Aaron Majesky's bus arrived in Stevenson from Chicago early in the morning; he'd taken the earliest possible bus in order to get his stuff out of the I7 HQ and get back on his way to Princeton University. Sprinting across campus to the external HQ entrance, Aaron could feel that his leg wasn't yet fully healed from events in Europe and Tibet. Nevertheless, he was feeling better every day.
Because it was so early, Aaron hadn't expected to run into anyone in the HQ. He was somewhat surprised to find Steven Chen there, working on something in his small lab.
"Hey, Aaron! What the hell?" Steven's words were harsh, but his tone was welcoming.
"Steven! Long time no see. How've you been, man?" Aaron asked, sincerely but still walking away toward where he had left his Dragonfly equipment. He didn't mind seeing old friends again, but that wasn't why he was here. Emily Fine, AKA White Diamond, and formerly Aaron's girlfriend, was missing, and he had reason to believe she was in trouble. He needed to get it sorted out.
"Not bad. Where have you been, huh?" Chen asked, having recalibrated the computer he was entering numbers into. The computer seemed to be attached to some sort of chemical dispenser, and as soon as Chen hit the Enter key, several compounds began streaming together into a large flask.
"It's a long story. I'll stop by and see everyone when I get back to Illinois. Right now, I'm on my way out East. I have to talk to Emily about some stuff." Aaron opened the pack and put on his Dragonfly wings over the outside of his jacket.
"Just go," Steven said; his tone was cold and resigned, and Aaron couldn't tell if he was serious or joking. Steven was like that half the time.
"Hey, let the others know I'll be back for a visit as soon as I can. It'd be great to hit the quad and beat up some bullies or something." Aaron went out the back exit without another word. Steven went back to his work without a pause.
The trip to Princeton, NJ took quite some time. Dragonfly's speed topped out at almost 200 miles per hour, which made it roughly a 5 hour trip by the map, but Aaron couldn't hold that speed the entire way. The wind rushing past his ears disoriented him, for one thing, and every now and then he needed to land, pull out his cell phone, and reorient himself with the GPS. Thus it was that he arrived on Princeton's campus around noon. Fortunately, he'd had good weather the entire trip, but the wind had played havok with his hair. Aaron stopped at a local cafe to get cleaned up and grab a bite to eat. He had no idea how long it was going to take to find Emily. He sincerely hoped he'd get to her dorm room and she'd open the door and ask what the heck he was doing there. He knew from Caz that she'd called asking about him, so at least he expected a relatively warm reception if she WASN'T missing.
But as Aaron approached her dorm (wings once again safely hidden in the bag with the rest of the costume), a dark feeling came over him, and somehow, Aaron knew that she wasn't okay. Emily was in great danger. He could almost feel it.
As Aaron entered the building, he was truck with how different the buildings were than those at CIU. Everything seemed to have a certain regalness to it. CIU, by contrast, seemed quirky and mismatched, the styles and positioning of each building seeming designed in a vacuum, without consideration for the rest of the campus or the town around it. Of course, parts of Stevenson itself felt that way, the large multi-story hotels and condos downtown next to one and two story shops built decades earlier.
At least, Aaron found Emily's door and knocked. He waited a few seconds before the door opened and a young woman with glasses and Asian features opened the door. "Yes?" she asked, not recognizing Aaron. She had no type of accent, except maybe Chicago suburban.
"Hey, I'm Emily's friend Aaron," he said tentatively. "Can I come in?"
The young woman looked shocked, but immediately said "Yes, yes, come in," and motioned him into the room. She began moving stuff off of the bed. On the desk, in front of a thin computer screen, was a carryout sandwich and a water bottle. Aaron looked around the room briefly, taking in all of the things he recognized as Emily's. A lot of the stuff on what was obviously her side of the room was new, and he didn't recognize it at all. Aaron hadn't talked to her since the day before she left. Just being here was opening up old wounds, and stirring up feelings of confusion.
“I'm here to find Emily. I'm guessing from your expression that she hasn't turned up yet.” Aaron opened.
“No, unfortunately. I'm Jackie, by the way. The young woman answered, holding out her hand. Aaron took it.
“Nice to meet you. I wish the circumstances we better,” Aaron answered somberly.
Aaron discussed the situation with Jackie for a half hour or so, gathering information on where she'd last been seen, what her class schedule was, who she hung out with. At the end of that time, he stood up and said “I have one request, and it's kind of weird.”
Jackie looked Aaron in the eyes ambivalently. “Okay.”
“If you could turn and face the window for a minute? There's something of Emily's that was precious to her. Knowing whether or not it's here will give me some more information that the cops might have missed.”
“Mmm, I don't know,” Jackie hesitated.
“It's very private. Something she shared with me and very few others.” Aaron's eyes pleaded.
Jackie turned and faced the window. Aaron knew Emily wouldn't leave the White Diamond mask anywhere that in might easily be found, so he began looking behind closet doors, under the bed, and other non-obvious places. He had just decided that she must have it with her, which was a great relief, when he noticed a decorative theatre mask hanging on Emily's mirror. He'd never seen it before.
“Just another second,” Aaron said to relax Jackie. He grabbed the mask. There, taped to the back of it, was the White Diamond mask.. Aaron pulled it free. This is not good, he thought, pocketing the mystical object that allowed Emily Fine to transform into the superhero known as White Diamond.
“Done. Thanks, Jackie,” Aaron said as he moved toward the door. “You've been a great help. I'm gonna do my best to figure this out, and hopefully you'll have your roommate back very soon.”
“Hey,” Jackie said as Aaron swung the door closed. He stopped and poked his head back in.
“Who are you, really?” she asked.
Aaron shrugged. “I'm someone who can get this done.” He closed the door and was off.
Meanwhile, back in Stevenson...
Sydney knocked on the door to the 7th floor triple. When no one answered right away, she knocked harder, and more rapidly. In the corner, a plant grew slightly and writhed as her stormy emotions washed over it.
Finally, Caz opened the door. “Hey, Syd.” Caz was bruised and had a sickly look about him from the damage dealt in the vampire battle, but Syd's healing powers had worked especially well on him, and he was already starting to recover from his massive injuries.
“Caz, we need to find the others, ASAP. We've got some problems.” Holding up her phone, she showed Caz the live video. TV 12 reporter Lauren Shea stood on street downtown as police attempted to hold off several costumed individuals that seemed intent on destroying one of the more famous multi-story business buildings.
Caz sighed. “Okay, back to work,” he said.
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