We were all squeezed around the dinner table, Ken and William at the heads, Elise on William's left side and Beth on his right, James and me in the middle of the table opposite each other, followed by Cassandra next to me and Willow next to my brother.
We were all trying to enjoy the food Elise and Willow cooked with a lot of effort.
…Even after what happened.
The mood was… heavy. Everyone was silent and eating slowly to hear the TV still blaring on about the assassination and all the commentaries now attached to it.
About the fifth American president ever to be assassinated.
We all weren't really focused, but Ken had used his power to make the floor creaky again. So, by the lack of sound, we confirmed that no invisible shadow was present in the room. And if it teleported here, the floor would now give it away.
Although… my father had already managed to work around it once, it was still something and likely enough, though we still had to be careful with truly sensitive topics.
So, with one fear removed, our minds were now fully occupied with the terror we saw on TV.
As for my thoughts… I was glad that the camera had cut away once Elise came looking. She was the least affected, though still looking somber and contemplative. Now sitting next to me and her dad at the head of the table, she could still slowly stuff her cheeks with normal-sized bites of the vegetarian rice stir-fry, while the rest of us were eating somewhat peckishly.
I would too, if not for me subtly glancing to my right at the left side of my girlfriend's cute face, to calm myself down while working on processing everything in my head. Her face alone made the pasta dish taste as it should, instead of like ashes, and fill my stomach at a normal rate.
…I had no doubt the horrid sight I saw on TV would stay with me for a long time. And I only saw the aftermath. For those who saw it happen, well. Willow's expression said enough to me.
After that, Willow had lost her cooking spirit, and I wanted to watch the TV, so Elise quickly finished the final stretches of the meal with Willow's clones on standby protecting her, and then kept everything warm until everyone was ready.
And in about half an hour of watching news commentary and observing and navigating everybody's panicked and predictable reactions in the room, I knew all the information I needed and suggested we start on dinner since it was getting late and because there would probably be no new important information being clarified soon.
In half an hour of news coverage, everything was slowly becoming clear for everybody.
Because the president's assassination had not been a random tragedy, it was an orchestrated one.
The manifesto that had been publicly published online and sent to the appropriate sources made sure of that. Together with information from the White House itself, confirming the president's death and how it had happened.
While the president was addressing the nation in the press room, a presumably small military cell had carried out the assassination by sniping down the president from somewhere in Washington, D.C. The bullet had gone through walls, security, and personnel without obstruction until it had hit the target.
Their ludicrous reasoning for their coup d'état was that they had lost faith in the president's ability to protect the country and its citizens, with Philadelphia and the smaller riots in other cities being their examples. If the country could only handle it with the military anyway, they might as well let the military rule the country so that it would at least be used properly, was my summary.
That was the condition these geniuses laid down for the nation to cede to military rule. And as long as the transfer of power was refused, roughly every 12 hours the next person supposed to be president would meet the same fate as the previous one.
So the next morning at around 10 AM, the vice president would be assassinated, and by three days' time, we would be down to the Secretary of Defense and potentially the 11th presidential assassination.
An absurdly grim prospect, but in this new superpowered world, even that was made possible. They had already managed to headshot basically the most protected man in the world with ease. What were a few more repeats for them?
Of course, I doubted the government would take this lying down. They must have some superpowered capabilities too, not to mention the actually sane military.
Except… the domestic terrorists had taken that into account too. They had hostages.
Also at an absurd scale…
They had declared the whole capital as their hostage.
Anybody trying to leave the capital would get shot. Anyone posing a threat or resisting the terrorists' operation within Washington, D.C. would get shot. And for every individual who approached the capital, that person would get shot too, together with an innocent random civilian within the capital afterward.
And to follow through on their threat, they had already demonstrated their capabilities.
Perhaps more harrowing than the president's assassination were the news shots of the roads leading in and out of the capital.
Which were already blocked by crashed cars on the city's threshold. Their interiors presumably decorated with shot corpses.
They were already providing an ever-growing roadblock that the brigade of cars still within the capital was still trying to get through in a panic and feeding it all the while, making the situation ever worse.
And the few people who thought they were smart and tried to flee the capital on foot, by bicycle, or in a more obscure way to avoid the main roads met the same fate. The fields around the capital were also decorated with a few poor individuals.
All that in half an hour…
How could this have happened? Was the new world to blame?
I had always been pessimistic, but this was ludicrous. It hadn't even been two days since the Whiteout, and the… late president was just an average one, not too unpopular, provocative, or polarizing. He had become the president because after eight years of strong Blue Party administration with my father as its Attorney General, they had provided a lackluster candidate in comparison. So, the Red Party had managed to win the election and taken control with an average candidate, one who had run the country without any dramatic accomplishments or changes, and was currently busy with his reelection campaign.
