Argon decided to find a place where he would be able to enter the shield by walking east, parallel to its edge. While travelling through the McDonald-Dunn Forest, he enjoyed the warmth of the sun, preparing himself for the rainy weather inside the city. He didn't mind the rain. Water falling from the sky, no matter if it was just a drizzle or a storm, always made him a little calmer and happier. It was the effect the rains had on other people that he’d want to prepare for. Almost everyone got grumpier and more irritating while it was raining. That always made it harder to make a good first impression and first impressions were very important for him. Sunken deep in his thoughts, Argon finally found himself walking a road that lead perpendicularly to the border of the shield. From a sign he could read that he was approaching Adair Village. Below the nameplate there was another, newer sign: “CORVALLIS BORDER CHECKPOINT”. The village itself however was inside the enormous shield and only a couple of tents were erected on the outside. Looking around, Argon could see that there were many men dressed in police uniforms, walking along the shield, trying to create an illusion of tight, patrolled border. There was a small crowd gathered in front of the tents, visibly divided in two groups. Ah, the Epics, Argon thought looking on the smaller group of five, they probably feel insulted that they have to wait in line to enter. I wonder how… “The shield will be dropped in twenty minutes!”, someone announced through a megaphone. Argon hasten his steps toward the checkpoint. When he was closer, he could see that almost everyone stood in line to one of three desks. Citizens, Vanillas, Epics said the cards hanged above them. Inside the tents there was a dozen of beefy looking men in uniforms different from those worn by police outside. Probably some Epic security, making sure there are no unpleasant incidents… Well, there is still twenty minutes left, if the lady behind the epic desk is fast enough I should be able to enter soon. Argon leaned on a fence near the Epics queue and snapped his fingers. A piece of delicious apple pie appeared in the air with a pop before him and landed in his hand. Chewing on his snack Argon watched carefully as the epics before him tried to look as impressive as they could. Like a bunch of baboons during mating season showing off their butts. “The shield will be dropped in fifteen minutes!” damnation it, only one epic got through in five minutes! That’s not good, I don’t want to wait another day here but I also don’t want to enter illegally! Can’t those idiots answer their questions faster?! And who’s this moron, jumping the queue before me?! “Hey! I’m the last one in line! How about you come sit here with me and have some apple pie?” Argon shouted to the skinny Epic that was now standing just behind a huge lumberjack with an axe resting on his shoulder. Argon tried to be nice, resisting the urge to launch this guy into the moon. After all it was all about good, civilized first impression and he hoped to maintain good relations with local authorities. However, all he got in response was a very rude gesture and a provocative smirk. So that’s how you want to play it? Alright then… Argon quickly analyzed the situation. There were four Epics close to each other in front of him. One just passed the check at the desk. Too many to be processed in fifteen minutes. Time to make the line shorter. The line shifted forward as the next Epic approached the desk. Argon focused on legs of the queue etiquette offender, using telekinesis to hold down one of his feet as he tried to walk forward. As expected, the skinny Epic lost his balance. A slight telekinetic push to his back and another one to the back of the lumberjack before him made his fall much more serious than it would normally be. Back before Calamity, such an incident would cause some ruckus, some swear words and that would be it but now the world was a much more brutal place.
