12 April, 2008
John sat with Rese watching the coverage of Tracer's funeral on the big screen TV.
"Man, can you believe that shit?" Rese asked. "Look at all those people. This is some wild turn in history, right? A high-profile Nova like her getting ganked... what's this world coming to?"
John tipped back his Corona, waited for the last drop to slide past the lime, and set the bottle heavily on the end table. "I don't know man. I just don't know."
"But you knew her, right? She was one of the Hestia people you did that trip to Bhutan with, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah she was."
"Well why aren't you down there in DC payin' your respects?"
John turnd to his old friend, his milky glowing eyes unable to register the confusion and sadness he felt and opened his mouth to say something.
That's when all hell broke loose on the TV.
As Caestus Pax brings the crows back under control, the news anchors lasiviously barking commentary over replays of the violence everyone had just seen moments before, John turns to Rese and says, "Because of crap like that, man. Because of crap like that."
Then he goes to get another beer, opening it without touching the cap.
After a long draught, he leans back in the chair and rubs his eyes. "Rese, why is it we do things like that? I mean, ain't it enough that a good person's dead? Why do we have to make it into such a spectacle. The other Novas aren't much better than everyone else when it comes to that.
"I look at so many of them, with their fancy powers and flashy costumes. Y'know what the most prevalent Nova power seems to be, man? Ego. So many of them have egos bigger than any deed they do. The XWF dudes, I can understand that. They're entertainers, that's part of the business. But people like Pax, like bunches of the Team Tomorrow members--and even some of the Hestia operatives I've dealt with... they're look like they're in this for the wrong reasons. They're in it to show off, to show how great they are, how much better they are.
"But they're not any better. Not as people. Sure, some are... Tracer was... some want to actually help for the sake of helping. But they're overshadowed by the big egos. Christ, don't we ever learn? Don't we know that it's going to be some big ego maniac that's going to destroy this whole thing..."
"What whole thing, man?"
John waved his arms around, his agitated energy making glasses rattle in the kitchen and the pictures quiver a little on the walls. "This! Everything! We're going to destroy it all and... and... we're going to think what we're doing is for the best. It's just... I... I don't know."
Both men were quiet for a long while.
After another hour of watching funeral coverage and retrospective clips, John got up, grabbed his jacket and put on his sunglasses. "I'm going out for a walk. I'll see you later."
And with that, he walked out into the night.
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