Eric and the Quantum Dragon
Chapter 3

Little Angels Orphanage, District Eight

Sister Adoracion watched with disapproval as the VTOL landed in a vortex of jet-wash from its four engines in the Orphanage parking lot. Luckily there were no other visitors this evening so the big aircraft had plenty of room to touch down, sending small pieces of trash and leaves swirling about in all directions.

The Sister made a mental note to have the children clean the parking lot in the morning. It was a matter of pride to the Sisters who managed the Orphanage that it was neat and tidy at all times, showing a pleasant face to any potential parents who came to adopt one of their charges.

Adjusting her heavy black robes and headscarf, Sister Adoracion walked forwards to greet the new arrival. The side door hinged open and a set of steps folded down, upon which appeared a slender man of modest height, a shock of close trimmed white hair visible above the dark glasses he habitually wore, even now in the night-time. Jericho-Two saw the Sister and gave her a nod of acknowledgement as he stepped down to the tarmac.

“How has she been this month?” he asked her once he was close enough, his voice carrying easily over the fading whine of the massive engines behind him. Sister Adoracion turned and the two of them walked side by side towards the main entrance, their heights and strides matching as they went.

“As difficult as ever” admitted the Sister. “I found her last night breaking curfew again. She was soaking wet and told me she had been caught in a rain shower while playing in a park”

“It did not rain last night” pondered Jericho-Two as they reached the entrance doors.

“She doesn’t play in parks either” replied Sister Adoracion and led him to the Visitors Lounge. The lounge was a well lit, comfortable room with plush upholstered chairs and sofas, a buffet table set with tea and coffee supplies and a view over a well tended garden. A simple Christmas tree stood in a corner, tastefully decorated with baubles and draped with white tinsel, the sole concession to the upcoming holiday.

In a chair, dressed in a frilly white dress and black shoes, sat a surly faced girl that looked about twelve years of age. Her dark hair, almost black, was cut into a stylish short bob, a straight fringe cut just above her eyebrows and bangs nearly touching her shoulders.

Her features were best described as cute and Japanese, although the glare she directed at the Avatar could have curdled milk. Sister Adoracion gave him an encouraging pat on the arm and excused herself, leaving Jericho-Two to deal with the angry child.

“Hi, big brother” said the girl waspishly. “Is it time for my monthly visit already?”

“Please, Selena, I wish you would not call me that” he answered and seated himself on a chair that faced the girl. He noted she looked a little taller than he remembered, which was no surprise considering her genetic inheritance.

The girl snorted and looked away from him, her bangs brushing her shoulders.

“And I told you to call me Seven” she countered. “Anyway, why do you bother to come and see me every month? It’s not like we are really family or anything!”

Jericho-Two sighed and wished the girl was more like Eric. At least he could behave like an Avatar when he needed to. Then he caught himself, remembering why Seven was so unhappy with him. She was not an Avatar, merely a failed experiment, and that was the cause of her despair.

“I am sorry, Seven” he said quietly. “I know you expected more from your life, to be a part of the Archimedes Network. Yet the implant process did not work for you, so I doubt you will ever be able to access the Quantum Network”

Seven met his eyes at last, her dark pupils exactly the same as the Guard clones she was born from. Like them, she had been created in a clone tank with her cybernetic implants and the essential Quantum Processor grafted into her developing body. Unlike the Guards she had only been grown to the relative age of a young girl, the first female member of the AURA Project.

Initial tests had been positive and Jericho-Two had believed she would be a fitting companion to Eric. Yet her connection to the Network failed with no understandable reason, leaving her useless as an Avatar. Archimedes, ever practical, had instructed Two to terminate the clone and try again, using the processor in a new version.

Even now, a year later, Jericho-Two did not comprehend his own actions in defying Archimedes and letting the girl live. She could not remain with the AURA Project so he had hidden her here at the Orphanage. For all its cover as a real functioning facility it was also a recruiting and training centre for the Order of Michael and a few other lesser known groups.

“I hate you and I hate Archimedes” Seven told him in no uncertain terms. “Why can’t you let me out of this place and then you’ll never have to see me again!”

“It is not so simple, Seven” he sighed. “If you keep causing the kind of trouble you have been, Archimedes will take notice of you. The one thing I can guarantee you is you don’t want him to get interested in your life!”

Seven laughed, her childish voice at times sounding a lot older than it should.

“Maybe I want him to notice me?” she said with a sly smile. “Maybe I want you and Three and even your darling Thirteen to notice me? Or have you never told my brother about what happened to the ones before him?”

