Kingdom Hearts fic: Potentials - Chapter 4

[mistressofmuses]

In chapter 4: Radiance and Keyblade attend a formal press event.

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From the official website for the Defenders of the Light:

The Defenders of the Light current roster and their powers:

Director:
Xehanort – dimensional

Active Heroes:
Trickshot – enhanced ability: speed + accuracy
Lancer – elemental: wind
Stalwart – enhanced ability: strength
Lunar Phase – enhanced ability: strength and speed tied to lunar cycle
Fire Dancer – elemental: fire
Nocturne – elemental: water + sound, controlled vocally
Gambler – mental: can view probability
Thorn – elemental: plant life
Nymph – elemental: electricity
Keyblade – magical artifact: the “keyblade”
Corridor – elemental: darkness + spatial manipulation
Radiance – dimensional/elemental: light

Support Heroes:
The Scientist – enhanced ability: data analysis
Grimoire – magical artifact: the “magical tome”

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Radiance adjusted the longer skirt of her formal costume, waiting for Keyblade to arrive. Honestly she was looking for Corridor too, hoping he’d gotten a last-minute invitation after all. She hadn’t seen him all day, though he’d replied to her text asking if he was all right.

In his reply, he’d said it wasn’t a big deal that he wouldn’t be there; an event pulling all of the city’s Heroes into one place meant someone had to be out patrolling.

Despite his apparent nonchalance, Radiance doubted he thought it was a coincidence he’d drawn the short straw.

The ballroom set aside for private events had been decorated with all the finery one could hope for: a buffet table against one wall, a limited bar on the other side, and small tables set around the edges of the floor, leaving most of the space open for mingling. A stage with a podium on the far side of the room would be the focal point for whatever official announcements the Defenders of the Light were planning on making.

She tried to keep from fidgeting. The press wasn’t here yet, but she still had to plan on being watched all night. Even more so than usual.

“Aw, are they letting you stay up past your bedtime?”

Staying relaxed and pleasant was growing more challenging by the moment. “Hello, Nymph.”

The other heroine stepped closer, and Radiance felt the prickle of electricity grazing her skin. Not enough of it to qualify as an attack, or even overt unfriendliness, but it was still a push.

Radiance and Nymph had never been close, though that wasn’t much of a surprise. They could work together and be cordial, but it was hard to feel fondly toward someone you were constantly being compared to. They were the only two heroines on the active Defenders of the Light roster. Add to that the superficial similarity between their powers—Radiance’s light generation to Nymph’s lightning control—and the media did not shy away from holding them up against each other.

“I thought this was an adults-only event,” Nymph complained. Her smooth sculpted mask covered most of her face, and mesh behind the eyeholes obscured even more of her expression, but it still allowed for an exaggerated pout of her painted lips.

Radiance managed to stifle a sigh. She wasn’t in the mood for barbed banter. “Well, then let me know if you find one.”

The faux-pout turned into a real frown, but was wiped away quickly by a laugh. “I’ll be on the lookout. Your date has arrived.” Nymph gestured toward the other door to the ballroom, the one Radiance wasn’t facing, and then wandered toward another knot of Heroes already mingling.

Keyblade had entered the room, looking almost as uncomfortable as Radiance felt in the formal variant costume. His costume always had a vaguely “princely” theme to it: close-fitting pants and shirt under a jacket, with accents in bold, primary colors. His formal costume played it up even more, the jacket more clearly tailored, the accents more intricate.

Radiance waved and rushed to meet him.

“You look lovely.” He offered his hands, which she took.

She suppressed a flicker of sadness; usually he would have hugged her. But they had all agreed to be careful. “Oh, this? It was just the last clean thing I had left in the closet.”

Before Keyblade could reply, they were interrupted. “Well, if the prince and princess here aren’t just the cutest thing.” The phrase could have sounded mocking, but it was clearly only a gentle tease.