It was just so senseless, the coup d'état. What were they hoping to accomplish? They basically ruined the country for cheap power that wouldn't be considered legitimate in the long run. And what would illegitimate military rule accomplish in quelling the chaos they claimed they would be able to manage better? They created even more chaos with this stunt. Perhaps so much that the country would dissolve into anarchy.
…That's how anyone would see it, as I took another bite of the delicious pasta and took a glance around the expected shocked, fearful, and melancholic table.
Where two people had deviating expectations from the expected status quo.
James and Cassandra, in whom I could also read doubt, suspicion, conflict, and disbelief.
The same things I was quietly enduring.
Because we all came from the Marwood household, we could see the truth in different capacities.
That my father was behind the coup d'état.
Philadelphia, Jane mentioning on the phone that he was having a lot of people over and ordering them around, father mentioning on the phone that he wanted everybody with him as soon as possible and that Washington would likely be in lockdown soon, and that he would be unavailable for the upcoming days.
It… it all made sense…
And James, the meat aficionado sitting opposite me, who hadn't even touched the chicken and kept his meal vegetarian, could perhaps see it most clearly too, because he had provided a helping hand.
Because of the riot in Philadelphia, the president did end up sending troops from nearby Washington D.C. It was the same thing I had considered doing in his place, only without the delay, to quell the violence there.
And it was the exact same thing my father hoped for and predicted would happen.
Because now, with the capital severely lacking its own military presence and realistically no outside interference possible, the terrorists had free reign.
And more importantly, what had gotten James, me, and especially Cassandra to this horrid realization that my father was involved, basically the smoking gun…
Was that Cassandra sitting next to me was potentially carrying the president's same sort of murder weapon on her hip, trying hard to not consciously touch it.
The sniper had shot the president through all the walls of the White House…
All the people in those cars… through buildings and every obstacle in their way…
It could perhaps only have been done with the same ethereal bullets Cassandra was carrying around. The ones my father provided for her. With that gesture, my father had basically announced to all of us that he was involved, for whatever reason.
And the worst part of it all, what made me feel awful was that I didn't understand why my father had done any of it in this way. His motivation was, as it always was, power and legacy, so the fact that he did it didn't surprise me. The method was what was breaking my expectations…
Even if the coup somehow succeeded, and I doubted it would, would my father, who had for years been manufacturing his 'for the poor' philanthropist persona, be content with ruling a country in ashes and everybody considering him violent and illegitimate?
I couldn't see it, so I doubted it.
My father would also see that. The coup was a good attempt. The consequences in this half hour were already evident. The ethereal bullets made the whole thing possible, but of course there would be more unknowable powers involved.
For example, how would the sniper locate everyone's position to locate the next assassination target and all the people that were crossing the city threshold? The sniper at least had a spotter with some sort of power helping him do that. And who knows what more?
One crazy person with a power was manageable and counterable. A whole coordinated team with powers compensating for one another and playing to each other's strengths could theoretically become unstoppable, as the terrorists were now demonstrating while trying to convince the government and the nation.
But my father and I would not be convinced, since the reverse was also true. The still-sane military could also start assembling a superpowered team to counter the threat. In time, the terrorists would be dealt with, if the country could endure until then.
Even after the government started pretending to negotiate, which could be a likely strategy to buy time and save lives, and the terrorists claimed that power had been handed over to them, the actual military could still interfere afterward and restore order as it should be.
So… if my father and I could both reason that the coup would inevitably fail one way or another, then… then… the next assumption was the only one I could think of.
That my father hadn't orchestrated the coup to take over power…
But he had designed the coup to deliberately fail to take power.
And if that's true… then… I could deduce the reasoning as to how my father would gain from it with all that I knew.
The real reason that had me in a cold sweat.
Because… because if my reasoning was correct…
I could do nothing against him anymore. I never would have stood a chance. And my father would see it too. Perhaps that was why he had intended this from the very beginning, and now wasn't even considering being careful anymore and had handed Cassandra those bullets. He wanted me to know that resistance had become futile.
Like it had always been…
Once those seeds entered my mind as I took the last tasteless bites from my meal, the only thing keeping my poker face from cracking was looking at Elise's face while she was still eating.
What… what do I do? What could I even do if I was right?
…Right. I… there was a way. A way for me to know if I was right. Cassandra had been in that house all that time. Maybe she could confirm.
…Is that… did my f-father send her specifically here too so she could confirm?!
He… seemed to know the applications for which her power could be used, so he had likely also been using Cassandra for himself. So… she was near him…
I… damn it! Damn it! Just ask her! I had to know!
N-no… I… calm down first. Somehow… somehow… calm down.
I moved my head to fully look at Elise's side profile, and perhaps because I subtly shifted, she also looked at me mid-chewing.