“There were many failures, I am well aware of that fact” Two replied and his hands clenched involuntarily. “Eric is developing into not only a trusted Avatar but a decent human being as well. He does not need those burdens placed on him”

“Really? Trusted? Unlike me then, big brother?” Seven mocked him. “He has never asked about why his older brothers are numbers One, Two and Three and he is all the way out at number Thirteen? The boy may not be as smart as you think”

“I didn’t come here to argue with you, Seven” Two told his young ward. “I just want to make sure you are safe and comfortable here at the Orphanage. You are my responsibility and I want you to know that if ever you need my help, all you have to do is ask”

“Then let me go” she demanded, her own fists curling like she was ready to fight.

“No” he answered flatly. “You are Selena Smith, a Ward of the State and will remain here until you are eighteen years of age”

“They won’t be able to hold me here” she responded.

“It is not a prison, Selena. The Sisters are here to care for you until you are old enough to do so yourself. They worry about your well being and only want you to be happy”

Jericho-Two stood and adjusted his dark grey suit. The monthly visit was over, even if it had done little to salve his conscience.

“For what it is worth, I really am sorry Selena” he said and walked from the room, not looking back. “Have a pleasant Christmas” he added then he was gone.

The girl watched him leave, waiting until she heard the front doors open then close before letting the tears spill from her eyes. She thought she had them under control when Sister Adoracion walked quietly into the lounge and laid a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It’s Okay, Selena, you don’t have to hide who you are from me”

The girl sniffled then wiped her tears away with a frilled white cotton sleeve. At last her eyes were dry again, the feeling of loss driven back into the depths where it belonged.

“I keep telling you, my name is Seven”.

10th District Junior High School

Tuesday December 18th, V26 (2046)

Carmody and Sarah walked side by side, their strides matching like soldiers on parade. It was another warm morning, the bare blue sky over their heads promising an even hotter day. Both girls were dressed in their school uniforms, Carmody in the traditional Girls uniform of skirt, shirt and thin jacket. Sarah had decided to try out the Unisex uniform the school was introducing next year and she was rocking it with confidence.

The shirt and jacket were similar to the old ones but cut in a more genderless style. It was the bottom half that showed the biggest changes, with the students able wear a choice of long pants, knee length shorts or a kilt. Sarah had gone for shorts, since given a choice she would live in shorts all year round.

“Those new uniforms look great!” Carmody commented to her friend as they stepped in unison down the street. “How did you get permission to wear it now? I thought the Principal said we could start wearing them in the New Year?”

“Really?” wondered Sarah. “I don’t remember her saying that”

Carmody boggled at her friend.

“There was a big announcement at the school assembly last week!” Carmody responded with disbelief. “They put posters up everywhere when they announced the new designs. How could you miss all of that?”

“I guess I had other things on my mind” Sarah mumbled. “Like how come my best friend was kissing Eric”

Carmody stopped in her tracks and had a horrified look on her face.

“What! When did you see that?”

Sarah had stopped too and looked back at the other girl.

“That time when Eric gave you Excalibur back. It was on the rooftop and I guess you thought everyone had gone home”

The girls regarded each other and Carmody looked away first, her gaze landing ironically on the cricket bat she was carrying in her right hand. She forgot sometimes she was holding it, the ancient piece of sporting equipment a part of her life now.

“It was just a spur of the moment thing” she said, unable to look at Sarah’s face. “It didn’t mean anything”

“Maybe” agreed Sarah. “But you kissed him first”

“Yeah, well it’s not like he has said anything about it!” Carmody retorted angrily. “He barely speaks to me since it happened”

“Must have been a really bad kiss then!” snorted Sarah, amused at her friend’s expression. “At least you got to be first! I haven’t even had a chance”

“That’s not my fault!” Carmody shouted. “Try spending less time with Stanley and more time with us human beings!”

As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted it. Sarah’s face went from shocked to hurt to resentment in a quick series of progressions that would have been comical on a cartoon character. On the face of her friend it just made her suddenly sad.

“Oh Sarah, I am so sorry!” Carmody blurted out, but it was too late. Sarah had run away from her, legs pumping as she raced to the school. With a heavy heart, the girl shouldered her bat and school bag and trudged the last street to her school.

=====

Sarah was there in the school courtyard when it all began.

“Come on Frobisher, if you don’t like it why don’t you make me stop!” shouted a tall boy, one of the Year Eights. At his feet lay the small figure that Sarah recognised as Andrew Frobisher, a red headed boy also in Year Eight. He was widely regarded as being not only the smallest Year Eight student in the entire Junior High, but he carried the triple stigma of being a “ginger”, wearing glasses and having No Measurable Ability.

