Blank Slate | ONC2023

Chapter Two: Don't Talk to Heroes

Then again, Dan's a hero, one of the ones specifically looking for me. Talking to him would be extremely dangerous, especially if he found out that I don't remember anything. Besides, it would be breaking one of my rules.

That didn't stop you before, a part of me mutters. How could he be your friend if you didn't talk to him? No, he's your best lead. It's worth the risk.

But is it? What happens if he finds out? He would be concerned, most likely, and would want to know how it happened. I can't tell him that, but I could come up with a good alibi. It could work.

I squint at the tattoo and lower my arm. It's a possibility, but it'd have to be a good alibi. Maybe a...head injury? I'll think of something, but not now. It is late and my mind is too stuffed full of fuzz and sparks from an entire day of googling.

With a long sigh, I stand and head to the bathroom. Nudging the door open, I flick on the light and freeze, eyes locking with a haggard-looking face in the mirror.

Instead of bright brown eyes alight with light and mischief that I remember from my childhood, my eyes stare at me from sunken sockets, heavy bags sagging underneath an invisible weight. Pale brown hair sits on top of my head in a curly, wind-blown mess, contrasting the neat, lush curls my dad loved to ruffle.

Did...destroying the heroes' headquarters take this big of a toll on me? It doesn't seem right. It is an upsetting thing, yes, but I was a villain. I did wrong things all the time. It shouldn't have made me so upset that I would wipe my own memories, right?

There has to be something more to it. Maybe Dan knows what it is—he's a part of the Storm Cell team, after all. Or maybe he has some clue that can help me. Either way, I am going to ask him.

●↽—01000010—⇁●

[You have reached your destination.]

Lowering my arm and shaking away the GPS hologram, I study the shop in front of me. It is small, tucked into a corner on a road off the main street, huddled behind a wall of plants. Hunger's End, reads the clap-board sign next to the entrance. Hero friendly.

So this is the shop my citizen alias' social media is littered with pictures of. It's smaller than I thought it was, but just as cozy-looking as the pictures portrayed.

I step past the outside tables and enter the shop, the scent of coffee and baked goods hitting my face with a bell's jingle.

"Hey, Denizen!" calls the cashier, a bright smile on her face. "The usual?"

"Yes please."

Nodding, the cashier swipes a few holoitems onto a command chip's screen. I hold out my hand and she taps the c-chip on my holowatch, a beep signaling, 'transaction complete'.

With a nod and a few more words, I retreat to a secluded outside table where I can observe everyone who comes and goes. The chill of my power lingers in my fingers, evidence of my jangled nerves.

I flex them in my pockets, breathing deeply and pushing back at the chill. How did I ever pass as a normal citizen with these oversensitive powers?

"Chirp!" A little metal dragon about the size of a pigeon swoops towards me, carrying a plate of HHH potato bread and ham sandwich in its claws. Flaring its wings, it sets down the plate and dashes away, returning moments later with a drink.

I take it from the dragon, watching it flap off to serve other customers. Maybe this is why I liked this place: it uses dragon delivery-bots for waiters.

"Denizen!"

Ice jolts through my fingers, and it takes all the training I remember from Ten School to not blank my drink. Putting it down and shoving my hands under the table, I snap my head towards the man approaching me.