Radiance smiled and greeted one of the other Heroes she was genuinely happy to see. “Hey, Fire.”

Fire Dancer was one of the slightly older Heroes that seemed to actually like almost everyone, and that made him easy to like in return. Despite the fact that the age difference was fairly negligible now, many of the older Defenders of the Light, like Nymph, seemed to view the younger trio as juvenile upstarts. Frustrating, since they were all adults out there doing the same job.

Of course, Radiance had been a true child-Hero, coming to the organization at the same time as many of the others who manifested powers as pre-teens. Some of them had literally watched her grow up.

“Hey yourself,” Fire replied. “Saw that piece Channel 4 did on you last week, Radiance. Looking good out there. And Keyblade, nice job the way you and Corridor took out that group of jewelry thieves.” Glancing around he added, “Where is your number three?”

“On patrol,” Keyblade said, though Radiance recognized the falseness of his conversational tone. “All of us gathered here? Can’t leave the city unprotected.”

“Bummer. He’s missing out on some truly average alcohol at the open bar. You guys want a drink?” he toasted them with a mostly empty glass.

Radiance shrugged. “Sure.”

The room had already begun to fill with more small groups of local Heroes, split into the usual partnerships and friendships. There weren’t all that many, since the city itself only had fifteen official Heroes on its roster. The event wasn’t big enough to call in Heroes from other sister-organizations, and the retired Heroes certainly weren’t going to be invited.

Fire Dancer led the way straight toward the bar set up in the back corner. He definitely stood out in his bright flame-colors, the formal costume cut in more layers than his usual one, actually looking like flickering fire as he moved.

They weren’t the only ones who’d narrowed in on the bar, though there wasn’t much of a line by the time they reached it. Fire Dancer ordered drinks while Radiance looked around the room.

Nearest to them Gambler, his formal attire making him look ready for a stage show, was showing some sort of card trick to Nocturne. Nocturne laughed, the sound making drinks in people’s glasses move, until Stalwart punched him in the arm.

Farther out on the floor, Radiance could see Nymph laughing, probably at something Thorn had said. Grimoire and the Scientist stood nearby, though looking less amused.

Lunar Phase, blue hair standing out against the black, silver, and purple of his night-sky themed costume, stood alone, probably waiting for Fire Dancer. The two were friends.

Across the room, Trickshot and Lancer chatted.

Fire Dancer handed Keyblade and Radiance their drinks, cups of vibrantly pink punch, and toasted them with his refilled glass. It likely didn’t have much strong alcohol in it; an open supply of booze and the superpowered could end poorly, especially at a publicity event.

“Thank you,” Radiance said, and took a sip. It didn’t taste completely awful, though Fire Dancer’s judgment of ‘truly average’ was fair.

“Always. You guys have fun, I’m going to mingle.”

Keyblade and Radiance retreated to a safer distance from the bar.

“Did you notice the same thing I did?” he asked, sipping from his own drink.

She nodded.

“Is he really the only one who didn’t get an invitation?”

She smiled, but doubted it looked any more convincing to him that it felt to her. “Shows how much they trust him, right? To protect the city alone?”

Keyblade didn’t have a chance to reply as Xehanort stepped onto the stage.

“Thank you for being here tonight.” The microphone perfectly carried his voice through the room. “I appreciate seeing all of our city’s finest Heroes together. Reporters will be joining us shortly, and I hope you all have a chance to talk about the many excellent things you have accomplished. Later there will be a formal presentation about the Defenders of the Light as an organization, and our continuing research into superhuman abilities, as well as our ongoing mission.”

There were polite applause and a few glasses held up in acknowledgement.

Then the doors opened again, allowing the reporters in. Most were also dressed up for the event, though in suits and cocktail dresses rather than themed attire and decorated masks. Some were armed with recorders, others with tablets, and a few with old-fashioned pads of paper and pens. A few from mainstream publications were accompanied by professional camera operators, while most of the independent press made do with their phones.