And when I looked at her full face, I suddenly noticed…
That she was only chewing with the left side of her mouth.
Which was why she had her cheek stuffed noticeably from my angle.
"D-does it still hurt? Why didn't you say something?" I asked, failing to hide the slight surprise and sadness in my voice.
Elise's eyes went a bit wide and guilty-looking, because I had caught her. And since I broke the silence, the whole table now stared at us.
Elise finished chewing and swallowing, before opening her mouth to speak.
"S-sorry. No, it doesn't hurt, so I didn't mention it with everything going on, but I would have said something later. The right side, it just feels a bit weird, that's all."
"F-feels weird?"
"It… I don't really know. It felt a bit dull chewing there, I think? So I…"
I glanced at William while suppressing my rising panic.
"Do you still feel hot and cold there? On the right side of your mouth and in your teeth?" he asked his daughter calmly, catching my worry.
"I… I think so?" Elise answered, unsure.
"And chewing there doesn't hurt?"
"No."
William fell into contemplation, likely thinking of a medical reason.
But… I… I already had my suspicions.
"Elise… I… I think I know what's going on. Can you open your mouth so that I can test it?"
I immediately saw a hint of embarrassment cross her face, but seeing my serious expression, she didn't protest and complied.
I took the spoon she was eating with from her hand while I gave further instructions.
"Close your eyes. I'm going to put the spoon in your mouth and touch your teeth with it. Give a sign if you feel it touching a tooth, alright?"
"…Okay," she said with her mouth open and her eyes now closed.
I looked into the right side of her mouth, where the white teeth were beautifully regenerated by her power through me, and while recalling the previous damage, I first gently and lightly touched a tooth that had remained undamaged by the shadow attack.
"Yeah," Elise mumbled.
I then switched to a tooth that had been chipped.
"…"
No response.
I… I gently applied more pressure.
"Yeah," she responded after a bit more force.
Then… next… a tooth that had been completely dislodged.
"…"
More pressure.
"…"
M-more. A bit more pressure.
"…"
N-no response. She… she didn't… anymore…
I moved to a few other teeth, giving me various reactions I could predict beforehand, so my conclusion really wasn't coincidental anymore.
I took the spoon out of her mouth and laid it down on her plate again.
And Elise opened her eyes and closed her mouth again, staring at me for an answer…
Although… in her eyes, I already saw she had realized the answer herself.
"I'm sorry. The… your teeth that were regenerated, they have no feeling anymore. It seems like you can still feel a bit through the ones that were chipped. I… since your power is… aesthetically based… I think what was regenerated doesn't have any function anymore, only appearance. They're like prosthetics. …I'm sorry."
…The whole table was deathly silent at yet another piece of depressing news.
William looked sad too, but was trying to hide it. I should confirm it with him too.
"Does that all seem plausible to you?"
Her dad looked between me and his daughter, trying to stay stoic while answering.
"Yes, I think you're right. But are there still functional nerves in her new teeth and she simply can't feel them? And if there are living parts, are they actually getting blood flow and nutrients? If not, the partially or fully restored teeth might deteriorate. We should have a dentist look at them."
"Definitely, but it's supernatural. The areas on and around the bruises and scar that she healed for me feel fine and have sensation, so at least regenerated tissue doesn't seem to always lose function. Her teeth might work differently, though. We should definitely keep an eye on them."
"Yes… Elise, can you tell us immediately if something starts hurting or starts to feel even more odd?"
Elise nodded at her dad, but all the while we were discussing her, something had slowly been growing in her expression.
"I see. Figures. And I even started thinking my power was good for something. Of course not," she said flatly and with bitterness.
"…I'm sorry," I said in response.
Elise looked into my eyes again. And then, perhaps catching something in my eyes, her demeanor shifted again to compassion.
"No! Wait! Don't blame yourself, please! It wasn't your fault! I'll say it as many times as you need to hear it! And my teeth, it's a bit weird, but I'll get used to it. You don't have to feel guilty, okay!"
I stared into her pure eyes, blinking a few times.
The girl that had gone through so much.
The girl I loved.
The girl who, in the back of her mind, would always remember what my father did to her every time she chewed on something.
I… I really wanted the best for her.
And she… I'm sure she felt the same about me.
How… how much would my father make us and everybody here suffer until he got what he wanted?
Me.
"…Alright, I'll try. But you, stop the self-pity too, then, please. I'm glad your face and teeth are healed and that you're not in pain anymore."
Now… Elise blinked a few times while looking into my eyes, and she gave her response.
"Alright. I'll… I'll try too…"
…A smile formed on my face, and slowly Elise started smiling at me too…
"Hey lovebirds. Before you go into your own world again, maybe we should discuss what to do now?"
