Because Alysia got away, and I just couldn’t take it.
It’s been three years since the hospital battle, and I still can’t stand that she literally slipped through my fingers. That damn cow ran away when I was grappling with her, and she hasn’t been seen since. The Marshals are fugitive hunters (among other things), and they’re heavily involved in rounding up the remaining Westerners and, now, supervillains. I’m going to be there when they finally take Alysia down.
The NSC is just a new way for superheroes to serve, but with more oversight. It’s still city-based and focused on eliminating street crime. I want to go bigger than that.
Tag: Battlecry Series
Berenice: how did you find out about Abby’s death? what happened after all that?
That was a long. ass. night.
After most of the fires were put out at the hospital, the police rounded up the living superheroes and told us that there’d been a horrible explosion in Baltimore. Lark and I asked to go there. I knew something terrible had gone down when we landed at a hospital, not an explosion site.
They took us to the morgue first. They said it wasn’t going to be easy, but nothing could’ve prepared me for seeing Abby’s body. She was in a small room off the side, on a slab, and completely broken. I fell into Lark’s arms and she all but carried me out. We were also asked to confirm Topher’s body, but I barely even remember that. I was crying too hard.
After I’d calmed down (about half an hour later), Benjamin came and got us from up in surgery. I remember him being just covered in blood. Guys, you can’t even imagine how much blood was on him–I wasn’t even mad at him being there, that’s how shocked I was. I think he wanted to hug me, but had the sense not to. He told us that Reuben had been maimed in the explosion and he hadn’t been able to save his leg. Lark asked if anyone else had been hurt. The poor guy started to cry. Not big sobs or anything. He just turned away from us, his shoulders shaking, and you know what? I kind of wanted to hug him, because I thought Jill was dead and in a zillion pieces, which why she wasn’t in the morgue.
Lark actually did hug him, and asked him what had happened. He told us that Reid was on life support, Ember had been sedated because she wouldn’t stop screaming, and Jill was in surgery. Reuben had just gotten out of surgery. Something about scar tissue over missing limbs. I think Benjamin was just very, very tired. Marco came and got him then, and told him to go to bed.
And I’ll have you know that I’ve never teased him about crying. I think anyone would’ve cried after all that.
Dear Berenice, what’s your fashion sense these days?
Fuzzy sweaters, skinny jeans, and knit scarves/mittens/hats from Target, especially in bright colors. My favorite color is purple, and I just bought a super cute plum-colored peacoat. Winter clothes are the best.
Berenice here.
Before I start answering your questions, I thought I’d introduce myself a little bit. Apparently I’m intimidating! I wouldn’t want y’all to think I was unapproachable, since I haven’t been a superhero in nearly three years. I’m just Berenice now, though if I don’t crash and burn at the Marshal academy, I’ll soon be Deputy US Marshal Grantham. (Man, that sounds hot.)
I’m currently sitting in my tiny-ass apartment that I share with Lark, with Law & Order on the television and a steaming mug of Sleepytime tea next to me. Lark just told me that I look stupid, since I’m reading y’all’s questions and grinning from ear to ear, but she’s just grouchy because business school is kicking her ass.
I’m single as a Pringle right now, and I think it’ll stay that way for a long time because I’ll be so busy with the Marshals. I see Reuben and Gabriela all the time, mostly because they ask me to babysit Nora and Mary Rose a lot. I don’t mind, since the girls are cute and I get paid in cash. Lark has big plans to be the next big thing in business, and I think she’s been in talks with Jen, who is also a business lady in stocks or commodities or something. She’s in New York City right now!
I keep tabs on the Saint Catherine team, too. Jill and Benjamin are finally on their honeymoon in the Caribbean. Ember and Reid are parked out in the middle of friggin’ nowhere in Georgia, and I think Jill’s cousin Christiana is helping them get settled with a bunch of horses. Marco is going to college! He’s going to be a nurse. He’s a bit frosty with me whenever I see him, but I’m really glad he’s doing well.
I’ll be answering y’all’s questions throughout the evening, probably during ad breaks.
Berenice out.
Dear Berenice, what powers would you choose other than the ones you already have?
I used to wish all the time that I had a really showy power. Sure, super strength is fun to show off at parties (I’ve actually done this), but when a bunch of criminals have their guns out, it would be nice to do something that makes my eyes glow and, oh I don’t know, makes fire appear from my nostrils. I’d like to make people crap their pants with the minimum of effort.
bernice, if you could say one thing to Benjamin Trent, what would it be?
Let me just get this out there: I say whatever the hell I want to that guy, whenever I want, however I want. There’s nothing in my brain regarding Benjamin Trent that I won’t say to him.
But in the spirit of the question, there is one thing I’ve never said but plan to one day: ”Please tell me about Topher’s last minutes.”
I’ve never asked him to tell me about my friend’s final moments because I’m afraid I’ll cry, and like hell am I going to cry in front of Benjamin Trent.
Dear Berenice: Imagine you’re stuck on a desert island. You can choose two other people to be stuck with you: one from your team and one from the Saint Catherine team. The Three of you are the only humans there. Who do you choose and why?