Keyblade reached out and squeezed Radiance’s hand quickly before letting go. “Let’s go make an impression.”

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The next hour and a half was spent speaking with so many different people Radiance despaired of remembering all of them. She’d given a few shorter clip-style interviews, but most of it was more informal, just friendly chats with bloggers and journalists. Some she recognized from previous interviews or other exchanges. She tried not to play favorites, but there were certainly people she thought did better work, and she spent just a little extra time with them.

She was under no illusions that this was only pleasant conversation, even when it felt relaxed. She knew bits of seeming small talk and the answers to innocent questions regarding her opinions on things would be sprinkled throughout a dozen or more posts and articles the next day.

Radiance took at least twenty or thirty selfies with different people, sometimes alone, sometimes with other Heroes. Of course, since she could provide her own fill light, every selfie with her was perfectly flattering.

All told, it seemed to go well, everyone laughing and smiling and posing. It was likely to be as beneficial as the Defenders of the Light promised, giving everyone a fun (if fluffy) opportunity to get their names and current work out there.

And just as it was feeling like too much, Xehanort stepped onto the stage, and attention turned toward him.

“We appreciate your attendance tonight. I hope that everyone has had a chance to speak, and maybe make some new connections.”

A thin smattering of applause and a few raised glasses.

“Now, we also wished to take this opportunity to present some of the Defenders of the Light’s new research into the Superhero phenomenon. Ever since the first wave of powered individuals—including myself—appeared close to 30 years ago, we’ve struggled to understand why. While we have yet to uncover a single, definitive answer, possibly because there is no singular cause, the Defenders of the Light have devoted the bulk of our research to studying this topic. We have uncovered some fascinating new information, which I will have our support Heroes, Grimoire and The Scientist, explain.”

The applause was louder this time, as he turned to present the two Heroes behind him. The reporters and bloggers in the crowd were certainly more focused now, many subtly shifting for better positions, adjusting recording equipment.

The Scientist already had a headset mic, and launched into a description of their research on Superhero physiology, the average age at which powers manifested, and the potential for genetic predispositions.

Radiance tried not to let herself zone out, but it was an uphill battle. She’d never particularly gotten along with The Scientist. Everything about him was unpleasantly sharp, from his icy eyes and his angular features to his general demeanor. Even his formal costume called to mind a particularly well-tailored lab coat, the silver-edged white mask managing to give the impression of goggles.

That led to the memory of Corridor joking to her that they could have made him creepier if they’d given him a surgical mask instead, since they were obviously trying to give kids nightmares, and Radiance had to stifle a giggle.

She managed to rein her attention back in by the time Grimoire took over, discussing some of the more esoteric aspects of the research. The book that gave him his codename was held at his hip, his formal variant attire giving even more of an impression than usual of a university student from a century or two in the past.

“—the most interesting of which is the speculation that there are notable divergent potential paths that some individuals could take. Not merely representing the difference between developing powers or no, but which powers are developed.”

That was interesting enough to draw her focus fully back. She’d heard some speculation on that, particularly in the rare cases of identical twins developing radically different powers than one another, or one twin developing powers and the other not. For obvious reasons, those were extremely difficult cases to study.

“Some individuals do seem to develop powers based on subconscious needs, in the dramatic cases of saving themselves from mortal danger with hitherto unknown abilities. But also with underlying desires, such as my colleague”—he gestured back to The Scientist—“whose pursuit of knowledge eventually manifested in a genuinely superhuman talent for analysis, with the ability not merely to intuit, but physically perceive connections the rest of us do not. But the same person, placed in a different environment, could theoretically develop an entirely different ability, because their wants and needs have been altered.”

And now Xehanort stepped back forward, ready to tie it together into the soundbite everyone was waiting for. “The thing these brilliant minds have helped to discover is that there is a very real potential that any of our beloved Heroes had the potential to develop into very different versions of themselves. A different childhood, a different presentation of danger, new mixes of positive and negative experiences… all of it could lead to a drastically different person, and that extends to the potential powers they could exhibit as well.

