyssa said. I could fly you up to the roof of that building right now.”

“You better not, missy,” Lauren said, tearing herself away from Penumbra for a second. She clearly had a lot of questions, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t keeping an eye on her baby. However, she quickly turned back. 

She’s practically twirling her hair, Amy pointed out, and Alyssa would have been paying more attention if her friends weren’t still on either side of her, very close, and very smug. 

“Why?” she asked quietly. 

“Nothing,” Serena said. “Tony and I have been talking, that’s all.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes,” Tony said. “Let’s say we’re not going anywhere and make our way from there. After what that man did to you, we’re not letting you go.”

“I–” Alyssa said, and then paused. “I don’t hold it against him,” she said. “I get where he was coming from. Why he did what he did. Like, his methods were extreme but wouldn’t you? I talked to him and I’ve been thinking about a lot of things–”

Immediately, Mom and Penumbra were looming over her, like two obelisks, magically appearing out of thin air. 

“You did what?!” they said, perfectly synchronized.

Chapter 35 As a general rule, Alyssa did not gasp dramatically or waifishly. It wasn't a part of her vibe. However, seeing her friends already waiting for her at the airport, she very briefly did an immaculate impression of a 19th century countess who had just seen the ghost of her surely-dead husband. There was even a little shriek, before the two of them ran over to tackle her off her feet with only a whispered of course we're going with you, you idiot. Not to say she wasn't deeply, intensely glad they were there, though. For one, getting on a plane wasn't going to be an option as Alyssa. She'd talked about it with Mom, and the only way her passport was going to be accepted was if she presented as Eric again. Even thinking the name felt wrong, now. It had only been a few days but the old name felt like a veiled insult now, a sort of reminder of the person she had tried to be, that the world still saw her as the boy it had demanded she perform as. Having her friends there was going to help. A lot. Sure, she didn't really want them to see her as Him again, but they knew what she'd looked like and they wouldn't judge. Apparently, the company that Lauren was doing the job for had sent her two additional return tickets by accident and had also rented a two-bed hotel room adjacent to theirs, also by accident. Just a bunch of funky little accidents. So Mom had contacted the two of them, their parents had approved It'll be good to have them out of the house, and I can't imagine them getting into trouble in Iceland. and that, as they say, had been that. Getting through customs had been uncomfortable, if only because she had to look at a small, grainy picture of herself from a few years ago a lot and nobody really enjoyed that. The biggest frustration was looking like him again, even though Amy had helped as much as she could by keeping her hair long and her skin soft. It was a small mercy, at least. It was something to hold on to. That said, Alyssa had never been one to have huge panic attacks and here, too, she was finding it, if not exactly easy, then at least doable. It helped to pretend like she was in a spy movie, making her way through airport authority, if a little. There were a few moments of anxiety, though. Her mom had gone through first and would have to step through the scanner next. After a second, she felt fingers intertwine with hers, and saw Serena smile, before giving her hand a quick squeeze. Immediately after, Anthony took her other hand and nodded. Well. Well. After that, being brave was easy. Well, being brave about the airport was easy. Sitting in the same row as the other two Reykjavik was not exactly a summer travel hotspot was really putting her through her paces. Well, at first. Serena had never been on a plane before and the flight was a good six hours. There was only so much teasing one could comfortably do when strapped to a cushion full of farts. Amaranth had taken a nap, which had felt a bit like having a cat wrap itself around her brain keeping it and herself warm. There was a gentle vibrating feeling. The Reykjavik airport was small. It was quaint. It was the kind of airport you expected in a video game about farming. Maxine was already waiting for them, looking like a piece of goth crumpled paper. How, Amaranth wondered, does she manage that? We barely need to sleep, how does she look sleep deprived? Still, she was hard to overlook, with her side-shave and leather jacket. Her shirt had something rude on it, and she was holding a little sign that said McCoy on it. Someone had drawn a pair of wings on it in red marker. How was the flight? she asked as she approached them. Serena talked excitedly about seeing the world from that high up, and then everyone gave Alyssa a little sideways glance and a chuckle. How are you feeling? Max asked her. I'm doing okay, she said. Stiff. I think my stomach's still upset from falling on a car. Yeah, I've had my insides rearranged a couple times, Maxine said, and then her eyes went wide. By extreme physical trauma! she added hastily. Serena was already cackling like a hyena. How about you? she said, turning to Lauren. You look good. Have you recovered any? I know it's been hard on you too. I, oh, thank you, yes, Alyssa's mom said, clearly not expecting the question. Is she blushing? I think she's blushing. Oh wow, your mom is blushing. Good. Victoria is at the conference center right now, but you can go see her when you're settled in. There's no rush, and you're being paid on commission, not by the hour. She smiled warmly, and Alyssa could see her mom relax a little. You're a guest. Please take the time to relax. This is a huge deal to Victoria, sure, but to the rest of the world? This is as low-stakes as it gets. They were talking about dark matter for a full seven hours yesterday. Do you think it'd be possible to get a transcript or something? Serena asked. Tony shot her a glance that