Not that these guys were the type to make those kinds of mistakes. There were capes who’d come close to being big but didn’t have the underlying character. Bastion sprung to mind, in the time before his death.

There was another class, though. Another type. Eidolon, by all accounts, hadn’t had that underlying character. A lot of people had instinctively disliked him, even.

People reported coming away from a meeting with Legend feeling like they wanted to be better for the next meeting.

They had reported coming away from meetings with Alexandria feeling like they’d better be better, or else they’d be seeing her again. Sometimes there would be a smile on their faces as they joked, sometimes not. The joke was sour to even think about now, when it had been reported her downward turn and violent tendencies had been partially because of Simurgh interference.

But Eidolon? They came away from meetings with Eidolon feeling like they’d never be good enough, not wanting to see him again. In some of the files I’d been given in the big file dump I’d negotiated for, I’d read that a lot of people with sensitive or shaky powers had felt like their powers didn’t like Eidolon. Anecdotal evidence said Scion hadn’t, even.

Thing was, dislike or no, however instinctual or proud or resentful that dislike was, one couldn’t hold onto that after that one video of Eidolon, holding a bridge up during a disaster, too preoccupied to stop a building from falling down nearby… then shore up the bridge, reverse time to save the building and its occupants, shore up the building, and move on, like it was fucking nothing. Didn’t watch Eidolon taking one shot to execute a supervillain the Kings Men had been trying to keep occupied for an hour, not three seconds after appearing on the scene. Most of that had been early in his career. But it counted, he wore the deeds like some wore capes.

Dislike or no, you knew if the man was in the fucking building.

My mother and I were aware of something on that scale, Crystal too preoccupied to be immediately aware.

People left one hallway, glancing behind them. They made comments to people in passing. My mother touched Crystal’s arm, indicating.

Crystalclear emerged from the crowd, and some of those eyes followed him. It wasn’t Crystalclear drawing the fuss, though. Obviously. He was just the messenger.

We met him halfway to get the message.

“This way,” he said.

“How’re you doing, ’Clear?” Crystal asked. “I hear you’re doing pretty well. Wardens like you, Foresight likes you. I keep hearing your name and thinking people are wanting to make sure I’m paying attention.”

Crystalclear rubbed the quartz-like chunks that jutted from his head, smiling. “Sorry, Laserdream.”

“It’s alright.”