My team: Reuben.
Saint Catherine team: Reid.
The Fischer brothers are some of the most absurdly overpowered men on the planet, which is definitely an advantage in a desert island scenario. Both of them can make shelters and boats with their powers, and I’m assuming that at least one of them could somehow produce fire with their powers.
#dearberenice, if you could change one thing about your life right now, what would it be?
I’m pretty content most of these days. I don’t like to dwell on the parts of my life that didn’t go well. But sometimes, when I’m lying awake at night, I think about Abby. Don’t get me wrong, I miss Topher so much that my stomach aches, but there was something about Abby’s death that haunts me like no other.
Did you all know that I had a twin sister, Emmeline? She died of sepsis when we were thirteen. Abby was my replacement for her, if I’m being honest. Whenever she did patrol, she always patrolled with me. She was wickedly funny, and I’ll fight anyone who says she wasn’t smart. She just marched to the beat of her own drum, and she was never supposed to be on a team.
But finding out about Edward Yazzie was hard, because it meant that she had parts of herself that she’d never revealed, and it makes me wonder what else about Abby I didn’t know. What were her dreams? What were her greatest hopes?
And I’ll never know. And it kills me.
What did each Trent really think about Benjamin defecting? Did they all think that Jill was controlling him?
Janice firmly believed that Jill was controlling her son. She loved Benjamin to the point of blindness.
Beau has almost zero emotional intelligence, so he assumed that Benjamin hung around Jill for sex. It made sense, from a logical perspective–Jill is Ben’s type, and they were living together.
For the brief amount of time that Henry had to think about it, he was the closest to the truth: Benjamin was acting out on long-time frustrations and unhappiness. Henry never knew the depths of Benjamin’s inner turmoil, but he knew that his youngest child had never quite fit in with the rest of the family. That said, Benjamin’s departure wasn’t a surprise, but his joining a superhero team was. Even Henry didn’t expect Benjamin to be so bold.
Only Eleanor sensed that Benjamin was falling in love with Jill, and while she wasn’t a fan of superheroes, she acknowledged Benjamin’s autonomy in the situation. At the end of the day, Eleanor just wants her baby brother to be happy.
What would’ve happened if Jill had taken the job with the Trents in Ignite?
There are a lot of fun “what ifs” that I’ve thought about over these last few months. This one is one of the few that isn’t totally depressing.
Jill would’ve known that she couldn’t have done anything without alerting at least Ember. She would’ve told her that she was going to fake her death and run away. Knowing Jill’s mental health at the time of Ignite, she would’ve asked Ember to plant a memory in someone’s head of her jumping off the bridge. Ember would’ve been deeply unhappy, but would’ve complied. After Jill didn’t come home from patrol, Patrick would’ve sent them out to find her. That’s when Ember would’ve “found” the homeless person who “saw” Jill take a swan dive off the bridge and never resurface. Luckily for Jill, Patrick was an elder’s son; his word would’ve been enough to smother any suspicion that Jill wasn’t dead. He certainly would’ve believed it–after all, he’d aimed to make her miserable.
Reid would’ve mourned his poor, sad teammate who’d served with him so bravely. After the wave of excruciating grief had passed, Marco would’ve noticed that Ember acted weird whenever anyone talked about Jill, and he would’ve figured out that Ember knew something. Being sharp as a tack, he would’ve guessed the truth before too long and forced it out of Ember, then gone to find her.
Hours after Jillian Johnson died, “Ruth St. James” would’ve walked into a women’s shelter and asked for a place to stay. She’d chosen her name simply because she liked the name Ruth, and St. James was obviously an important surname to her. From there, she would’ve made a phone call to the number on the business card and said she’d changed her mind. Janice would’ve cheekily sent Benjamin to fetch Ruth the next morning, and he would’ve been appalled to see where she was staying. Just like in Battlecry, Ruth’s sad secret would’ve stirred deep protective instincts in him, and their relationship would start.
Ruth would’ve been honest about her lack of qualifications, and Janice would’ve patiently put her in a minor, but extremely well-paying administrative assistant job–about $25/hr. She would’ve made appointments, copied documents, answered the phone, and done other tasks that didn’t require much training. Janice would’ve made it very clear to the other people in the office that Ruth had done the Trent family an immense and personal favor, and that absolutely nobody was allowed to be unkind to her. As a result, Ruth would’ve adored her job, where everyone was so nice to her!
The bosses’ handsome younger son would’ve started picking Ruth up from work and taking her home (he would’ve gotten her out of the shelter as soon as possible), and soon they would’ve been dating seriously. Benjamin would’ve sensed that she was hiding a huge secret. Maybe it was the way she searched every crowd, as if she expected to see someone. Maybe it was that she never went out at night, like she was certain she’d meet someone she didn’t want to. Maybe it was that she always hesitated when she introduced herself as “Ruth St. James,” like another name was on the tip of her tongue.
He would’ve eventually asked her about it, and she would’ve finally relented and told the truth, and then asked him to help her get the others out.
And that’s when he would’ve realized that he was in love with Jillian.
Wide Spread Interests 