had an implied eyebrow-raise in it. What? I'm just interested. I'm sure you could. I'm afraid I can't tell you much though, Maxine said as she led them out of the building. Penny and I do our best to keep up but these people are on another level when they get going. And I like to think neither of us is stupid. Hold on, Tony said. Penny? Oh, uh, Max said. Yeah, I don't know, I think I kind of assumed you would have told them? Kids and all that? Lauren and Alyssa both shook their heads. As far as Tony and Serena knew, this was just a work trip they got to go along on. Alyssa had been very strict with herself to not let anything about Penumbra's secret identity slip to the others. Ah. Okay. Look, the hotel is a twenty minute walk from here. Let's just go and I'll introduce you. Serena and Tony shrugged, leaving Alyssa and Mom to share a meaningful glance and a smile. Both of them knew Serena had a Thing for Penumbra. There were posters on her bedroom door and everything. The walk was less scenic than Alyssa would have expected. Mostly large road and a lot of open nothing, though Max did point out the occasional landmark, like the university. The buildings were nestled closer and closer together as Alyssa and the others were slowly shepherded to the city center, until there was finally enough room for an alley. Okay, Max said, looking around, I was going to wait until we got to the hotel, but honestly, coming out is one of those things that doesn't get old. She chuckled and checked her surroundings one more time. Okay, promise this doesn't get out? Serena and Tony both promised, and Alyssa and Lauren both did for the show of it. Maxine stood upright and stretched, and seemed to keep stretching. What had been a woman of about 5'8 seemed to elongate until she was almost seven feet tall. That's when her eyes glaze over with a milky white film. A viscous dark purple liquid, like crude oil, seeped out of her pores and slowly covered her body, and quickly took on mass until in front of them stood Penumbra in all of their amazonian glory. Hi, they said. I'm Penny. Serena made a noise like a text-to-speech program translating a cat on a keyboard. She stammered. She stuttered. She squeaked. She reached out and grabbed Alyssa's hand. Alyssa had taken that moment to also bring Amy out, in part because it meant no longer being stuck in boy-mode, and in part because she wanted to stand next to her mentor as Redshift. Mom looked on and she looked proud? This is happening? Tony said. You know I didn't think you were real until like, a couple of months ago? He shook his head and took a step closer, looking closely at the material. What are you made of? I'm made of me, Tony Armstrong, Penny said with a chuckle. He puffed up a little. Alyssa suddenly got the feeling he was trying to measure up to them, compare himself to them. Despite the fact that he was a foot shorter and had to crane his neck to look them in their milky eyes, he still struck a figure. Every once in a while, Alyssa was reminded of the fact that, while technically still a teenager, Tony had outpaced her significantly. He looked like a whole-ass man, hands on his hips, trying to get a measure of the superhero in front of him. You've got it bad, huh? Serena whispered. That was the moment Amaranth decided to betray Alyssa cruelly and without remorse, retreating so her blush was well and visible. She was also fully in girl-mode again, which was absolutely an improvement. Serena, realizing what had happened, leaned in close. Thank you, Amy. She's really cute when she's blushing like that. What is happening? Alyssa squeaked. Bullying, Serena said and squeezed her hand. Why aren't you focused on the Superhero you've had a crush on for ages? I couldn't say. The mysterious smile made Alyssa want to implode. My mom is watching. That was, technically speaking, not true. Lauren was looking everywhere except at her daughter being flirted with. Tony? Help? Alyssa said. It was, of course, the dumbest thing she could have done. Anthony, realizing the kind of peril she was in, immediately rushed over to make it worse, leaving Penumbra to make small talk with Mom, who didn't seem to mind at all talking to the tall superhero. Oh? Tony said. Are you in trouble? I thought you were a superhero. He took a step closer and, almost as a way to reaffirm what had happened at the airport, took her other hand. You know, Serena, he said, sometimes I feel like something's come between us, you know? As friends, I mean. Serena looked at Aly. I know what you mean. What do you think we should do about it? Theatrically, she held up a finger. I know! We should give each other a big hug! Really squeeze together, you know? Alyssa realized too late what was happening when the air was very slowly squeezed out of her lungs. Why, she gasped, are you two not focused on Penumbra?! She's really dense, huh? Tony said. She really is, Serena said. Squeeze harder until her little head pops like a grape. I could lift you both with one hand! Alyssa said. I could fly you up to the roof of that building right now. You better not, missy, Lauren said, tearing herself away from Penumbra for a second. She clearly had a lot of questions, but that didn't mean she wasn't keeping an eye on her baby. However, she quickly turned back. She's practically twirling her hair, Amy pointed out, and Alyssa would have been paying more attention if her friends weren't still on either side of her, very close, and very smug. Why? she asked quietly. Nothing, Serena said. Tony and I have been talking, that's all. Oh, no. Oh, yes, Tony said. Let's say we're not going anywhere and make our way from there. After what that man did to you, we're not letting you go. I Alyssa said, and then paused. I don't hold it against him, she said. I get where he was coming from. Why he did what he did. Like, his methods were extreme but wouldn't you? I talked to him and I've been thinking about a lot of things Immediately, Mom and Penumbra were looming over her, like two obelisks, magically appearing out of thin air. You did what?! they said, perfectly synchronized.