And finally the first shift of Cassiopeia’s new job started!
As soon as she arrived she was given a lab coat and then the receptionist announced she was there. Once inside the lab she was welcomed by her work team leader: Circe Beaker.
Cassiopeia was pleased to discover her job was actually really fun! And just as she thought her training was perfect for it. She even made a friend during her shift!
"Who’s a good Invention Constructor?… you are! Yes, you are!"
On the way back home Cassiopeia bumped again into the weird girl she saw that morning wandering around town. She told herself to not get involved, humans didn’t like it. They made it clear… but then again, not all humans were bad, right? Erwin helped her when she needed it, and this woman looked almost in pain. She wouldn’t stop whining and groaning as her limbs twisted while she tried to walk.
She just couldn’t help it. She approached the woman.
"Good evening, fellow human, are you alright? Do you need any kind of assistance?"
Moving like a puppet controlled by threads, with her limbs and neck loose and her head hanging to the side, the woman turned to look at her, and a chill of terror ran down Cassiopeia’s spine.
"Ŵ€ŁĆǾM€ ŦǾ ŞŦŘɅŇĠ€ŘVIŁŁ€"
The woman dragged the words out of her throat in a high screak as an empty, yet horrifying smile parted her face. Her eyes were dead, void, and even when they were staring right into Cassiopeia’s direction they didn’t seem to really see her.
Cassiopeia moved before she even could think about it. Using her brain power she snapped the woman out of her possessed state. It made Cassiopeia’s brain feel as if it were about to get fried and she almost fell on her knees, but when she opened her eyes the woman seemed very lucid and focused.
Focused on Cassiopeia.
"You… you saved me… How did you…? What are you?"
The only reason Cassiopeia didn’t erase the woman’s mind in that very moment was that after what she just did, Cassiopeia’s mind wouldn’t be able to handle using her powers again so soon.
So she decided her only choice was to tell the truth.
"I’m what you humans call an alien. I would appreciate if you didn’t tell on me."
"Oh my Watcher, Erwin was right all this time… Aliens do exist… I–"
The woman promptly put her arms around Cassiopeia, alarming her for a second, until she understood what was happening. So this was what humans called a hug. Her race didn’t need physical reassurance since they could communicate their feelings directly with their telepathy… But she liked it.
The woman seemed to recover from her sentimental fit as fast as it started and stepped away.
"Holy Watcher, excuse my bad manners! I’m Jess Sigworth. And Of course I won’t tell a single soul, who knows what the military would do to you if they find out and… You saved me! I’ve been losing control from time to time for a couple of weeks now, and you… snapped me out of it. How… did you do it?"
"I know this will be disappointing, but I don’t know, Jess. It just happened"
And that’s how Cassiopeia made a new friend in town and her first confidant.
(↑ Click me ↑)
Another day, another shift.
"So yesterday I saw another one of those possessed hu– people around my house" Cassiopeia asked her lab mate, Magnus on a slow evening when they didn't have much to do "How’s that nobody here is trying to fix it? I thought our company owned that lab."
"I don’t know… Cassiopeia we shouldn’t be talking about this. It’s confidential."
"I know but–"
Magnus didn’t let Cassiopeia finish her reply, he got up and turned his back to her. Already at the door he stopped on his tracks and muttered.
"If you keep asking those questions you are going to get into trouble… You are going to get us into trouble. Let the big shots handle it."
And then left the room.
"… No way."
Cassiopeia was done with all her tasks for the day early, so she thought she would use the remain hours to train in the lab’s gym. She was at it when Erwin called her to celebrate her promotion, and of course she couldn’t leave faster.
"Hey, Cass! How are you do– oooop!?" Cassiopeia cut the boy mid-sentence with a hug, and even when it caught him off guard he quickly hugged her back.
Once they grabbed a table it didn’t take long until Erwin brought up the incident with Jess. Of course omitting the part about using her alien powers.
"I think Jess already told you we are friends, right? She told me you helped her a couple of days ago. Can I ask… how did you do it? No matter what I’ve done for these past weeks, none of the possessed people came back to normal."
Cassiopeia was happy to hear Jess didn’t tell him what really happened. But also she had to come with a lie to convince him now.
"I… I slapped her really hard, and suddenly she was back to normal!"
"Is that so? I’ll have to try it out then!" Erwin said, excited.
"…No, you better leave it to me, ok?"
Erwin perked up with those words and looked at Cassiopeia with an eyebrow arched in disbelief.
"I thought you didn’t want to get involved in this."
"That’s true… that’s what I said" She admitted but then her face filled with frustration "But these hum– these people don’t want to help! At the lab they are not even trying to find a solution! I don’t know what this is… but I can’t leave it alone."
"I think that’s called anger and a sense of justice."
Cassiopeia seemed to think about it for a while and then looked at Erwin with a determined smile on her lips. She couldn’t leave these vulnerable humans alone.
"If it’s ok… I would love to help solving this."
"I was hoping you would say that" He beamed a smile at her, although inside he was thinking about something else. Is it me or is she glowing tonight… She is so pretty… Get your plum together, Pries.