Lumberjack, after restoring his balance turned around to look at the smaller Epic laying on the ground behind him. Just as their eyes met, hands of the fallen Epic started to glow with green light and the lumberjacks axe started to fall. Two things got cut simultaneously. Skinny guy managed to raise his hand and form a beam of light that cut through his adversaries shoulder, however it didn't stop the falling axe from cutting his neck. Two fountains of blood appeared momentarily after that, both hitting the third, female Epic, all dressed in white. I wish I could conjure some popcorn. Argon thought as the lumberjack fell to his knees, screaming of pain and trying to stop blood squirting from his wound. The lady Epic turned around and (with a little bit of Argons telekinesis help) got blood on the front of her attire as well. A very loud screech filled the air as she began to scream. Vanillas standing near her dropped unconscious on the ground, others curled up covering their ears with pain visible on their faces. Even Epics had to cover their ears. The huge lumberjack Epic, missing one arm couldn't stop the sound, he fell to the ground with blood dripping from his earholes. The noise stopped as suddenly as it has started. One of the guards managed to get close to sonic Epic and with a simple touch to her neck knocked her out. The brawl was over. Two Epics dead, one unconscious, some casualties among normals… Not bad, not bad at all. Argon congratulated himself, while the security forces disposed the bodies and took the surviving Epic somewhere to let her regain consciousness. Everyone worked quickly, without any sign of confusion. Similar accidents had to be common on the checkpoints. With only one Epic before him, Argon came closer to the desc, and soon it was his turn to take a sit in front of a young, formally dressed woman. There wasn't much on the desk before him. Two piles of papers, one with empty forms and another with filled ones, a glass of water for the clerk and a dictaphone. “Do you mind being recorded while we proceed with the citizenship application?” The woman asked with her hand on the recorder. “No, not at all.” Argon replied with his best smile. [/size] “Sorry for the first question, but I have to ask. Are you an Epic? Yes or no.” “Yes I am.” “Name?” “Argon” “Pre-Calamity name?” “Matthew Archerfish”. He didn't say his real name. He was born in Poland, and hardly any American could pronounce his real surname Strzelczyk, let alone write it down. “What kind of powers do you have?” “I can make cake appear before me whenever I want. I can also fly, but that is much less impressive, since many Epics can do that… Oh, by the way, what if I don’t want to answer some of your questions?” He asked, while wondering how much about his other powers should he reveal. “That’s all right if you don’t want to talk about something, but let me inform you, that the privileges you’ll receive in the city are dependent on how powerful your abilities are. We have no way to force you to tell us what you can do, but it’s in your interest to do so.” She explained patiently. It was obvious that many Epics have asked this question before. “I see… So I confess that I’m also partially resistant to other Epics powers.” He lied, as his real powers were much stronger than that. “Very good.” She wrote down what he said in the proper frame on the form and sighted. “Now, my favorite question. What is your weakness?” Argon laughed. “Are you seriously expecting someone is going to answer this?” “Hey, it wasn't my idea to put it in the [/size]questionnaire. Now what should I write?” She replied with a smile. “Beautiful women, just like the one sitting in front of me” Argon used the first thing that came to his mind. It was obviously a white lie, no one sane would expect honest answers for such question. But the woman in front of him was indeed good looking. “Oh please, I hear that every other day.” She wrote a big “N/A” below the question, but looked a bit flattered anyway. Other questions were much less interesting. Other skills, servant preferences, where he’d like to live etc. “Well then, one more question and you’re free to go. Would you be willing to work for the government?” “I don’t know, but if I feel like it, I’d like to work with the government not for them.” “All right! That is all. Please proceed to the edge of the shield and wait for it to disappear, that shouldn't take long. Once you’re in, please go to the designated area in the Adair Village where you’ll be able to watch a welcome video made by our ruler, Queen Rainmaker, explaining some of the rules. There you will also receive keys to your assigned new home and directions on how to get there. Your Vanilla servants will be delivered to you shortly. Do you have any questions?” She recited the whole formula quickly, almost on one breath.
“I don’t think so, thank you and goodbye!” Argon stood up and walked to the place where others were waiting to enter the city. After few minutes the shield disappeared with a shimmer and he was free to enter Corvallis.
***
Private Rick sat bored in front of his computer screen and stared numbly at the recorded video feed from Adair Checkpoint. His job was to watch hours of footage and look for any suspicious behavior from people coming into Corvallis. It was a very boring day until something picked his interest. “Lieutenant! I think you may want to watch this!” He called to summon his superior officer. “Please, take a look. It’s from an hour ago.” He said as he played the video again. “It’s just a fight between Epics, kid. Nothing to be excited about, our troops handled it quite well.” The older officer said after seeing the material. “Yes, yes, I know, sir. But look closer at that guy leaning on the fence.” He replayed the video. The interesting part was only about thirty seconds long. They watched it again silently, older policeman now paying attention to the person pointed by his younger colleague. He watched as a young man calmly eats some sort of pie, while three Epics fought in front of him. He didn't stop eating, he didn't even flinch while the female Epic started to shout, killing Vanillas and causing every Epic around her to cringe in pain… “Sir, according to this form, this man is called Argon. He mentioned that he has, and that is a quote: partial resistance to other Epics powers. But I don’t think that's the whole truth about him. Even with partial immunity to that scream, he should have at least some reaction to this bloodbath that took place in front of him…”
“Well kid, I think you may be up for promotion. If I’m right, and usually I am in this sort of things, you've just spotted a High Epic entering our town. I have seen many Epics fight, and only those calling themselves High Epics could be so indifferent in such a situation. Only someone who is sure he can’t be harmed could be so calm… Go get me a phone, queen Buttercup should know about it.”