We quickly turned our heads toward Willow, who was sitting next to James and Ken at the other end of the table with a teasing grin.
But her eyes betrayed her doubt, which was what snuffed out my embarrassment.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Well, it seems that I'll be stuck in this country for… a while longer. So… what now?"
Ah… of course. Now the return to her own country had become even more difficult with the government in shambles.
…Although, would she need the government at all?
"…We could always pirate an old ship ourselves if you can't arrange for one."
That got her blinking a few times, and then, her lips transformed into an appreciative smile.
"Thanks. I might take you up on that offer, after I help you with your mother."
"…Alright. My mother… yeah…"
I took a look around the table, with everyone focused on me now.
"I know what's happened is shocking, but we can't do anything about it. We can still do something for my mother, starting tomorrow. So for now, let's continue eating, and for the rest of the night, let's take it easy and rest so we're all fresh tomorrow. It's been a long day for all of us."
Nobody objected to my proposal, so we all continued eating some more until we were satiated and all the food was consumed.
But compared to the previous silence, now, through Cassandra, there was a hidden conversation happening between all of us.
One where I was coordinating and providing instructions to everyone regarding our night-time security. Even though the shadow was very unlikely to be here, this was still something we couldn't risk being overheard.
We did have to sleep after all, the moment we would be at our most vulnerable. But through Cassandra's, Ken's, Willow's powers, I had conjured up a way in which we would all be protected from a sudden shadow attack.
And during our mental discussions, I asked James to try something, which he agreed to do since it would protect us better.
So he did, and it worked, astounding everyone, especially Cassandra.
He had managed to replace his electronic jamming power with Cassandra's visual telepathy.
He could now also be included more thoroughly in my night protection strategy, and had generally become much more capable instead of retaining situation-specific electronic jamming. It also sped up the discussion now that his letters were also put over everybody's vision.
James's powers were now cloning, barrier creation, flight, gun and ammunition duplication, and visual telepathy. A good set to at least protect us if the shadow attacked, though not enough by my estimation to kill it yet. It was not enough, but I hoped we would be able to remedy that tomorrow.
I doubted my father would now do anything like attacking us casually, since he didn't need to take the risk anymore. Nevertheless, if I became careless, he could always still opportunistically take a hostage to really ensure his victory, which had become all but guaranteed…
Still… I… had never considered it, and perhaps my father had never considered it either, but after everything that had happened, one more thing popped into my mind that I could still do against him.
Something that went against everything in me, but might now be the only way left for everyone's survival.
But still… it's definitely something I shouldn't say carelessly, since everyone could easily lose faith in me once I even bring up the suggestion.
I still had that promised private talk with Elise. I… I wanted to discuss it with her first, to get the opinion of the person I cared most for now.
…But that was for later. Now… now, the security arrangement had been made.
An arrangement that also involved sleeping in pairs that were most convenient psychologically and defensively, by my standards. Beth and Cassandra were both a bit embarrassed about being paired with William and Ken, respectively.
But Ken and Cassandra needed to be together for their powers to synergize, so Cassandra did agree after also being told by Ken that he wasn't interested in women.
And William needed a caretaker too because of his broken hand, so Beth seemed comfortable enough using that as motivation to get over her embarrassment. They had been colleagues for a long time, after all.
And regarding the other two pairs, we already had two romantic couples. Willow and James, and Elise and me. Although William somehow looked at me a bit suspiciously when I suggested who his daughter would end up sleeping with.
But he fortunately didn't protest against the arrangement or demand I bunk with my brother, who wouldn't be as comforting and relaxing to cuddle with. James would probably put a barrier between us if I dared to try…
Anyway, after everything was visually said, there was still one caveat I needed to resolve…
Cassandra's gun, and most importantly the bullets contained within it, were also part of the arrangements, which had been communicated properly.
So now… everybody had made the link with what had just been witnessed on TV, and subtly stared at Cassandra, who was trying to maintain a poker face, but the pressure made it slip a bit.
And it made James subtly worried too about the implication.
…Well, this was a conversation best done in the open, so everyone could communicate and get on the same page at the same time.
For my brother's deconditioning, it was best anyway for him to hear the truth and everyone's reaction out in the open.
And I could at the same time confirm my suspicions about my father's coup and how it would end.
Of course, from an anti-shadow-attack perspective, however unlikely an attack was, this wasn't the correct move and we should keep everything covert through Cassandra.
But perhaps now, defeating the shadow was the only option left for me to win.
So I gladly took the risk and opened my mouth.
"Cassandra."
She turned her head to me. Worried, because she could sense what was coming.
And I noticed that James was holding his breath too.
"Everybody at this table is thinking about it, so what do you think? Did my father give you the same sort of bullets that were used to assassinate the president?"