“Add to this the existence of the alternate worlds and dimensions we already know exist, as shown by the Heartless Crisis of a few short years ago, and it implies some very interesting things.”

Now his voice changed, turning deep and somber. “It is not my wish to cause any sort of alarm. But I do believe that everyone should be as informed as possible. With that in mind, I do need to announce that we have detected another of these alternate worlds brushing at our own.”

A beat of silence, followed by absolute chaos as every reporter in the room rushed to get questions out.

Radiance shouldn’t have been surprised. They’d known with those creatures they’d run into and been fighting. They’d known there was an Event, and that it had to be something big, something on par with the Heartless Crisis. And of course, Xehanort had been sure to mention that, ensuring others would make the connection. But still, her spine had gone cold and prickly.

Keyblade stiffened next to her and grabbed wildly for her hand. They broke the contact quickly, but it at least gave her a moment to ground.

Xehanort allowed some of the noise to die down before continuing, and his voice still carried easily. “As I said, it is not our belief at the moment that there is cause for alarm. But citizens should always report any suspicious supernatural activity to the authorities, and the Defenders of the Light will protect them. We will monitor this potential alternate reality, and keep you all informed if there are any new developments.”

A glance around showed that most of the other Heroes, or at least the ones whose faces she could see, looked equally shocked. Except for The Scientist and Grimoire on the stage. Well, they were part of Xehanort’s immediate scientific team, so of course they’d known. But no one else seemed to. Or else they were putting on a very convincing show.

Xehanort was answering questions now, but they were mostly noncommittal answers. He was good at this kind of management; even Radiance felt like everything was sure to be all right as she listened to him.

Grimoire and The Scientist answered fewer questions from the reporters, but occasionally provided additional information when Xehanort directed a question to them.

Radiance was still far enough back from the stage that even in the relatively small space she had a hard time hearing most of the questions, but one of the women she’d spoken to several times over the course of the evening asked loudly enough to be heard: “If this alternate universe is just now brushing up against ours, is it a case of it getting closer somehow? Should we anticipate further contact by a specific date?”

The Scientist pulled a miniature tablet from a pocket of his not-a-labcoat, scrolling across the screen, when… something happened.

Afterwards, Radiance still couldn’t put into words exactly what it was. It was vertigo far more intense than one of the dark corridors. Like something suddenly pulled her one way and the rest of the world in another, but she was standing still.

Keyblade took a heavy step forward, reaching out to keep his balance.

Elsewhere in the crowd, Nocturne stumbled, nearly falling until Stalwart caught him by the arm. Other Heroes stiffened or visibly braced themselves. Radiance wasn’t the only one to have felt it.

But then it was over. Nothing had moved or changed, Xehanort was still answering the reporter’s question, The Scientist holding out his tablet to show some chart Radiance couldn’t make out from the back of the room. None of the press seemed to have noticed anything strange, other than maybe that some of the Heroes had bumped into them.

Finally Xehanort cut off further questions with repeated promises to keep everyone informed. The lights came up, and some of the bigger, more physical Heroes like Stalwart and Lancer helped usher everyone toward the doors.

The wind-down of the event was far faster than the lead-up had been, and even the Heroes were dismissed with nothing more.

Radiance still felt unsettled, even with Keyblade accompanying her down the stairs at the front of the Headquarters building. She wanted to talk to him, to talk to Corridor about what this “Event” meant for them. At least they had confirmation now.

By the time Kairi finally got back to her official residence (slowly, by mundane taxi to a spot a couple blocks from her apartment, and then by foot, without Corridor there to open a portal) and fell into bed, she could hardly even think about it she was so tired. Formal events always drained her, though this felt excessive. But at least now that the Event had been announced, they could hope more information would follow soon. She and Sora would fill Riku in the next morning, and they’d make their private plans.

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