VIDEO

[killtime]

[ The camera angle is. Bad. This is a person who does not know how to use their communicator well. They probably can't even take a proper selfie. All that's showing is a pair of combat boots moving around in the grass — someone's backyard? — and in the distance, much farther out, a tree that (oddly enough) has a single board nailed to it for a reason only the gods know. It's not even nailed on straight.

The boots stop wandering. It's quiet for a moment.

Then there's a thwip, almost like the sound of a rubber band, and a thunk moments later, as an arrow hits the crooked board, dead center.

Unceremoniously then, a woman's voice: ]

Any of you know shit about teenagers?

[ Another thunk. A second arrow, its head practically kissing the first where it strikes. ]

What do normal fifteen-year-olds do these days?

[ Thunk. A third arrow. Three for three.

A mutter then, half to herself: ]

Fuck. Probably better get around to the whole "birds and bees" thing.

Comments

[onthe_threshold]

And he's a teenager and you don't know what to do with him now.

Put him in sports.

[killtime]

Used to do soccer over at the Endeavor Center. The ImPort that ran the place got sent back a while ago though. Hard to find shit that's reliable around here. You know how it is.

[ Or maybe not, since he's brand new. It's a lesson all ImPorts learn quickly though. ]

[onthe_threshold]

I don't, actually.

Doesn't anybody teach fighting? I mean it's crawling with superheroes here.

[killtime]

That's probably the one thing I don't need help showing him. Not sure how I feel about bonding with my teenage son over a little CQC though.

[onthe_threshold]

I guess you could always just ask him what he likes to do.

[killtime]

I get the feeling he's still working on figuring out that himself.

I don't know. It's fucking complicated.

[ Or maybe she's just making it complicated? ]

[onthe_threshold]

Sounds like it.

Well. At least you give a shit about him.

[killtime]

Unlike your parents, you mean?

[onthe_threshold]

No, mine cared very much.

[killtime]

Yeah? What the fuck went wrong then?

[onthe_threshold]

They got killed.

What happened to his?

[killtime]

Long story. Involves a cult. [ Basically a cult. Had a compound and everything. ]

[onthe_threshold]

Aliens or Jesus?

[killtime]

Monster-hunting.

[onthe_threshold]

A monster hunting cult? How the fuck does that even work?

[killtime]

[ She shrugs a little. ]

How the fuck should I know? I'm not a monster-hunter.

[onthe_threshold]

Jesus.

Yeah. Okay. Poor kid I guess.

[killtime]

Sure. Yeah. [ It's not dismissive. There's just not anything she can do about the past. ] He's doing alright, all things considered. We get by.

I mean, the kid fucking knits. That's a long way from being used as a monster-killing weapon.

[onthe_threshold]

I'm not sure knitting is normal for a teenager. Is that why you're worried?

[killtime]

The knitting is fine. But he's still learning to socialize. And I'm not exactly a prime role model.

[onthe_threshold]

I'm getting that, yeah. There's not more kids around?

[killtime]

Sure there are. But it's not like I'm keeping tabs. And the one I do know by name is a fucking terror.

[onthe_threshold]

How so?

[killtime]

The kid's a mean brat. There's reasons, and that's fine. But objectively? A brat.

[onthe_threshold]

Oh, but not the literal antichrist or some shit.