xx49.07.30 | 21:39 | Still Wednesday

I may have freaked out Malon a little, grabbing her and dragging her to a corner, I don't know if it helps me to be closer to the person whose power I'm copying but it's good for my focus, anyway. Super-hearing is really useful, I was definitely too hasty in calling it a low-tier power. It's not just that you can hear a really long way, it's that you can hear so many DIFFERENT things all at once, and focus on one or let it all wash over you—I guess Glen's power is the same, super-sight, except there isn't really anything to test it on. I guess I could look out the window but what's out there to see, just the city, which could actually be pretty interesting now that I think about it.

Anyway, it seems like everything's going really well! Dad and Mum were talking to Envy Death and ShyFire about some stuff earlier, about investigating some rumours in Free Paradise (which is where Envy and ShyFire are from), apparently a bunch of construction materials have gone missing, and when I say a bunch I mean a WHOLE bunch. It's just like with the georod disappearances, the supervillains have been really subtle and clever about it, but not subtle and clever enough to escape Envy Death's amazing powers of auditing! To be honest I don't understand how she figured it out but then I still don't really get how C2 figured out the georod thing either—it's just lucky we've got brainy people like them on our side. I'm surprised that Envy is so into this, being an ex-supervillain I thought she might be, I don't know, y'know, still a little bit evil but she seems totally earnest and committed. She said something kind of touching, too, to Dad while it was just the two of them, probably I shouldn't have listened but I couldn't help it:

"—didn't make much difference at all. Perhaps we should have been more careful, but there's nothing that anyone can do about that now. Even the good doctor's bizarre time travel theories would seem to preclude making any significant alteration to the past. 'Time heals all wounds', as he rather dryly put it."

I kind of came in halfway through the conversation, so I'm not sure what Envy was talking about there. But then Dad said:

"I never got the chance to ask you this, what made you change? Switching sides, becoming a hero after so long as a villain ... I know you weren't ever one to explain yourself, but it seemed so sudden—"

"I was lonely."

And then silence for a few seconds, and then Envy continued:

"Don't get me wrong, I'm a deeply selfish person. I care only for myself ... and for a select few who somehow manage to penetrate my defences—"

"Is Morgan one of those?"

"Morgan is an unusual boy who has captured my interest. He amuses me, and if it wasn't for my intervention he would have been taken by those who we now find ourselves fighting. An opportunity presented itself; I could make a difference. I chose to do so. Also we've made rather a lot of money together, stock markets and gambling and so forth, probability calculation has some pleasantly practical applications in those areas—but you're distracting me from my heartfelt and long-overdue confession of motive, how do you do that? I'm normally so focused, and yet two minutes with you and I find myself diverting into the oddest little avenues ... where's your wife, by the way?"

"Discussing Dzodestra with Tsezch and Lightning. Over there."

"Good. I don't want her to hear this. Forte ... I shall always call you Forte ... do you want to know something secret? You were my first hate. I think most supervillains have one. Do you remember? Yes, I see that you do. My arm still clicks every time I reach up to adjust the shower head, you were so rough when you were younger."

"It took me a while to learn control."

"It took you a while to learn many things. You were Brick then. I much prefer Forte. It plays to your strengths. As I said before, I am selfish. When I was younger, I did as I wanted without regard to consequences. Now that I'm older, I still do as I want ... but it's heroes like you who force me to think of these wretched things like 'responsibility'."

"You seem to be dancing around some kind of point, but I just can't figure out what it is."

"Can't you? Are you truly in the dark on this?"

"You know us super-strength types, we're not known for our sophistication."

"And that's exactly why we emotional tamperers adore you so. Simplicity is so underrated ... and so very difficult to manipulate."

"Again, you're not actually answering my question—"

"I answered your question immediately. I was lonely, that's all. Living as I did was shallow, hollow, meaningless, and ultimately it gained me nothing but solitude. There was a time when all I wanted was to be apart from the world. Above it. Now that I'm older ... I won't lie, I still enjoy superiority, but it's so much more satisfying to be superior from a moral high ground—and the company is so much more enjoyable."

Again, I know I shouldn't have listened to that, but ... but I just couldn't help it, I've ALWAYS wondered why Envy switched sides. To be totally honest I still don't really get it ... there were always rumours that she had kind of a 'thing' for Dad, but I don't know ... maybe she just wanted a friend. Corny, I know, but I don't really get how supervillains think, so ... I guess I'm just reaching. I don't know if Envy can ever truly be a hero, but at least she's trying. And I guess ... I guess if I have to admit it Chass DOES seem to be doing SOME good, but the way he does it—

Argh okay just NOT getting into that right now. I deliberately didn't listen in on anything C2 said, the good thing about this super-hearing is that you can choose what you hear and what you don't hear, and right now C2 definitely deserves some privacy. I think she was talking to Alice but like I said, I didn't listen. No more than a few words, anyway.

...

...

something's happening

...

"...have to go now..."

"...of an explosion..."

"...let us not be hasty..."

"...can't just leave them..."

"...their first strike..."

"...have acted..."

oh my goodness