It was the last trait for which he was being bullied right now. If ever there was a phrase that cut the deepest at the 10th District Junior High, it was to be called a NOMA. The tall boy, Sarah thought his name was Sanderson, was just pulling his leg back for another prod at Andrew when Sarah hit him with a flying tackle.

The boy was several centimeters taller and a good deal heavier, but when Sarah put her mind to it she could bring down a mountain. Tumbling across the coloured paving stones, the two students ended up in a pile some short distance from Andrew. Sarah scrambled to her feet first, dancing out of the way of a vengeful grab by Sanderson.

“Another smelly NOMA!” the older boy shouted and got slowly to his own feet, rubbing at a graze on his arm where he had hit the pavement. “You and your little boyfriend are going to be sorry now!”

“Hoo boy, she’s in trouble now!” hooted one of Sanderson’s cronies, a girl with mean eyes and spiked hair dyed a bright purple. There was a gang of them, all Year Eights, watching eagerly from the sidelines. A natural arena had formed around the students, encompassing Sanderson, Sarah and the still prone Andrew.

Phones were flashing as the more ghoulish took pictures, though Sarah heard at least one student say they were going to get a teacher.

“The famous Sarah Evermore wants to fight me, does she?” gloated Sanderson. He lifted his hands away from his body mockingly. “You caught me by surprise, but this time I’ll let you have a free punch. Go on, take your best shot!”

Sarah regarded him carefully, her own fists raised. Eric had been teaching all of the AURA Project members some unarmed fighting techniques, but he stressed the number one move to use in most fights. If you can, turn and run away as fast as possible.

She almost took his advice, then poor Andrew moaned on the ground. If she ran, there was nothing to stop this bully hurting him again. Sarah adjusted her stance and made sure she was balanced, wishing not for the first time that her Ability had some use in fighting.

“Okay then, here I come!” she roared and ran at the bigger boy. He actually smiled as she came in, her right fist swinging hard to deliver the Sarah Special Punch to his exposed stomach. She hit with a meaty thump and screamed in agony as her fist collided with a brick wall, at least that is what it felt like.

She stepped back, cradling her right hand against her own stomach, tears threatening to spring from her pain filled eyes.

“My boyfriend is a Blocker!” crowed little Miss Purple Hair from his gang of fellow students. “Now he knows you are coming, you can’t hurt him at all!”

Sarah cursed inside her own head at her bad luck. Blockers were a kind of reverse Kinetic Enhancer, able to use their Ability to completely stop any form of physical attack on their bodies. She had heard stories of them being hit by speeding cars and walking away unharmed and even stopping bullets with their bare flesh.

“Let me deal with him, Sarah!” shouted a thin voice and she twisted to see Andrew Frobisher on his feet. A slim metal tube fell from his fingers and he trembled like he was freezing despite the warmth in the air.

“Andrew? Are you alright?” Sarah asked him and Andrew just nodded, a strange gleam in his eyes.

“It’s fine” he said coldly. “I took some of my medicine and I am not afraid anymore!” The small boy held his hands forward like he was reaching for Sanderson, making the bigger boy laugh out loud.

“Okay NOMA, time for Round Two!” Sanderson guffawed and stepped cockily forwards, his hands still held out wide. “Give me what you’ve got!”

Andrew screamed, a chilling scream of pure, unsuppressed rage and a blast of super-frozen air leapt from his fingers and slammed into the Blocker. His Ability rebounded the physical impact of the blast but his chest and stomach turned ice white as the incredibly cold air froze the outer layers of skin.

With a painful cry of anguish the big student staggered back, trying to hide among his cronies. They all scattered, leaving him to his fate, even his girlfriend screaming and running away in fright.

“I’m so sorry, Frobisher!” sobbed the bully, holding his hands up in supplication. His teeth were chattering and his breath came out as a cloud of fog. “No more, please!”

“Did you call me a NOMA?” shouted Andrew, mishearing the words of his tormentor. He lifted his hands once more, fog forming around his raised fists as he channelled more power into his sudden Ability. Sanderson was crying now, the circle about them all having grown wider as the students stood back from the obvious danger.

A blast of super-cold air lashed outwards, met halfway by a burst of fire. The two elemental forces cancelled each other in a tremendous cloud of steam and ice, billowing out to cover them all. When the vapour trailed away, Sarah saw the Chemistry Teacher Mr Hanson cradling the collapsed Andrew Frobisher. Sanderson, the instigator of it all, lay passed out in a spreading pool of his own urine after he fainted away from sheer terror.

Arriving after all the action was done came two of the grey-uniformed security guards, summoned from the other end of the school grounds by a breathless student. Carmody came rushing up to the side of Sarah, her cricket bat held ready in both hands.

“What did I miss?” she demanded from her friend.

“I have no idea” Sarah said honestly.